Weekly NFL Picks Thread

[Minimalist]

Bob Costas came out saying he would not want his kids to play football.

But, even more important than one man's opinion is this:

Costas' statement comes alongside a new report that Pop Warner participation is down 9.5 percent between 2010 and 2012. According to data provided to Outside the Lines, a record 248,899 played Pop Warner football in 2010, but that number fell to 225,287 by the 2012 season. Additionally, participation in USA Football dropped 6.7 percent in that same span.

Dr. Julian Bailes, Pop Warner’s chief medical officer, said the decline can be attributed mostly to the increase in awareness about head injuries.

"Unless we deal with these truths, we're not going to get past the dropping popularity of the sport and people dropping out of the sport," Bailes told OTL. "We need to get it right."

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/bob-c...uzz-111413

It will be interesting to see what impact the NFL settlement has on kids' participation in football.