The Concussion Blog

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).  It also should be noted that due to the league not disclosing actual injuries until Friday night there may be some added to next weeks numbers.

Did you know it was two years ago this week that the NFL put in the fine system for targeting and helmet contact?

The trend continues.  At the beginning of the season we were reserved on making presumptions of the low number of concussions we were seeing.  Although we still want to wait until the end of the season to solidify our thoughts it can be said that through six weeks the numbers are significantly down.  We are over 1/3 of the way into the NFL season and we have seen the total number of concussions reported/found to be – hopefully – a good sign.

There could be a myriad of reasons for this;

• Positive
  • Players are grasping the lower target zone
  • Players are respecting the injury, therefore one another (case in point Larry Fitzgerald crack-back blocks last night)
  • Players are receiving better management of concussion
  • Less contact in practice is paying off
  • Better rule enforcement
• Skeptical Thinking
  • Teams being less forthcoming
  • Players hiding the injury

As you can see the good outweighs the “bad” in this line of thinking which is a good start.  Again we want to reiterate that after Week 12 and before Week 17 there is usually a spike of concussions.  Two reasons for this: 1) all teams will have completed byes and more players on the field and 2) the possibility of cumulative effects leading to more concussions, a threshold if you will.

As it stands now there have been 45 reported/found regular season concussions which is about one weeks numbers lower than the previous three years average of 54.67, through six weeks.  If the numbers stay on this course we would be looking at approximately a 19 concussion drop or about 11%.  This would be a massive decline, considering that the numbers have risen for the past three years.

The above is a good thing, I for one am hoping for all the positives to be true.

Before we get to the numbers some QUICK NOTES: Defensive backs continue to be the most ravaged by concussions, followed by their offensive counterparts, wide receivers…  The linebacking corps is starting to sustain their expected injuries (mirroring the running backs)…  Although we have not tracked it, a cursory look back seems to tell us that players are missing more time due to concussion this year than in the past…  Eight teams have yet to report a regular season concussion…  Only two have not reported a single concussion since camp opened: Miami and New Orleans…

The Week 6 Report (indicates previous weeks numbers);

• 7 concussions/head injuries found from Week 6 (9)
• 45 regular season concussions noted (38)
• 99 total concussions in 2013 (92)
• 7.50 Concussions/week (7.60)
• 127 Projected Concussions (129)
• 0.50 Concussions/game (.50)
• 8.66% InR (8.78)
• 7.52% EInR (7.62)

Running Totals for Regular Season:

• 22 Offensive (20) – 23 Defense (18)
• Positionally Speaking
  • QB – 1 (1), RB – 6 (6), TE – 3 (3), WR – 8 (6), OL – 4 (4), DL – 4 (4), LB – 6 (4), DB – 13 (10)
  • Team Breakdown
    • JAX, NYJ – 4
    • OAK, SD, WAS – 3
    • BAL, CAR, DET, GB, HOU, KC, NE, SF, TEN – 2
    • ATL, CIN, CLE, DAL, DEN, IND, NYG, PHI, PIT, STL – 1
    • ARI, BUF, CHI, MIA, MIN, NO, SEA, TB – 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.

• Comparing to past seasons the following has been found after Week 6: # (2012, 2011, 2010):
  • Regular Season Concussions – 45 (57, 55, 52)