2012 NFL Concussion Report Week 1


The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League.  Concussions are added to the list each week from multiple sources to give you the reader a picture of what is happening on the field.  Each week we will bring you the information along with relevant statistics.  If we have missed a concussion or put one on here erroneously, let us know (we will also be using Fink’s Rule to classify a concussion/head injury).

Week one is in the rear view mirror and there are some very interesting stories across the landscape of football.  Most related to play and performance; individual and team wise.  I am intrigued as many are in those stories and my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, but I also have been doing something for the past few years that I feel can help everyone grasp the concussion issue.

The Concussion Blog was the first and has become the “go-to” source for chronicling the concussion in the NFL.  The task was very difficult at first – finding the information and doing my best to confirm; via Official Injury Report or media accounts.  I will tell you that I am not privy to actual information from the league or teams, rather I am an information compiler and data miner.  This is not done to “damage” the sport, rather as a public service and something of a “check and balance” of the information, even if it is just a blog.

Each week I will present to you the numbers that I have found (or sent to me) and give you an idea of what his happening on the concussion front in the NFL.  This information is just that, information throughout the year (with occasional editorials on events and the numbers).

For a quick background you can look at the 2010 and 2011 final posts on this subject, I have as well provided a preview of sorts to this upcoming season that will tell you what I am thinking going in.

Looking back on last week some general things stuck out with me; the very quick and definitive reporting of game day injuries, the absolute misidentification of Darrelle Revis’ concussion, and the seemingly increase in violent hits.  The first two are given now-a-days, the third may merely be a subjective observation.  However, I wasn’t the only one, Jim Rome made a tweet referencing this as well on Sunday.  Perhaps we are all so in tune with the issue it seems magnified.  A quick side note it did appear to me that players were actually trying to use more shoulder/body rather than lowering their head on collisions (James Harrison didn’t play last week).

On to the numbers from this past week; total concussions found 10 (pending any new on injury report) that is on top of the 48 in the preseason (the rates below are EXACTLY identical to those rates through 15 weeks last year);

  • 10 Concussions/head injuries
  • 10.0 Concussions/week
  • 170 Projected Concussions
  • 0.66 Concussions/game
  • 11.81% InR
  • 10.02% EInR (10.02 W15)
  • 5 Offensive – 5 Defense
  • Positionally Speaking
    • QB – 0, RB – 1, TE – 0, WR – 1, OL – 3, DL – 1, LB – 1, DB – 3
  • Team Breakdown
    • DET – 2
    • DAL, GB, IND, MIA, NE, NO, NYJ, OAK – 1
    • ARI, ATL, BAL, BUF, CAR, CHI, CIN, CLE, DEN, HOU, JAX, KC, MIN, NYG, PHI, PIT, SD, SEA, SF, STL, TB, TEN, WAS – 0

Our definition of Incidence Rate (InR) is projected concussions/45 players taking the field per team per game, our definition of Epidemiological Incidence Rate (EInR) is projected concussions/53 man roster per team.

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