NFL Players trying out ‘Guardian Caps’ in practice

1
Daily News, Bowling Green, Kentucky Sports Friday, August 27, 2021 5B NOMINATE YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BUSINESSES! 2 0 2 1 NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN AUGUST 17- 31 This is your chance to recognize local businesses and show your appreciation for all they provide to you and our community. Show them some love by visiting bgdailynews.com and nominating your favorites! The top 5 in each category will move on to the voting round September 16-30, and the Best in each category will be announced in our annual Best of Bowling Green print issue on November 7. Join the fun, nominate your favorites every day August 17-31! Grade 1 victory in the Man o’ War in May at Belmont Park. In his most recent start, he was the beaten favorite, finishing fourth in the Bowling Green. Sisterson said that Channel Cat, who he has trained since last year, will breeze on Sunday and will ship back to Kentucky on Monday or Tuesday. As usual, Sisterson said Calumet Farm is aiming to run for the big purses offered at Kentucky Downs. “We’ll kind of try to be aggressive in the entry box. If we get in, that’s a different question,” he said. “I’m sure multiple guys are doing the same thing. We’ve still got a lot of 2-year- olds to run down there, horses with condi- tions. We’ll try a couple of stakes races. We will try and support the meet as much as possible.” Calumet Farm is owned by Brad Kelley, the self-made billionaire from Bowling Green and Franklin who owned Kentucky Downs in partnership or outright from 1997 until 2007. Calumet’s American Derby winner Tango Tango Tango is also headed to a Kentucky Downs stakes, the Grade 2, $600,000 Franklin-Simpson – one of five graded stakes on the track’s blockbuster Sept. 11 card. In his most recent start, Tango Tango Tango was second in the G1 Bruce D. (for- merly the Secretariat) at a mile at Arlington Park. “I don’t think he will get the mile and 5/16ths for the Dueling Grounds Derby, so we’re going to cut him back in trip,” Sisterson said. “Sometimes that 6½ might lean more towards a mile with the uphill incline finish. We’ll give him a shot in the Franklin-Simpson.” From Page 1B CUP By the Daily News Barren County senior forward Aden Nyekan scored five goals and tallied three assists to lead the host Trojans to a 10-1 boys’ soccer win over Butler County on Wednesday. Micah Wilson added two goals and two assists, Landan Hester had two goals and an assist, Alan Edberg chipped in with a goal and Nicholas Quenzer finished with one assist in the win. Goalkeeper Gavin McCord totaled five saves for Barren County (3-3), which next faces Trigg County and Lyon County on Saturday in the Russellville Panther Classic. Butler County (0-1) was slated to visit Russellville on Thursday. Nyekan tallies 5 goals, 3 assists in win NFL Players trying out ‘Guardian Caps’ in practice By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For Carolina Panthers rookie offen- sive lineman Brady Christensen any chance to protect his brain is a no-brainer – even if he thinks he may look a little goofy doing so. That’s why Christensen is among a growing number of NFL play- ers taking advantage of the new “Guardian Caps,” a soft-shell cover that retrofits to the top of the hel- met to reduce impact and limit head injuries. Sure, it’s a little strange at first, like wearing a small pillow on top of your head. But NFL players seem to be tak- ing to it at practice. “Anything to protect my brain a lit- tle bit more, I’m all in,” Christensen said. “I want to remember my kids’ names when I’m 50.” The Jacksonville Jaguars first experimented with the Guardian Caps in practice last year after the product received temporary approv- al from the NFL and the NFL Players Association. This year, 23 teams purchased the caps before the sea- son for players to try out and five are actively using them: the Panthers, Bills, Dolphins, Bears and Rams. More than 100 players, mostly line- men, are using the caps, according to Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications for public affairs and policy. “We are always on the lookout for ways to make the game safer for our players,” Miller said. “And will explore anything that will improve the health and safety of our athletes. ... This will dampen the force of some of those hits that they take to the helmet.” It’s not hard to notice them. Buffalo Bills center Mitch Morse joked that when he first tried on the cap he felt like a character in a Halo video game. “You got people giving you hell, your family being like ‘what the hell is this?’ ” Morse said with a laugh. Morse said at first his neck was a little sore from wearing the caps, but he’s grown to like the added pro- tection. “It’s something that I’m very comfortable with and then we tried it on and, of course, we gave each other hell for how it looks,” Morse said. “But then after one practice, I looked at (Bills defensive lineman) Justin Zimmer, I’m like ‘man, I know we were getting after it, and I didn’t feel anything.’ ” Through extensive testing at the Biocore laboratories of Charlottesville, Va., the NFL believes the caps reduce the sever- ity of impact blows to the head by about 10%. Currently, more than 200 colleges are using them, including all top five ranked teams in the country. More than 1,500 high schools and 500 youth programs also use the caps to protect their players and there are currently more than 100,000 Guardian Caps in the market today. The caps used by NFL play- ers weigh about 11 ounces, about 4 ounces heavier than those used by college and high school players simply because professional athletes are generally bigger. Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver said he tried out the caps at the University of Houston, and jumped at the chance to wear the device again at the NFL level. “You really don’t feel it,” Oliver said. “The only thing that’s weird is when you watch film they tend to slide up and it looks crazy on film. Other than that they aren’t bad.” Guardian Innovations, the mak- ers of the caps, won the inaugural NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge in 2017, a competition funded by the NFL to encourage innovations in equipment. This led to continued discussions and testing with NFL and NFL Players Association engi- neering consultants. The results of the product were reviewed by NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills and by the NFLPA’s medical direc- tor Dr. Thom Mayer and found to be beneficial in the protection of impact to the head. Erin Hanson, the owner and founder of Guardian Innovations, said she and husband Lee started the company because they knew they had a solution that could better pro- tect players and felt an obligation and responsibility to help. “The mission of our company is to innovate equipment to better serve athletes,” Hanson said. Miller said the NFL is still in “information collection mode,” talking to players and learning from them about what they like and dis- like about the product. The caps are only allowed in prac- tice and cannot be worn in games. But Miller wouldn’t rule out players wearing them on game day in the future. “We will go back after this pre- season, put our heads together on the user feedback and think through whether we would want to take another step in terms of permitting it on the field during games,” Miller said. “We haven’t made that deci- sion, and we won’t make it for this year. But it’s another data point that will we talk through. Look, there is no product device data point that improves health and safety for the players that we would dismiss.” For now, the hope of those at Guardian Innovations is that more NFL players will take advantage of the product and try it out. “Anytime you are doing some- thing different it just takes some time to get more traction,” said Tony Plagman, a national sales manager for Guardian Innovations. “But we are seeing some feedback where guys are saying, ‘I like it. I think it’s helping.’ “So hopefully word will spread between players that it doesn’t really matter what you look like if it’s something that can help you throughout the course of your career.” NELL REDMOND/AP Carolina Panthers tackle Taylor Moton wears a Guardian Cap over his helmet to provide an extra layer of protection during practice Aug. 10 in Spartanburg, S.C. “Anything to protect my brain a little bit more, I’m all in. I want to remember my kids’ names when I’m 50.” Brady Christensen Carolina Panthers offensive lineman

