Question for all the football folks

I'm trying to remember where I saw it, but somewhere I read an article speculating that the increased number of concussions was actually the result of the better helmets that players have now.  The logic was basically that when the player knows he has a weapon strapped to his head that is designed to protect him, he's going to charge full speed into an impact thinking the helmet will protect him while helping to make the play.  If he were wearing the leather helmets from many decades ago, he wouldn't be as likely to tackle as hard head-first.

When I was playing high school football 40 years ago (gulp!), we wore Riddell suspension helmets that were state-of-the-art for the day.  My senior year we also started getting some helmets with an air padding system that could be fit to a player's head precisely using an air pump.  Although the technology of the padding systems has advanced, I'm still struck by how little helmets have really changed over the years. 

One thing I have noticed these days is how frequently players have their helmets knocked off.  It can't be doing much to protect your head if it's rolling along on the ground.  Our coaches spent a lot of time fitting our helmets and they were very snug.  The explanation was that they were designed to align a certain way with the head and spine and didn't offer the proper protection if they were knocked askew.  (That also provided the coaches with a rationale for keeping our hair short - if it was too long the helmet wouldn't fit properly.)

That being said, the tackling technique we were taught in the late 60's used the helmet as a primary weapon.  You were taught to lead with your face/forehead, putting it right between the numbers on the front of the other guy's jersey.  That's the main reason I starting wearing a cage facemask my sophomore year - during my freshman year I had broken my nose making a "form tackle", leading with my face.   We got chewed out it we led with our shoulders.  Although we were cautioned not to hit with the top of our heads, it didn't take much for that to happen.

During my senior year I started getting headaches and numbness in my arms after practice and games.  My parents finally took to the ER one night and they discovered problems with my neck that eventually led to fusing my C6 & C7 vertabrae.  Although I was devastated at the time that my football career was over, looking back I feel lucky that I didn't end up parapalegic or worse.

Mark

Recently they were talking about this on one of the local talk radio shows and one of the hosts (ex player) mentioned that one of the biggest hurdles for some of the better new helmets is the fact that other companies have exclusive licensing agreements with the NFL.  Therefore, they are procluded/prevented from providing their products to the players even if the player wants it.  It was Mark Schlereth that was saying this if that holds any weight.  ESPN Commentator.