Time to put a lid on flying helmets

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/08/2011 (5558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The casual CFL observer could count on one hand the number of football helmets left spinning on the turf after last weekend’s games.

This slowdown of lost lids was noticeable, as through the first four weeks the hot topic around the league was why an inordinate number of players were losing their helmets during what looked to be normal Canadian gridiron circumstances.

In one game alone — the Week 3 contest between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders — lost helmet counts approached an even dozen, which is about 12 too many for a sport dealing with concerns like concussions and long-term head trauma.

Last Wednesday, before the scheduled Week 5 dates, the league football operations department held a conference call with all equipment managers — including longtime Bombers equipment guru Brad Fotty. The talk was about solutions to address the helmet-loss epidemic, and given the success of players keeping their heads about them over the weekend, one could draw a line between that think-tank and a serious problem solved.

Not quite. It seems no new plan was put into place after all.

“Nothing was done differently this last game (against B.C.) then any other game before,” Fotty said after Bombers practice at Canad Inns Stadium Monday. “Everything was the same. We checked all the helmets the same way as we had in the past. The clips, the screws, the tightness of the helmet, the chinstraps — everything was normal.”

Fotty has been in the Winnipeg equipment room for 22 years, and he believes the recent rash of helmet loss was just an anomaly. He says there’s no concrete evidence that suggest a specific manufacturer problem or an issue with players mixing different brand chinstraps with different model helmets.

Some players will use a Riddell Revolution Speed helmet with Adams brand straps, but only as a matter of comfort on the chin. CFL equipment managers check the tightness of the straps and how they snap into the bolts frequently to ensure a proper fit.

“We don’t want anyone to get hurt, but you can’t pinpoint it to one helmet,” Fotty said. “From what I’ve seen across the league and from our guys, you can’t say it’s one type of screw or one combination of helmet and chinstrap. We’ll continue to watch it, but there’s nothing that stands out.”

Excuses for the popped helmets vary. A popular one has pro football in 2011 featuring a stronger, faster individual on the field, where bigger players equal bigger hits. Fotty counters that by saying the evolution of the equipment is matching the evolution of the player, and new technologies are breeding safer products.

Another reason not finding traction in Bomberland: The hair and the skullcaps.

Several Bombers have long dreads but don’t count that as a reason for helmets coming off. Fotty is not ready to completely sign off on that, either, nor is he a true believer that skullcaps play a negative role in keeping a hat secure. Players also don’t buy that argument.

“It has nothing to do with that,” said DB Brandon Stewart, who sports a tight toque head under his Riddell Speed helmet. “The helmet will slip off if I don’t wear it, so I don’t know why people are saying that.”

Fotty figures the answer is simply in the conditions of the game, a combination of several factors. Hot, muggy weather in the summer has helmets slipping off sweaty players more than ever. Couple those elements into the physicality of the faster football game, and even the tightest helmet (filled with enough air to fit snugly around the cranium) could come off — eventually.

The league has talked to the helmet manufacturers about a solution, and have been told to instruct teams to make sure the straps and clips are secure. CFL officials can issue a 10-yard penalty (and force a player to sit out three plays) if they suspect someone is playing without a properly fastened chinstrap.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca