Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I was so pleased to learn of this. What makes it especially interesting is that, according to media reports, this change to the playing surface at M&T Bank Stadium was pushed for by the Ravens players themselves. I've always believed that natural-grass fields, provided they are properly maintained, are inherently safer than artificial ones.

I must confess I also like the decision because I travel to NFL games all around the country, but, being the football purist I am, I only go to games played on natural grass. I made it to 5 NFL games in Baltimore between 1997-2002 (I was lucky enough to squeeze in one game at Memorial Stadium) before the Ravens decided to switch to an artificial surface for their home games in 2003.

I'm thrilled Baltimore will soon be part of my NFL travels itinerary again. It's a great football city and the pregame atmosphere just outside the stadium on game day is wonderful!

NFL500 wrote:I was so pleased to learn of this. What makes it especially interesting is that, according to media reports, this change to the playing surface at M&T Bank Stadium was pushed for by the Ravens players themselves. I've always believed that natural-grass fields, provided they are properly maintained, are inherently safer than artificial ones.

Have any studies been done about the safety of natural vs. artificial grass? If natural grass
is safer, why hasn't the NFL banned artificial grass in its passion to ensure the safety of the players?

John Grasso wrote:

NFL500 wrote:I was so pleased to learn of this. What makes it especially interesting is that, according to media reports, this change to the playing surface at M&T Bank Stadium was pushed for by the Ravens players themselves. I've always believed that natural-grass fields, provided they are properly maintained, are inherently safer than artificial ones.

Have any studies been done about the safety of natural vs. artificial grass? If natural grass
is safer, why hasn't the NFL banned artificial grass in its passion to ensure the safety of the players?

There was this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ar ... story.html

You could call old Memorial a natural surface, but it really wasn't grass...

NFL500 wrote:I was so pleased to learn of this. What makes it especially interesting is that, according to media reports, this change to the playing surface at M&T Bank Stadium was pushed for by the Ravens players themselves. I've always believed that natural-grass fields, provided they are properly maintained, are inherently safer than artificial ones.

I must confess I also like the decision because I travel to NFL games all around the country, but, being the football purist I am, I only go to games played on natural grass. I made it to 5 NFL games in Baltimore between 1997-2002 (I was lucky enough to squeeze in one game at Memorial Stadium) before the Ravens decided to switch to an artificial surface for their home games in 2003.

I'm thrilled Baltimore will soon be part of my NFL travels itinerary again. It's a great football city and the pregame atmosphere just outside the stadium on game day is wonderful!

I am not a fan of artificial turf so I can see your point.
So what teams are still on grass today? There was a time in the mid 80s when that only 11 of 28 teams played on grass. (Was,GB,TB, LA, SF, Atl, Mia, Cle, SD, Den, Raiders)

For awhile every team in the old Big 8 Conference had artificial turf. In his college career Barry Sanders only played on natural grass twice.

Here's the breakdown by division of which teams currently play their home games on natural grass:

AFC East: Miami
AFC North: Cleveland, Pittsburgh
AFC South: Jacksonville, Tennessee
AFC West: Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego
NFC East: Philadelphia, Washington
NFC North: Chicago, Green Bay
NFC South: Carolina, Tampa
NFC West: Arizona, San Francisco

So 17 of the NFL's 31 stadiums presently have natural grass fields. Also, here's an except from the Ravens' website with comments from players explaining their support for putting in grass at M&T Bank Stadium next season.

Team President Dick Cass said M&T Bank Stadium has stacked up very well against other artificial surfaces when it comes to injuries, but there is data that shows there are fewer lower-body injuries when playing on a high-quality natural field compared to artificial.

Cornerback Lardarius Webb suffered both of his ACL tears while changing directions at M&T Bank Stadium.

“It’s a black and white difference,” Webb said, adding that he can feel a difference in his knees when he practices outside on the Ravens’ grass field compared to inside on the artificial turf at the Under Armour Performance Center.

“Turf is harder on your body, harder on your joints, harder on your muscles,” veteran defensive end Chris Canty said. “It’s a higher rate of injury.”

In addition to helping with lower-body injuries, tight end Crockett Gillmore said he expects it will help prevent concussions. He estimated that players get more concussions from their head slamming into the hard ground than they do from the actual hit.

“Last week, I hit my head pretty hard on the grass in Cleveland,” Gillmore said. “I actually saw my facemask print in the grass. If I hit my head that hard on turf, it would have been lights out for a couple days.”

The Packers and Eagles play on GrassMaster, which combines natural grass with artificial fibers.

The nfl cares not a fig about health and safety. The concern is simply image and presentation.
It does not want its product displayed as it sometimes was in days of yore.

NFL500 wrote:Here's the breakdown by division of which teams currently play their home games on natural grass:

AFC East: Miami
AFC North: Cleveland, Pittsburgh
AFC South: Jacksonville, Tennessee
AFC West: Denver, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego
NFC East: Philadelphia, Washington
NFC North: Chicago, Green Bay
NFC South: Carolina, Tampa
NFC West: Arizona, San Francisco

So 17 of the NFL's 31 stadiums presently have natural grass fields. Also, here's an except from the Ravens' website with comments from players explaining their support for putting in grass at M&T Bank Stadium next season.

Team President Dick Cass said M&T Bank Stadium has stacked up very well against other artificial surfaces when it comes to injuries, but there is data that shows there are fewer lower-body injuries when playing on a high-quality natural field compared to artificial.

Cornerback Lardarius Webb suffered both of his ACL tears while changing directions at M&T Bank Stadium.

“It’s a black and white difference,” Webb said, adding that he can feel a difference in his knees when he practices outside on the Ravens’ grass field compared to inside on the artificial turf at the Under Armour Performance Center.

“Turf is harder on your body, harder on your joints, harder on your muscles,” veteran defensive end Chris Canty said. “It’s a higher rate of injury.”

In addition to helping with lower-body injuries, tight end Crockett Gillmore said he expects it will help prevent concussions. He estimated that players get more concussions from their head slamming into the hard ground than they do from the actual hit.

“Last week, I hit my head pretty hard on the grass in Cleveland,” Gillmore said. “I actually saw my facemask print in the grass. If I hit my head that hard on turf, it would have been lights out for a couple days.”

1984-87 must have been the low point for the number grass fields. The Bears switched back to grass in 1988 and several other teams followed suit.

Weren't there some teams like the Patriots and Bengals who played on grass for awhile in the 1990s or early 2000s?