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Randle-El, struggling with physical and mental problems, regrets playing football

What they are trying to call CTE is something that does occur naturally in a certain % of people. Statistically you may have a stronger case that playing in the NFL causes lung cancer. Guys get hit in the chest right?.

Sadly we have seen science corrupted over the last few decades. Now somebody has a theory and if the theory fits an agenda it is treated as fact despite being unproven
 
tapeANaspirin2it said:
What they are trying to call CTE is something that does occur naturally in a certain % of people. Statistically you may have a stronger case that playing in the NFL causes lung cancer. Guys get hit in the chest right?.

Sadly we have seen science corrupted over the last few decades. Now somebody has a theory and if the theory fits an agenda it is treated as fact despite being unproven
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This is what i wonder as well. How many non football players have CTE. Is it like dementia or alzheimers? I think there are too many variables to know for sure right now.
 
I don't know about Troy, he always seemed fine to me in interviews.
I believe he's really into that spiritual type healing(meditation, zen type stuff), so maybe that helps him with the mental aspect of it all.
 
jitter77 said:
This is what i wonder as well. How many non football players have CTE. Is it like dementia or alzheimers? I think there are too many variables to know for sure right now.
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I think repeated blows to the head can be a factor. I also think maybe being on depressants like pain killers, alcohol or drug addiction can be another factor. Steroid usage as well.

From a scientific stand point you can argue that players show brain damage due to concussions. Which is a no brainer(no pun intended)
But again if the players know what they are getting into. Then let the game be. Just 10 years ago the NFL was doing fine as Americas premier sports league. The game just feels like its slowly diminishing
 
While we hear about players like Randle-El, the big issue going forward is really going to be the guys who never played beyond high school, or college. These guys didn't earn any riches, and can still be left with serious physical damage.
 
tapeANaspirin2it said:
What they are trying to call CTE is something that does occur naturally in a certain % of people. Statistically you may have a stronger case that playing in the NFL causes lung cancer. Guys get hit in the chest right?.

Sadly we have seen science corrupted over the last few decades. Now somebody has a theory and if the theory fits an agenda it is treated as fact despite being unproven
Click to expand...

I've said before that I have a regular customer at my business who is a former NFL offensive lineman and other than getting two new knees he's perfectly fine.
 
Loved me some El and I feel bad he's having difficulties with his health.

And yeah dude took some hits remember when he damn near got his head twisted off in that comeback game against the Stains?

ae01.jpg
 
MTC said:
I think repeated blows to the head can be a factor. I also think maybe being on depressants like pain killers, alcohol or drug addiction can be another factor. Steroid usage as well.

From a scientific stand point you can argue that players show brain damage due to concussions. Which is a no brainer(no pun intended)
But again if the players know what they are getting into. Then let the game be. Just 10 years ago the NFL was doing fine as Americas premier sports league. The game just feels like its slowly diminishing
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very well could be tied in with genetics, as tape suggested. so you have a guy or guys who genetically may be predisposed to having alzheimers or dementia playing football where they're getting hit in the head or taking hits that create a whiplash effect. Then numbing the effects with painkillers to create a helluva ******* time when they're retired.
 
Lloyds legend said:
Loved me some El and I feel bad he's having difficulties with his health.

And yeah dude took some hits remember when he damn near got his head twisted off in that comeback game against the Stains?

ae01.jpg
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How many of those hits came in high school, and during the 4 years he was a running quarterback in the Big 10? The biggest problem for football is not at the NFL level, where players are well compensated for the risks they take, but at the high school, and pee wee level, where the players receive absolutely nothing, in exchange for a possible lifetime of physical problems.
 
Thoughts to Randle-El and his family. But everyone who has played the game since an early age all the way up to Pro know the consequences of playing tackle football. Everyone will take a few hits in the head throughout their career and alot of times will not present anything at the moment until later in life. I played football when I was in JV, Varsity and 2 years at a D3 school. I played rough. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 27. I dont know if my football days had caused me to get this down the road, but no one knows. But honestly, I dont regret my playing days. But it does stick in the back of my head if repeated blows to my head may have contributed to my current situation.
 
Seems like a player is damned either way. Jason Worilds got flamed pretty hard for getting out before he had to worry about eating with a straw and walking down stairs & now El is getting crap because he didn't walk away from it.
 
joeriv5692 said:
Thoughts to Randle-El and his family. But everyone who has played the game since an early age all the way up to Pro know the consequences of playing tackle football. Everyone will take a few hits in the head throughout their career and alot of times will not present anything at the moment until later in life. I played football when I was in JV, Varsity and 2 years at a D3 school. I played rough. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 27. I dont know if my football days had caused me to get this down the road, but no one knows. But honestly, I dont regret my playing days. But it does stick in the back of my head if repeated blows to my head may have contributed to my current situation.
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Sorry to hear about your health issues. Hope you're one of the ones who has a mild form of the disease.

I would never let any son of mine play pee wee football.
 
Thank you. I honestly do have the mild form of it. I did have some nasty flare ups with made me lost the ablility to not see and lost the ability to use my right arm for about 2 months. But luckily, with medications and research ive pretty much kept it at bay for 5 years now. But like I mentioned earlier, I dont know if football was a contributing factor. But Ive read that repeated blows to the head like CTS mimics MS. So who knows. Again, thank you.
 
steelermania said:
How many of those hits came in high school, and during the 4 years he was a running quarterback in the Big 10? The biggest problem for football is not at the NFL level, where players are well compensated for the risks they take, but at the high school, and pee wee level, where the players receive absolutely nothing, in exchange for a possible lifetime of physical problems.
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I cannot answer that question just as you cannot determine when the hit occurred that may have given him his injuries. I'm not trying to dispute compensation and I'm really not sure what difference it makes. Bottom line is the guy took hits on every level and one of our own is paying for it now.
 
