Linebacker

In the offseason of 2015 the San Francisco 49ers were coming off another impressive season and another playoff berth. In March of 2015 a promising 24-year-old Chris Borland linebacker Chris Borland retired, saying that he “wanted to take care of his mind and body.” After that, 3 more young players would also retire, this left the 49ers with serious holes in their football team, and even more questions as to why this was happening. It’s no secret that the game of football takes a serious toll on…

Fred McNeill’s story is a familiar one. He played football for 22 years, 12 in the NFL as a linebacker. Years after he retired, CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, symptoms started including: depression, memory loss and eventually, deterioration in motor skills and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He died at 63. Yet McNeill’s case is different than the many other NFL players linked to CTE. Up until McNeill, every player associated with CTE had the disorder diagnosed only after their…

Football Have you ever had a best friend, where did you guys meet? How did it happen? I love to play football. My old man was an all star linebacker for the state of Utah, and that's one ambition I want to accomplish for Idaho. I want to play college ball as a starter my freshman year. Football has molded me into the person I am today, because of it has helped me find goals, friends, and be devoted to something. First, when I was in third grade I was really apprehensive and I really didn't…

The Who Dat Nation is loyal. Almost to a fault. Most Saints fans are still nostalgic about the Saints 2009 season and the 2010 Super Bowl Championship. Fast forward seven years and the Saints' fortunes under Sean Payton are less than stellar. In the last three seasons, Sean Payton's winning record as the New Orleans Saints Head Coach is poor. He has guided the Saints to only 19 wins out of 45 games, a 42% winning percentage. Failing grades and failed coaching. The failures of the…

Angel Quesada Quesada 1 Mrs. Ihle English IV April 7, 2016 Period 6 Coach Quesada The feeling of playing in a football game is hard to explain without experiencing it personally. The rush of adrenaline you get is overwhelming. This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you deal with the surge of adrenaline you get. I wonder what it feels like for a coach going into a football game. Are they excited, nervous, confident, worried? I’ve wondered how the game of football is…

Football is something that is learned at a young age. It starts out as flag and then progressively turns to contact. When we start the contact portion of it, we are taught how to tackle correctly, how to do it without hurting ourselves or the other player. But what happens when we do not tackle correctly? We can get broken bones, bruises, or concussions. What Happens when you receive a lot of concussions? You can develope a CTE over time. What exactly is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)?…

but every year there are always players suffering in each sport with a severe head injury. Last football season, Green Bay Packers star tight end, Jermichael Finley, caught a pass over the middle and had a devastating head on collision with the linebacker of the Cincinnati Bengals. One week later, Finley said that all he could see after the injury were bodies, no heads or legs, and his body was on fire. He also received a phone call from his five-year-old son saying, “Daddy, I don’t want you…

Football in Autumn When I got into third grade I wanted to start playing tackle football, the best type. At first I didn’t know a whole lot about football, but I wanted to learn. I also thought that it would be a fun sport to play. Eventually, I realized that football was going to be a big part of my life. The first number that I got assigned was #34, one of the first games I played I caught in interception. During my third grade season I got around four sacks and eight tackles. The position I…

Teenage boys are the hardest audience to convince that reading fiction books is worthwhile. While girls will be happy with almost any topic, boys are much harder to please. Hit Count by Chris Lynch is the perfect novel to scratch that itch. It should be on the shelf of every high school library. This book revolves around a family with two teenage boys, a mother, and father. Both sons are obsessed with football. The older son Lloyd Brodie, although tough, never advances beyond the Jayvee level…

He joined the Marines at just 17 years young. In his childhood, he was an all-state football player for Eastside High School. His position was a linebacker. When he was in the Marines, he fought in the Korean War. He was still only 17 years young. The first Purple Heart and Silver Star were awarded after he blew his way into enemy territory with Bangalore Torpedoes allowing his squad to advance. My…