The Mouthpiece Epidemic in the NFL and College Football

Have you noticed how so many NFL and College Football players have their mouthpiece on their face mask but they never actually use it? I certainly have and it has bewildered me the last two seasons of football.
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#nfl #football #collegefootball #nflfootball

[@ilovelamp61]

It hurts my brain when they’re different colors from their team colors as well. We can yell at clouds together. 😂

[@bearcats513]

It’s very surprising to me that the NFL doesn’t force players to wear a mouthguard, biting down on a mouthguard while getting hit tenses up the muscles in your head and reduces the risk of concussion. It’s not just to protect your teeth. When I played, I wore my mouthpiece. If we were conditioning or doing something where I wasn’t getting hit, I wedged it into my facemask so it wouldn’t be flopping around. Always thought that was so distracting lmao

[@BrantErickson]

About 4 years ago (maybe more) I caught a clip of a game, and one of the announcers who was a former QB (Troy Aikman, or Tony Romo maybe?) mentioned about a receiver not having his mouthguard in on a play. He pointed it out and said that this is something the coaching staff needs to sit down and talk with the guy about, because it's a tell to the defense that it a run play because he's not even going to be a target. So the receiver is just chillin' without his mouthguard in, waiting for the running back in the "I" formation or whatever, to run it up the middle and he's on the outside just to pull a defender away from the middle of the field coverage. What's funny is I think the next play or the play after he again took out the mouthguard, so the defense thought he wasn't going to be involved in the play, and I think they faked the run and he caught it on on a 3rd down quick slant route for the first down or something. Then the announcer sort of ate his words, and said "Well, maybe this was all about trickery to get him open.That's football for you!" I've noticed most players don't have their mouth piece in anymore, but I haven't really paid much attention to just how many, I didn't realize it was this big fashion statement thing. I just would see these images of receivers with the ball in their arms without their mouth guard inside of their mouth and I thought it was a part of a ploy to trick the defense into not playing tight coverage on them. I wonder if this is where the trend started? A trick that became so common that not wearing mouth guards in the mouth became the norm and Football as a sport has forgotten the actual reason why the trend even started to begin with?

[@terrypeterman7845]

I agree. This has bothered me for a couple of years now. I wonder how many passes have been missed due to a mouthpiece flopping up causing a distraction. If I were a coach, I would not allow it. Don’t get me started on the whole choreographed celebrations after touchdowns or interceptions.

[@marshawnlynch6244]

Please go on...

[@wafflecone_wombatdrone]

I've noticed this for a while now in the NFL and College, I'm not sure about it being a distraction during a catch but I have seen many players at just about every position completely give away playcalls because they leave their mouthpiece out/in during certain plays. The most noticeable being running backs(especially in college) only putting their mouthpiece in when they are getting the ball.

[@terrypeterman7845]

@@marshawnlynch6244 It’s pro football, not Dancing With The Stars. I grew up in the sixties and other than maybe spiking the ball on occasion, most players just dropped it or handed it to an official after scoring. I think when Mark Gastineau with the Jets started his celebrations after a sack, it started a competition on the celebrations. Just my 2 cents worth. And the mouthpiece things just bugs me, but I am not the one wearing it.

[@ilovelamp61]

These guys will talk about CTE and not wear their mouthpieces to help prevent it. Cool.

[@benjaminmichael2007]

how would wearing something that prevents against dental and jaw injuries have a role in preventing CTE?

[@SirHurricane_]

@@benjaminmichael2007helps cushion the jaw and allows less force to the brain

[@Plutouz]

@@benjaminmichael2007biting it tenses the muscles in your head and helps prevent concussions

[@littlevaquero5516]

iirc it impacted my breathing just a bit too much to like wearing a mouthguard

[@Erichev]

I always thought they were a forced piece of safety equipment. I guess biting your tongue isn't an issue, nor chipped teeth.

[@fazespeed8597]

Dang UNC drip is important but I will say the one on the helmet is pretty silly

[@playboyc2]

Same question I’ve been asking! Even more surprising that there hasn’t been a rule put in place concerning the situation! 🤷🏾‍♂️