Quote:
Originally Posted by shave-tail
Thanks TXMike.
I do find it curious that everytime I turn on Sports Center there is someone commenting on player safety.
Now however, linebackers are wearing shoulder pads that the kickers wore in the 1980's, players are not wearing knee or thigh pads.
When I played our shoulder pads were so big there was no way for our heads to bounce of the turf.
Sorry I just find it a little odd crying about injuries but league officials passing on "safety" equipment for the sake of speed.
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Bigger shoulder pads don't always mean safer.
In the 1980s to mid 1990s most pads on the market were cantilever designed pads. Meaning there was a leather strap in the pad that ran around the shoulder between the foam padding and the outer plastic shell. This acted as a suspension system in protecting the shoulder, this caused the shoulder pad to sit an inch to an inch and a half higher. Currently all but a handful of players are using flat pads, in which the padding and the shell are in complete contact over the entire pad. The suspension effect is maintained by using a biothane belt system to fasten the pad. The force of the blow is now distributed over the entire pad as a whole. This results in the pad sitting flush on the shoulder, which ends up resulting in the player being able to wear a pad that is a size or two smaller than what he would wear in a cantilever design.
There has also been changes in the materials used in the pads which have brought down the size of the padding from 3/4 of an inch down to under 1/2 in some models. Also the shoulder caps have been made smaller at higher levels as you very rarely get hit square on the side of the shoulder, even in a blind side hit. Also linemen have gotten away from large epulates on the shoulder pads, as the hands are used more and D-line players need the added range of motion in zone-blitz coverages.
Also with the larger shoulder pads of yesteryear and the larger helmets of today, if a player wore both he would have a very hard time moving his head to see oncoming hits.