Transcript of NFL Players trying out ‘Guardian Caps’ in practice

Page 1: NFL Players trying out ‘Guardian Caps’ in practice

Daily News, Bowling Green, Kentucky Sports Friday, August 27, 2021 5B

NOMINATEYOUR FAVORITE

LOCAL BUSINESSES!LOCAL BUSINESSES!LOCAL BUSINESSES!

2021

BOWLING GREEN

Presented by

2020

NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN

AUGUST 17- 31This is your chance to recognize local businesses and

show your appreciation for all they provide to you and our community. Show them some love by visiting

bgdailynews.com and nominating your favorites!

The top 5 in each category will move on to the voting round September 16-30, and the Best in each

category will be announced in our annual Best of Bowling Green print issue on November 7.

Join the fun, nominate your favorites every day August 17-31!

Grade 1 victory in the Man o’ War in May at Belmont Park. In his most recent start, he was the beaten favorite, finishing fourth in the Bowling Green.

Sisterson said that Channel Cat, who he has trained since last year, will breeze on Sunday and will ship back to Kentucky on Monday or Tuesday.

As usual, Sisterson said Calumet Farm is aiming to run for the big purses offered at Kentucky Downs.

“We’ll kind of try to be aggressive in the entry box. If we get in, that’s a different question,” he said.

“I’m sure multiple guys are doing the same thing. We’ve still got a lot of 2-year-olds to run down there, horses with condi-tions. We’ll try a couple of stakes races. We will try and support the meet as much as

possible.”Calumet Farm is owned by Brad Kelley,

the self-made billionaire from Bowling Green and Franklin who owned Kentucky Downs in partnership or outright from 1997 until 2007.

Calumet’s American Derby winner Tango Tango Tango is also headed to a Kentucky Downs stakes, the Grade 2, $600,000 Franklin-Simpson – one of five graded stakes on the track’s blockbuster Sept. 11 card. In his most recent start, Tango Tango Tango was second in the G1 Bruce D. (for-merly the Secretariat) at a mile at Arlington Park.

“I don’t think he will get the mile and 5/16ths for the Dueling Grounds Derby, so we’re going to cut him back in trip,” Sisterson said. “Sometimes that 6½ might lean more towards a mile with the uphill incline finish. We’ll give him a shot in the Franklin-Simpson.”

From Page 1B

CUP

By the Daily News

Barren County senior forward Aden Nyekan scored five goals and tallied three assists to lead the host Trojans to a 10-1 boys’ soccer win over Butler County on Wednesday.

Micah Wilson added two goals and two assists, Landan Hester had two goals and an

assist, Alan Edberg chipped in with a goal and Nicholas Quenzer finished with one assist in the win.

