How ’bout Soft Shell Helmets?

Reading this post about Alzheimer’s in pro football players, the thought occurred that maybe current football helmets should have a soft outer shell, as opposed to the current hard shell designs. A soft outer shell would have a dampening effect on shots to the head; as opposed to current hard shell designs which basically transfer energy directly to the noggin’. Going a step further, I decided to google it, because I can’t be the only one who’s had that thought.

Here’s one design. Here’s another.

They’re both a couple of different takes on the soft shell thought. One is supposed to be available this year, the other not until next year. I think soft shells would be most effective when all players are using them, since collisions between soft shell helmets should have twice the effect. Considering all of the focus on head injuries in recent years, it’ll be interesting to see if these kinds of helmets catch on.

As a final stray thought, I wonder if anyone is working on a combined shoulder-pad helmet design. The idea being that energy from a head collision is transferred to the shoulder pads. It would have the added benefit of taking some stress off of the neck during impact as well.