Player safety the main reason behind field changes.
There have been talks within the NFL governing body about the possibility of changing the dimensions of the field, in a further attempt to reduce head injuries.
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The talks are only in the preliminary stages at present, but the belief is that by making the field wider, it will force defences to be more spread, making immediate collisions less frequent.
The pitch would be similar to that used in the CFL (Canadian Football League) and former CFL and NFL Quarterback Warren Moon, who was talking to the National Football post, believes the change could be a good idea, and that it would reduce frequent low impact hits.
“The lower impact hits I think cause more problems over a period of time because there are more of them,” he explains.
“A wide receiver doesn’t get the number of hits a linebacker or lineman gets on a day to day basis. Those hits accumulate over time and probably do more damage than a big hit a receiver might get a few times a season.”
Concussions and player safety have been a big issue for the NFL in recent years. Former player Junior Seau committed suicide last year after suffering multiple concussions during his playing career, which were never fully diagnosed and so developed brain disease as a result.
This may be just a discussion and nothing more after that, however it is clear to see that the league is looking into every possibility to make the game safer for its players.
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