Half-strapping (chinstrap)

[moondog]

I've noticed in NFL that McNabb and Vick, possibly some others, only use 1/2 their chinstrap. Casey Powell is notorious for doing it in MLL. But CP does it to accentuate the "bobblehead" effect when his helmet is slashed. Does anyone know why McNabb and Vick do it? Does anyone here do it in lax?

I'd think it would pose a potential safety hazard, but I'm in no position to tell those three how to play/wear the uniform. What do you think?

[sweet_ceX]

I'm pretty sure that Mcnabb does it because when he twists his torso to throw its easier and less restricting.

[isuckatlax]

watch peyton manning before he snaps the ball, what does he do, he yells and shout out what he sees in the defense and is calling and changing the play, to do that you have to move your jaw, when its unsnapped you can move it better, so thats my guess, for better communication.

[Diesel4958]

Who cares, I would keep mine snapped for safety. Not to sound like a stooge but if ones helmet came off some crazy things could happen to your neck/head.

[kryptic]

Then when kids see their favorite players halfstrap their chinstraps, they'll do it too...

[moondog]

Precisely--that's my concern.
--Deion Sanders wore unstrapped gloves when playing baseball and football, and hundreds of kids imitate it, to this day.

--If kids 1/2 strap their helmets, they're asking for MORE than a simple concussion.

I'd say it's certainly out of my control, but it always annoys me when I see them playing like that...

[aussielax]

Yeah heaps of kids half-strap their helmet's down here, There is no penalty if you are caught doing it though, However a ref can stop the game and make the player do it up.

My freinds dad is a ref and he will normaly let it go untill the player that is doing it is going for a shot or is on a fast break or somthing and then he stops the game and tells them to do it they never re-offend.

[isuckatlax]

actualluy, ive noticed that they only leave 1 of 4 straps unstrappedmore than they do half, i usually so that to with my lax helmet

[Palmettolax45]

i realized that and i think its really stupid cuz many bad things can happen ive seen more and more people doing it and i think its stupid

[WHEELAX2]

you have to remember that the snaps are generally located in much different places on football helmets than they are on lax helmets..

[RockStar]

Moondog:

I'm stumped, but will offer one wild guess anyway - Do the football players maybe do it for a similar reason as Powell? (if there's a light brush against the facemask, the helmet will wobble more and draw more calls?).

Don't beat up on me if that sounds dumb. I've never played football, and most of us only wear two-point straps for laX up here.

[LowRida]

I have gotten into the habit of unstrapping one, it is easier to shout out calls.

[Orange]

I was actually gonna make a thread on this soon.

So many NFL players do it. Much more than just Vick and McNabb. I tried it in lax but when I went to hit someone my face came close to hitting my facemask, so I stopped that.

[MaKiMaKi13]

hmmm i guess for communication but i find it hard enough to talk with a mouthgaurd in my mouth Favre does it to sometimes but other then that i wouldnt do it i need my brains

[fenwicklax89]

if its a communication issue loosen the strap. all you need is a few centimeters of movement so it should be that much of an adjustment. in terms of football helmets, they have pads underneath the ears, making them harder to get pulled off. a lax helmet is really loose without the strap so i wouldnt recommend keeing it unstrapped.

[Vikinglax81]

well it is a lot more comfortball and it can maybe incrase ur vision becuase u can put ur helmet up farther, this realating to football. thats how i felt with my helmet anyway. this might sound dumb but maybe they do it for style. i think some people look cooler when they do it

[pantherLax]

Yea i noticed it too, just yesterday. I was watching my Giants and saw that Shockey had only 1 strap on and thought he just forgot or was rushing into something, but he never strapped it...On one play, one of the Eagles held Shockey's facemask and threw the helmet like 20 yards, but no penalty was called :(

[WSWDpole33]

i do it in hockey\lacrosse just 4 warmups....ive had 4 concussions, time to b serious now

[xSURFERx]

ill do it in warm ups, but not in game or anything...any hit makes it wooble arpund and fall in fornt of my face blocking my vision....but dureing my pregame catches and stuff its half straped

[smooth87]

During practices and warm-ups I only buckle the top two straps. There's not really that saftey concern to me during those times.

[wolves_lax 11]

i leave my bottom ones undone during practice and warm ups ( lil more comfy ) but i always do them both up for games. as some ppl have said who knows wat could happen to ur neck/head

[TallLax]

I put both straps on for everything except warming up. I don't buckle them at all then.

[H-townlaxer]

i do it all the time ask anyone that plays with me, actully that the only way i play. It helps me talk and yell plays and such.

[Mrmccoolsatool]

in lacrosse i just have a nabit of only strapping 1 of the bottom ones and dont notice till hte ref or someone points it out. In football i dont strap my bottom 2 i just hook it around the cage becasue the pull form teh upper two snaps is tight enough for me. and im a reciever and defensive end and on my team i call the pass audibles and im defensive captain and call the plays and its harder for me to talk when its really tight. wiht only 2 i can slip it off my chin then put it back on. i like it tight thats why i dont loosen it.

[OldGoalie]

I've often wondered about this too. With Donovan, I always thought that it was just that he leaves it unsnapped to call plays in the huddle, but forgets to re-snap it, or re-snaps it loosely. Here's a blurb from the Chicago Tribune website, in a section covering Q&A with an NFL referee, Jerry Markbreit:

"Jerry, Donovan McNabb played the entire game against Green Bay with both lower chinstraps unattached. Isn't the official supposed to ensure that safety rules and uniform requirements are adhered to? -- Gary Rubenstein, Chicago

The NFL rule dictates that the chinstrap must be fastened and the facemask attached to the helmet. There is no penalty for a chinstrap not properly fastened if this rule is not followed. I am sure the referee would tell the quarterback to fasten his chinstrap whenever he saw it unattached. This is a safety issue, and if a player chooses to do otherwise, he could be the ultimate loser. I watched the game in question and feel certain that McNabb had his chinstrap fastened at the snap, but then released it quickly, making it appear that he had never fastened it."

Apparently, the NFL rule book specifies only a "Helmet with chinstrap fastened..."

Nothing about 4-points, or how many points need be fastened.

[faceitoff]

I unstrap because I think I look sweeter.

[lVlike]

I play football and my position is safety, and I have to make calls to the strength side or watch for certian plays tell some people were to go etc. I unstrap 1 strap of my chinstrap for easier communication while still offering protection and my head doesn't bobble at all because my helmet fits me prefectly and I made the straps that are on tighter so it sort of makes up for the unstrapped ones. I also wear gloves i dont velcro them because it is more relaxed of my hand and also my hand usually get sweaty when they are velcroed (or however you spell it ) so it helps with the ventilation.

[nemesis562]

i always half strap , i play goalie and i just think its more comfortable. refs dont notice it usually so i dont worry about it. i know its not safe but i do it anyway.

[PilotShinjiIkar]

Well I sometimes keep my helmet unstrapped during practice because when I'm trying to put it on really fast the chinstrap gets in the way of my face. I have a big head and the CPX doesnt have alot of room so the chinstrap always gets caught on my mouth but after I fix it I dont have enough time to strap it back on. Or sometimes it becomes unstrapped and I get lazy. I have played a couple quarters during games with the bottom two straps unstrapped because I'll push it in but then it'll pop back out and I wont notice. Sometimes the ref will tell me when the ball is dead to buckle up my straps.

[Laxin2266]

i only strap 2 when I do warm ups, but its annoying b/c my CPX is a little on the loose side.

[RockfordAttack9]

I always have all of my Chinstraps strapped in.

[Talent223]

I've noticed that too in the nfl and i always thought it just came undone during the play.

[willy89]

i usually play with only one strap undone, i play defense though so it dosn't really matter that much

[laxattack8888]

I think this is really stupid. Powell's a pro, and he has handled that kind of stuff for years, and if he wants to unstrap his helmet, then he can because he has the skills to back it up. I some of us go and unstrap the helmet, get floored, and have your face get slashed by the facemask and the helmet doesn't even protect you from the concussion you have just sustained, then you are out for a while. Powell, on the other hand, just got the ref to put the guy in the box for a 1 min. unreleasable slash, and is just fine.

[vroom125]

I have the chinstrap snapped in 3 places during practices and warm ups, but all 4 during actual games.

[ataris942]

it is illigal(sp) in high school football to not have all 4 straps snaped the first time a ref notices it is is a warning the second time it is a 15 yard penalty and i know for Riddlle it vodies their waranty if the helmaet is not worn poperly ex all 4 straps snaped. in lax i have no idea i would think it would voide the warrenty of maker.

[Plummer]

i strap them all up, and fairly tight because if i don't two things happen, when i run or move my head my helmet wobbles and feels loose, and also if i unstrap one side my helmet slants in a diagonal angle, and that's harder for me to see when there is a bar in front of my eyes. i do strap very tightly and can talk fine, but QB football helmets are very different then lacrosse helmets, they stay under the chin preventing the jaw from moving down.

[chrisbchicken13]

in my hockey helmet i have it so that one side is tighter then the other so durring practice i use the loosser one, and durring games i do both so that the chinstrao sits tight on my face, but durring lacrosse i always used boh straps.

[roycegracie47]

When the helmey comes on, it's always fully strapped. I've had two concussions :imparied: (one from wrestling, one from lax) and I'd rather not risk another or something worse because my helmet wasn't properly secured.

[sammyduelist]

i speak fine withought half strapping, personally, i fele better knowing its fully strapped, plus, theres the mouth guard that would casuse trouble, not the chin strap

[Chowder]

Isn't it illegal to half strap in lax?

[RottingMind13]

i dont like the wobble of my helmet if even 1 is unstrapped (yes it is fit properly) it just isnt comfortable. With only 2 straps done up the helmet slides way too much for my liking. 4 straps or nothin on my head

[EndlesFimbulvet]

^ Thats the thing; were not sure yet.
At any rate, I always have the 4 strapped, except if im taking a break (not playing), when i'll unbuckle the bottom two.

Mouthguards, however...I literally never wear. It definatly is harder to speak with, and thats important to goalies. I just hang a mouthguard from me facemask to keep the refs happy.

[threat]

Isn't it illegal to half strap in lax?

It´s clear, by what the rules state on the subject!

Quote:
"Helmet, Face Mask and Mouthpiece
SECTION 20. All players shall wear a protective helmet. Both the chin pad
and the chin strap shall be firmly attached to the mask as designed. If any
snaps are hanging, proper officiating technique is to request that the player
fix the snaps. Repeated offenses shall be penalized. (See 6-6-y.) All players on..."
end Quote

Keep the straps closed, that´s what their made for! (The head you´re protecting could be your´s!)
Besides, yelling with closed straps is good work-out for your jaw-muscles and makes a good-looking, masculine face.
:banghead:

[b_cannons_123]

I just put a sweat band aroung the strap pad and buckle up for saftey.

[twhittle03]

when its a running play in football the quarterbacks dont fully snap their chinstrap on because they dont need it if they are going to just hand the ball off and get out of the way i noticed that a few years ago i wonder if any football players have realized this and if not then it would prolly be a good way to tell if it is going to be a running play or passing play because they always strap it on a passing play because there is a chance of getting sacked or hit if they need to scramble

[wolfie8914]

I unstrap because I think I look sweeter.

hahahahaha

[thedamnedfan]

In indoor a few kids from my team have got technical fouls for not having proper equipment. But I think this was because kids began to play without their mouthguards and then had their straps undone.

[WickedDpole21]

i 1/2 strap for warmup, to talk easier. sometimes i flat out forget to strap up. i dont do it on purpose. but some ppl do it to look cool......tools. and also, i have the under armor pad thing on the chin, so that more comfy.

[jhulax78]

Isn't it a penalty if he catches you cause at the begin of the game(well at leats over here)the ref checks for moth peices and chinstraps i still do it every 1nce and a will

[LymanLax28]

I leave the bottom two unstrapped for warm-ups because I always end up taking my helmet off again before the game starts anyways. Occasionally I'll leave it unstrapped at practice, but that's only if I have to run out there quick and forget to strap them.

[LoyolaMiddie878]

I leave my bottom right one unstrapped. It's a superstitious thing.

I am a very superstitious person.

[sailorslax88]

i undo my bottom left one, idk i just do it