MTC said:
I remember watching an interview with Troy. And the reporter asked him a basic question along the lines of "what was his wallpaper on his phone" Troy was stumped for a moment before he figured out his wallpaper was his kids. My favorite Steeler besides Hines recently. I'm worried about 43
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In the future, perhaps the NFL will pass a rule that says anyone over the age of 33 needs to pass a medical concussion-related test.

While this is sad, more data is needed. Randel El retired in 2012. How many players that retired in 2012 are experiencing similar issues? It could be 1-2%, which I think is a risk most players will take. If its 50%, then changes must be made.

One change that can be made is to the helmet itself. They might need to change the helmet to more of a soft rubber like coating with a layer of bubble wrap like substance underneath the coating and inside the helmet itself. From what I know about the science, a helmet that is more mailable / can redistribute the impact of the blow is better than one that cannot. Or the NFL could simply put in a rule that says any helmet to helmet hit adversely or inadvertently cost a player " X " amount of his game check.
 
When Harrison was getting fined and suspended I thought it was bullshit. This is football, and it can't become flag football. Since I've been coaching my own son's I understand that the game must evolve. There are different ways to coach and teach technique and above all coaches at all levels need to teach that you must respect your opponent. The game can be block and tackle and catch and run. It doesn't have to be who can devastate the other the most. Nothing wrong with a good solid physical tackle but you don't have to try to knock people out and ****.
 
SteelerSask said:
When Harrison was getting fined and suspended I thought it was bullshit. This is football, and it can't become flag football. Since I've been coaching my own son's I understand that the game must evolve. There are different ways to coach and teach technique and above all coaches at all levels need to teach that you must respect your opponent. The game can be block and tackle and catch and run. It doesn't have to be who can devastate the other the most. Nothing wrong with a good solid physical tackle but you don't have to try to knock people out and ****.
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Perhaps a strike zone from shoulder to thigh can be taught, with flags coming for hits above or below. An exception would be a chase and dive type of tackle. If started at the Pop Warner and High School level, guys would be used to it.
 
Pro athletes get paid as much as they do because they have very short earning windows as compared to the rest of the general public. Athletes know there's going to be daily pain associated with being a gladiator for years on end if you are active long enough.

I never even played pro sports and my body still hurts from high school and some very brief college basketball. Its a price you pay.

Now regarding the head injury and his memory loss. That's a damn shame. Not sure if they can test to see if he has some CTE or whatever is causing the memory loss issues. The league has been clear they want to eliminate head shots and they've been pretty consistent with flags (no they haven't) and fines (kind of but not always). The game is trending away from hits to the head though. This is a positive for the future, but the boys who played in the past will pay the price for it.

I disagree that football will not be around in 20-25 years. The sport gets more popular and makes more money each passing season.
 
Coach said:
Perhaps a strike zone from shoulder to thigh can be taught, with flags coming for hits above or below. An exception would be a chase and dive type of tackle. If started at the Pop Warner and High School level, guys would be used to it.
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Standard tackling form that has been taught is to cross your head over the opponents mid line so that you aren't "arm tackling". Rugby tacking involves hiting at the thighs "eyes on the thighs". Compressing at the knees and rolling. The Sea Hawks have employed this tackling since Pete took over. Their concussions are lowest in the league and their tackling is as good or better than anyone. If you are a football coach, I ask you to go to the you tube clip : Sea Hawk tackling. My second son embarks on his tackle career this spring. We will be teaching this technique exclusively.
 
Ironcitysteelers said:
He said "sometimes my wife has to tell me things over and over again, and she says I just told you that". My god I have CTE cause my wife says the same thing!

Sucks for El I aways liked him. I just don't remember him getting beat up that bad when he was with us. The person I fear in the future for what he put his body through is Troy. That dude has more head injuires that were never disclosed (by him). You could tell he knocked himself out but jumped right up
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He'll be fine god blessed him with a giant head with many layers of insulation.

Ever time he prayed on field he grew an extra layer, that's why he had to retire; they couldn't provide him with a big enough helmet.
 
I think El took most of his big hits as a Redskin. Seems to me he was on the Injured list a lot with them. He was a small guy by NFL standards. I believe he took at least one good KO with the Steelers too as I think I remember bitching about his KO when Harrison taking heat.
 
SteelerSask said:
Standard tackling form that has been taught is to cross your head over the opponents mid line so that you aren't "arm tackling". Rugby tacking involves hiting at the thighs "eyes on the thighs". Compressing at the knees and rolling. The Sea Hawks have employed this tackling since Pete took over. Their concussions are lowest in the league and their tackling is as good or better than anyone. If you are a football coach, I ask you to go to the you tube clip : Sea Hawk tackling. My second son embarks on his tackle career this spring. We will be teaching this technique exclusively.
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In American football, there has been so much emphasis on "blowing guys up", and knocking the ball loose. Tackling with proper form doesn't cause the turnovers that we are looking for. Blowing guys up does.
 
I know the whole CTE/body breakdown has been an issue for some time. The more these stories come out like Randle El. Do you guys think this will affect the NFL somewhat. We all love football, but the health expense is shying fans/future players away. Even if the sport isnt banned. I do think the game itself will look a lot different in 5-10 years than what we are seeing now
 
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