The only thing that will make this danger go away is:
One day the NFLPA and the NCAA put restrictions on what a helmet "can do" upon impact... just as the PGA puts restrictions on what the golf ball can do. In the case of the NFLPA, it'd be the players protecting themselves, you'd think they'd want to protect "one of their own" from kill shots!
Kill shots, kill shots and more kill shots. It's what makes the highlight reels and SportsCenter and it's filtering down to even the high schools now. Watch any sideline of a player who makes a kill shot on an opponent -- they're Jumping Jack Flashes and I'm sure their coaches are ready to pound backs in congratulations.
Only when a player knows he could seriously hurt himself if he tries for a helmet-to-helmet kill shot will this change. If he knew his headgear wouldn't survive the collision, he'd instantly learn the value of shoulder tackling.
Some time down the road, we'll consider what kind of carnage today's
shoulder pads can create.
