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.
What if? What if the trend we are seeing continues? What does that mean?
Interesting and important questions; being mindful that this is one year out of four and we have yet to see a yearly trend of lower concussion numbers. Simply it means that, perhaps, the NFL is on the right path. The numbers are starting to become hard to ignore and we have what some like to call a “developing story.”
What I don’t want to see is those reporting on this to pontificate that the NFL has a handle on this issue, it will take a few more years of this type of reporting to proclaim that. All of that being said it is very interesting to us here and worthy of a deeper look. As we highlighted last week, it seems that policies are starting to take root.
The numbers are as follows for concussions/head injuries through Week 7 (indicates previous weeks values);
- 6 concussions/head injuries found from Week 6 (7)
- 45 regular season concussions noted (45)
- 105 total concussions in 2013 (99)
- 7.29 Concussions/week (7.50)
- 123 Projected Concussions (127)
- 0.48 Concussions/game (.50)
- 8.41% InR (8.66)
- 7.30% EInR (7.52)
Running Totals for Regular Season:
- 25 Offensive (22) – 26 Defense (23)
- Positionally Speaking
- QB – 3 (1), RB – 6 (6), TE – 3 (3), WR – 8 (8), OL – 5 (4), DL – 5 (4), LB – 6 (6), DB – 15 (13)
- Team Breakdown
- JAX, NYJ, SD, WAS – 4
- DET, OAK – 3
- CAR, GB, HOU, KC, NE, PHI, PIT, SF, TEN – 2
- ATL, BAL. CIN, CLE, DAL, DEN, IND, MIN, NYG, PHI, PIT, STL, TB – 1
- ARI, BUF, CHI, MIA, NO, SEA – 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 7: # (2012, 2011, 2010):
- Regular Season Concussions – 51 (64, 66, 60)
The Concussion Blog 
While the tightrope walk that is actual reporting vs. a willful ignorance or reality is perhaps inherent with a monopolized sport / entertainment industry such as the NFL, (ok, maybe there’s only one such industry) the increased focus on this issue of concussions is somewhat heartening. Can a head coach really convince the world and his team that one player yelling at others on the sideline is not a distraction? It seems just as likely as the notion that by simply not talking about head injuries they won’t alter the game forever.As awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of concussions improves, won’t the inevitable result be a severe thinning of talent available to play? It seems that nearly every game I watch there is a discussion of either of the teams facing the diminished availability of lineman on the roster. As to officials officiating to protection there is a fine line which officials may be receiving assistance to walk. During the Raiders / Steelers game there was a mystery personal foul flag thrown and then picked up without explanation.The initial call was announced over the loudspeaker and to the TV audience yet by the time of the next play no yards were marked off, the flag picked up, and yet no official announcement from the ref.Now, this type of play is not reviewable by officials in the NFL booth, yet it was clear by the replay available to the TV audience no foul occurred. Could this be the new reality of the NFL; call everything that looked dangerous real-time and wait for the replay to confirm or deny those allegations?