THOUGHTS FROM A SEPTUAGENARIAN. What has really changed from the time I began participating on the gridiron as a player and a coach, starting in the 1960s up to the 1990s, is the equipment in two specific areas. The first is the helmet. Back when I played and coached, and I can assure you it was NOT as far back as the leather helmet era, the helmet fit because it had to be borderline uncomfortable. Remember seeing Peyton Manning when he came to the sideline and he took his helmet off to reveal a big red streak across his forehead. That was due to the fact that his helmet was snug on his head. Borderline uncomfortable. You had to pull out from the sides under the ears and painfully jiggle it out but it NEVER fell off during a game. Today, you see players removing their helmet by taking it off by lifting it up by the face mask but, even worse, coming off at least once a game upon contact. There is no way a helmet that can be dislodges and removed that easily fits. It seems like players are looking for comfort as opposed to protection and that's a huge error in judgement. You have to protect your coconut from brain injury and I believe that fact has been forgotten by today's players. The second is the football pants especially in college. The fact that players are allowed to wear pants that are just glorified shorts is unconscionable. The excuse that's being used is that the padding has not changed but I strongly disagree and I use the knee pads as the primary example. In my day, the knee pad was exactly that. It covered the knee. Today, it's a strip of plastic that doesn't even come close to covering the knee cap but is being considered a knee pad. I cannot believe players today would even consider not having a part of their legs, especially the part of the body that directly effects their football career, as completely protected as possible. I know I wouldn't step on the gridiron in a pair of unprotected shorts. No chance of that happening. Book it Dano!