[kiryandil]

I played the game only in high school, but even there I remember coming home EVERY night after a game or full-pads practice with a headache.

Your brain was trying to tell you something. I think the biggest point that people are missing (from reading the comments, and Rush's listener) is the size and speed of the players. I'm big and fairly fast, but these guys are HUGH and SPEEDIES. The human frame was not meant to take the weight and absorb the punishment.

[Truthsearcher]

What they need to do is remove all the pads.

All those safety and protection is actually making players run into each other with higher velocity without worrying about injury.

Remove all that protection and tackling would not be nearly as vicious and dangerous.