Why don't running backs get more concussions?
They get hit in the head virtually every time they make a straight ahead run, yet seems to get less concuissions than players in other positions.
Just on the severity of the impact I think. Running flat out in to linemen is better than Earl Thomas/Ed Reed/Kam Chancellor turning themselves in to human missiles aimed ( more so in past) at your head. I guess we're still fairly early on in our understanding of it though. American Football has done well to take a bit of a lead on it but years of testing to come yet, they must all be damaging their brains really.
Played some running back in UK pre-season for local team, like February/March, so have some experience. Got switched to WR because our team was stacked at RB, and ended up only really playing special teams because the other rookies were better than me. Great fun though, 10/10 would recommend.
Some of it is speed when they make contact - Obviously a WR running over the middle of the field and getting nailed by the free safety who is also running at full speed is a much harder impact. When a collision happens between the running back and a linebacker or the safety who has snuck up into the box, the tackler doesn't start a million miles off the line of scrimmage either. Plus, the defender has to actually read the run play first before they start moving towards the running back, otherwise they're going to screw up in pass protection. Neither player gets close to full speed when a tackle occurs around the line of scrimmage.
On top of that, changing direction at the line of scrimmage is often going to slow a running back down - RBs are coached to avoid sharp direction changes and keep speed up, but you're usually going to have to turn at some point to avoid running into the back of your O-Line, and at least slow down a little bit to do so. There's sometimes traffic for the opposing player to get through to make the tackle as well, such as a TE or FB.
All of that means that neither player is close to full speed on a standard run play that goes for a gain of like 2-6 yards because there just isn't the time to accelerate fully, so the forces in the collision just aren't as big. Don't get me wrong, you still get hit pretty hard running inside, but it's more accumulation of hits over a game for running backs, rather than a particularly big hit.
Worth nothing that F=MV^2 - if you double the closing speed between two players, you quadruple the forces in the collision. So speed of collision is a huge factor
In addition, as a RB, you're constantly looking where the tacklers are coming from, because you carry the football away from tacklers to minimise the risk of fumbling (Then you put your other arm on the ball as you go into contact). For that reason, you're usually aware of where the hit is coming from, which helps because you can get your head out of the way and prepare for contact by getting yourself in a stronger position. When you're turning your head to catch a ball as a WR, you take your eyes off the defender(s), and you're not in any kind of body position to take a hit. Sometimes, you're either not expecting a hit, or have no idea where you're going to get hit from. From experience, getting blocked as you run down field on kickoffs is the absolute worst for that.
As a RB, you have to get your pad level low (low man wins), and therefore, you run quite low to the ground. As a WR, you run your route, then you might have to reach up to make a catch. If you get hit as you're making a catch, you're off balance, you're definitely hitting the floor, and from a much greater height. You see a lot of WRs getting concussions not from the tackle itself, but from where their helmet hits the ground. You don't see that with run plays all that often.
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