Good Wednesday to you Steelers’ Fans. I’m going to take the bulk of this ‘Quick Hitters’ to discuss my thoughts on the latest study of brain injuries of former NFL Players and what it means for football’s future. There are still some Steelers’ items as well so never fear!
So chances are you probably saw the results of the latest study of NFL brain injuries as it has been the talk of the media and sports’ radio the last 24 hours. Of 111 brains studied, 110 had some degree of CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This is caused of course by repeated blows to the head.
The question facing American parents today is whether they should let their children play football. Never mind that CTE is also affecting soccer players, hockey players, boxers and more because the only discussion people want to have is about football.
First of all, my hope is that this study will act as a positive. What I mean is that I hope it leads to more advances in helmet technology and just as importantly, that it leads to continued improvement in teaching proper tackling techniques. I believe the progression of football should start with flag football only up through seventh grade. There is absolutely no need for tackle football, fully equipped, until then.
My son is going to be 13 next month. He played tackle football for a year at the age of 10 before ultimately deciding to play soccer. If he comes to me and says he wants to play football in high school I wouldn’t stop him. There is no sport that builds the concepts of teamwork and character quite like football but it won’t kill me if he chooses not to play either.
My advice is simple. the more knowledgeable you are about the game and the coaches your child will be taught by the better. If you see things you question, then you ask. Football is by nature a dangerous and violent game but it can be done much better than we are doing now in any places in the country.
On to the Steelers…
Sammie Coates will likely be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list heading into training camp following knee surgery. The bigger question here is what does this do to his chances of making this roster with so much competition? As much as we’d like to hammer away on how poor he was in 2016, we should also recall he was pretty damn good for those first five games before getting hurt. Stay tuned on this one.
Training Camp opens officially tomorrow as the players arrive in Latrobe. The first practice open to the public will be on Friday afternoon.
Ian is winding down his ‘Ten for Tomlin” which has been excellent.
Our Training Camp Preview of the Quarterbacks was posted earlier this morning.
We will do the Steel City Blitz Podcast Presented by 26shirts.com/Pittsburgh tonight at 10p ET rather than our usual Thursday slot.
Tweet of the Day… Mini Me!!
Can't wait for football! After meeting Ben Roethlisberger in Aug 2015 at training camp at Saint Vincent College I finally got his jersey! pic.twitter.com/zMozbZpyQm
— Verne Troyer (@VerneTroyer) July 25, 2017
Check out Ramon Foster’s Twitter Timeline today. Great interaction with the fans.
One day to go Steeler Nation!! Can’t wait to see the Black and Gold back on the gridiron!
