The National Football League is looking to the Canadian Football League for ideas on how to make the game safer – including widening the field of play, according to a report in the National Football Post. According to the report, the NFL competition committee considered widening the field at meetings last year and speculation is they will toss around the possibility again. CFL fields are 195 feet wide, while NFL fields are 160 feet wide, a difference of 35 feet. The thinking is that the extra space will reduce congestion in the middle of the field, leading to fewer hits and, by extension, fewer serious head injuries. However, the flip side of the argument is that with more time and space to run at ball handlers, hits could become more, not less violent. Source: Sports Illustrated
has the field always been 160 feet wide in the nfl? i would contend that as players have grown bigger, faster, and stronger over the last 100 years, the field itself is now too small in every direction and the ball is too small. if the game was made for guys that were 3" shorter, and slower and weaker, then isn't it like the pros are now playing on a youth-sized field nowadays? i know i've noticed over the past few years how many players just throw and catch the nfl-sized football like it's a youth sized ball to them.
Very interesting article here about NFL concussions and incidence/position: 2011 Concussion Report - End of Regular Season - The Concussion Blog. Incidence with DB's vs. other positions is staggering, but understandable due to their comparative size. I don't blame the NFL (owners) in the slightest for investigating something like this given the number of lawsuits filed by players, but this isn't the thread to discuss assignment of blame.
Just make it half the arena league standards. Concussions would be down cuz no one could run 3' without running into someone. Down side would be biting & grabbing each other's junk would skyrocket.