Goalkeeper Gavin McCord totaled five saves for Barren County (3-3), which next faces Trigg County and Lyon County on Saturday in the Russellville Panther Classic.

Butler County (0-1) was slated to visit Russellville on Thursday.

Nyekan tallies 5 goals, 3 assists in win

NFL

Players trying out ‘Guardian Caps’ in practiceBy STEVE REED

AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For Carolina Panthers rookie offen-sive lineman Brady Christensen any chance to protect his brain is a no-brainer – even if he thinks he may look a little goofy doing so.

That’s why Christensen is among a growing number of NFL play-ers taking advantage of the new “Guardian Caps,” a soft-shell cover that retrofits to the top of the hel-met to reduce impact and limit head injuries.

Sure, it’s a little strange at first, like wearing a small pillow on top of your head.

But NFL players seem to be tak-ing to it at practice.

“Anything to protect my brain a lit-tle bit more, I’m all in,” Christensen said. “I want to remember my kids’ names when I’m 50.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars first experimented with the Guardian Caps in practice last year after the product received temporary approv-al from the NFL and the NFL Players Association. This year, 23 teams purchased the caps before the sea-son for players to try out and five are actively using them: the Panthers, Bills, Dolphins, Bears and Rams. More than 100 players, mostly line-men, are using the caps, according to Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications for public affairs and policy.

“We are always on the lookout for ways to make the game safer for our players,” Miller said. “And will explore anything that will improve the health and safety of our athletes. ... This will dampen the force of some of those hits that they take to the helmet.”

It’s not hard to notice them.Buffalo Bills center Mitch Morse

joked that when he first tried on the cap he felt like a character in a Halo video game.

“You got people giving you hell, your family being like ‘what the hell is this?’ ” Morse said with a laugh.

Morse said at first his neck was a little sore from wearing the caps, but he’s grown to like the added pro-tection.

“It’s something that I’m very comfortable with and then we tried

it on and, of course, we gave each other hell for how it looks,” Morse said. “But then after one practice, I looked at (Bills defensive lineman) Justin Zimmer, I’m like ‘man, I know we were getting after it, and I didn’t feel anything.’ ”

Through extensive testing at the Biocore laboratories of Charlottesville, Va., the NFL believes the caps reduce the sever-ity of impact blows to the head by about 10%.

Currently, more than 200 colleges are using them, including all top five ranked teams in the country. More than 1,500 high schools and 500 youth programs also use the caps to protect their players and there are currently more than 100,000

Guardian Caps in the market today.The caps used by NFL play-

ers weigh about 11 ounces, about 4 ounces heavier than those used by college and high school players simply because professional athletes are generally bigger. Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver said he tried out the caps at the University of Houston, and jumped at the chance to wear the device again at the NFL level.

“You really don’t feel it,” Oliver said. “The only thing that’s weird is when you watch film they tend to slide up and it looks crazy on film. Other than that they aren’t bad.”

Guardian Innovations, the mak-ers of the caps, won the inaugural NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge in 2017, a competition funded by

the NFL to encourage innovations in equipment. This led to continued discussions and testing with NFL and NFL Players Association engi-neering consultants. The results of the product were reviewed by NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills and by the NFLPA’s medical direc-tor Dr. Thom Mayer and found to be beneficial in the protection of impact to the head.

Erin Hanson, the owner and founder of Guardian Innovations, said she and husband Lee started the company because they knew they had a solution that could better pro-tect players and felt an obligation and responsibility to help.

“The mission of our company is to innovate equipment to better serve athletes,” Hanson said.

Miller said the NFL is still in “information collection mode,” talking to players and learning from them about what they like and dis-like about the product.

The caps are only allowed in prac-tice and cannot be worn in games. But Miller wouldn’t rule out players wearing them on game day in the future.

“We will go back after this pre-season, put our heads together on the user feedback and think through whether we would want to take another step in terms of permitting it on the field during games,” Miller said. “We haven’t made that deci-sion, and we won’t make it for this year. But it’s another data point that will we talk through. Look, there is no product device data point that improves health and safety for the players that we would dismiss.”

For now, the hope of those at Guardian Innovations is that more NFL players will take advantage of the product and try it out.

“Anytime you are doing some-thing different it just takes some time to get more traction,” said Tony Plagman, a national sales manager for Guardian Innovations. “But we are seeing some feedback where guys are saying, ‘I like it. I think it’s helping.’

“So hopefully word will spread between players that it doesn’t really matter what you look like if it’s something that can help you throughout the course of your career.”

NELL REDMOND/APCarolina Panthers tackle Taylor Moton wears a Guardian Cap over his helmet to provide an extra layer of protection during practice Aug. 10 in Spartanburg, S.C.

“Anything to protect my brain a little bit more, I’m all in. I want to remember my

kids’ names when I’m 50.”

Brady ChristensenCarolina Panthers offensive lineman