The Tennessee Titans have made a clear claim in the ongoing grass-to-turf debate in the NFL. It’s team grass.
The Titans announced on Tuesday that they will be replacing the natural grass at Nissan Stadium with the latest artificial turf innovation. The team cited player safety and a history of injuries at home as a result of playing games on natural grass in a “transitional climate zone”.
The change comes as players and coaches have considered the injury risk of playing surfaces, with many advocating a change to natural grass where artificial turf is already used.
Head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the decision in a Titans release, while noting that the quality of natural grass in Nashville is declining as the season progresses.
“There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our players,” said Vrabel. “We’ve had a lot of problems (with the grass at Nissan Stadium) after a certain part of the season. It’s hard to grow grass. It gets slippery.
“Our turf is not at the level of some of the other turfs. At the beginning of the year, summer, training camp, early season, I see it being very consistent. But as the season progresses and the weather changes, there is a noticeable difference in field performance.
According to the Titans, the team is “replacing the grass with monofilament, Matrix Helix Turf with organic fill to ensure a consistent playing experience year-round.”
Ground crews in Nashville clear snow from the field ahead of a Titans-Texans game in December. (Andrew Nelles/Reuters)
Vrabel added that the team had previously installed the new turf in their practice bubble and that “the response has been very positive”.
The Associated Press reports that the Titans have led the NFL with the most players in each of the past two seasons, largely due to injuries. They set a league record for players playing in a non-strike season with 91 in 2021.
The Carolina Panthers, who play in Charlotte in a similar climate to the Titans, replaced the natural grass in Bank of America Stadium with grass in 2021. willing to share the field with MLS’ Charlotte FC.
Artificial turf in some NFL stadiums is under fire, including the surface at SoFi Stadium, which hosts the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers and is in the Super Bowl rotation. The turf was blamed for playing a role in the ACL tear that Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered during last season’s Super Bowl. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll and safety Ryan Neal criticized the surface in October after a series of injuries during a Seahawks-Chargers game.
New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium was also blamed for a spate of injuries and led to an NFLPA surface review in 2020. That same year, NFLPA President JC Tretter called on all stadiums to switch to natural turf until artificial turf manufacturers provide a proven safer produce alternative. alternative.
Turf technology is constantly evolving and has advanced significantly since the spate of AstroTurf fields around NFL and MLB stadiums following their introduction to Houston in 1966. Biomechanical engineer and NFL consultant Richard Kent told Yahoo Sports in September that he believes grass will get better someday outperform natural grass in terms of player safety.
“There’s no reason to think we can’t build artificial turf that is safer and performs better than natural grass,” said Kent. “With the right team and the necessary resources, it is certainly possible to do it.”
The Titans concluded that the technology is advanced enough to provide a marked improvement over grass for the upcoming season — at least for the team’s Nashville climate.
Why does turf cause more knee injuries?
Why do grass fields cause more injuries? Grass will eventually give way, often causing the cleat to disengage before a damaging load is reached. There is less play on synthetic surfaces, meaning our feet, ankles and knees absorb the force, increasing the risk of injury.
Does turf lead to more knee injuries?
Conclusion: Artificial turf is a major risk factor for specific knee ligament injuries in NCAA football. The injury rate for PCL tears was significantly higher during games played on artificial turf compared to natural grass.
Does turf lead to more ACL injuries?
A systematic review published last year evaluated the risk of ACL injuries in football and soccer athletes playing on artificial and natural grass surfaces. On the same subject : Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Values: Next Steps for the United States. The authors found a higher rate of ACL injuries in football athletes playing on artificial turf compared to natural grass, but no increased risk in football.
Why does turf hurt my knees?
Artificial grass puts more stress on the knees, causing the knee to bend more inwards (valgus load and internal rotation). These are risk factors associated with knee injuries. See the article : Sports Streaming Makes Us All Losers.
Why don t the NFL use real grass?
NFL stadiums across the country have two types of pitches: grass or artificial turf. To see also : Here is AN’s top sports-related news from 2022. Since Astroturf was introduced to the NFL in 1965 due to its lower cost and ease of maintenance over natural grass, players have suffered numerous non-contact injuries to their lower extremities.
Do NFL players prefer grass or turf? STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES prefer grass and believe that playing on synthetic turf increases injuries.
When did the NFL stop using real grass?
Astroturf, a hard, synthetic alternative to grass, became widespread in the NFL in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. When the Houston Astrodome, known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” opened in 1965 as the home of the Oilers, a problem arose: the grass wasn’t growing. So fake grass, ‘Astroturf’ was used instead.
Do any NFL teams still use grass fields?
Slit-film turf is currently used in six stadiums: MetLife Stadium (New York Giants and New York Jets), Ford Field (Detroit Lions), U.S. Bank Stadium (Minnesota Vikings), Caesars Superdome (New Orleans Saints), Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis Colts), and Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati Bengals).
What NFL stadiums have artificial turf?
Slit-film turf is currently used in six stadiums: MetLife Stadium (New York Giants and New York Jets), Ford Field (Detroit Lions), U.S. Bank Stadium (Minnesota Vikings), Caesars Superdome (New Orleans Saints), Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis Colts), and Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati Bengals).
How Many NFL Stadiums Have Artificial Turf? As of 2022, 14 of the 30 NFL fields are not using real grass, meaning half of all teams in the NFL compete and practice on artificial turf. Remember that the Giants and Jets share MetLife Stadium and the Rams and Chargers share SoFi Stadium.
Do any NFL stadiums have real grass?
There are a total of 30 NFL fields across the country, 16 of which are real grass and the remaining 14 are grass. Here is a list of which stadiums have grass or artificial turf.
What NFL stadiums have natural grass?
Real-grass NFL stadiums at 2022 Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium, Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium (among others) use this type of natural field. In cold weather conditions, stadiums use a cool grass field called Kentucky Bluegrass.
How many NFL stadiums have natural grass fields?
For reference, 16 NFL stadiums have grass fields, while the remaining 14 stadiums have grass fields.
