GREEN BAY, Wis. There are some good reasons why many members of the Green Bay Packers dont like the Guardian Caps, the protective devices being worn over the helmets of the players who line up near the ball.And then theres Kenny Clarks reason.Just looking at them just irritates me, honestly, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle said at training camp this week. I dont even like looking at them. Its like a big, ol mushroom.The looks, of course, are irrelevant. According Marc Reininger Jersey to the NFL, the Guardian Cap results in at least a 10 percent reduction in the severity of impact if one player is wearing it, and at least a 20 percent reduction in impact if two players are wearing them.According to a league pre s release trumpeting the development, the NFL and NFLPA, through their biomechanical engineering experts, worked collaboratively with the Guardian Cap manufacturer to test and evolve the design of a cap that withstands impacts NFL players experience on the field. That information derives from the vast amount of data collected during games. That data was used in laboratory simulations in the development of the protective shell.By rule, offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers have to wear the Guardian Cap, like it or not. At coach Matt LaFleurs request, the Packers started training camp with all 90 players wearing the cap. By the end of Day 2, every running back, receiver and defensive back had to sed them aside. LaFleur consulted with his colleagues around the NFL as well as in college, where usage of the Guardian Cap is much more widespread, before formulating his policy. He understands the science; he also understands the law of unintended consequences.It truly is about player safety and youre talking about your brain. That is pretty important, LaFleur said. Id be all in favor of whatever helps our guys live a long, healthy life. The thing I somewhat worry about is when you do have that cushion on your helmet, and were making a huge Nick Kwiatkoski Jersey emphasis with our coaches about this, I don’t want the guys to feel the confidence that they can now use their head. So, thats one of the things thats not so great about it is you can get a false confidence and now your technique suffers, and I definitely don’t want to see us go that way.LaFleur had another i sue, too. A player needs training camp to get used to the physicality and stre s on the body. LaFleur wasnt talking about head injuries in this case, but he used the phrase callous your guys. A head-first collision with AJ Dillon isnt a typical part of Clarks ordinary life.What happens when they take them off and now that they havent had that feeling of what it really feels like and now its live action? LaFleur wondered.Scroll to ContinueNew York Jets coach Robert Saleh, a close friend of LaFleur, had the same concern.I do think because of the soft blow, its kind of lending the players to use their heads a little bit more, Saleh told reporters in New York this week. I do think the first time when they take it off anybody who has played football knows the first time Ben Gedeon Jersey you take your helmet off or you hit with the helmet or you have a collision, theres a shock. I do think that if youre waiting until the first game for that shock to happen. I dont know, time will tell. Its just interesting with those Guardian Caps and what exactly are we trying to accomplish.Dr. Allen Sills, the leagues Chief Medical Officer, responded in a .The brain does not acclimate to head impacts, Sills said. The Guardian Cap helps mitigate those forces at a time of the season when we see the greatest Jarrett Lee Jersey concentration of them.For the linemen, tight ends and linebackers, they must wear the Guardian Cap at practice through the week of the second preseason game. No player interviewed for this story offered a substantive opinion, perhaps to not ruffle feathers.Football is football, outside linebacker Rashan Gary said. Take them off, still got to hit. Put them on, still got to hit.Last year, according to league data, there were a total of 187 concu sions between training camp, preseason games, in-season practices and regular-season games. About 16 percent of those concu sions came on the training camp practice field.I think the intent is totally legit, LaFleur said. But I dont understand, if theyre going to wear them in practice, why arent we wearing them in the game?The Guardian Cap is the latest in the NFLs effort to reduce head injuries. Due to better helmets and rules changes aimed at eliminating helmet-to-helmet contact, the league said there has been a 25 percent reduction in the number of concu sions the past four season compared to the previous three. From the start of training camp to the end of the regular season in 2017, there were 281 concu sions. Last year, there were 187.