They say that when standing on the sidelines of an NFL football game, the force of the collision between a 250-pound linebacker and a 200-pound wide receiver sounds like buckshot coming out of a 12-gauge shotgun— but it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it sounds. Or does it?
Another outlawed maneuver is head-hunting, where the player makes an uppercut-type blow, often on the quarterback. This technique can cause a whiplash motion in the recipient's head and neck, leading to a concussion.
November's spine-tingling, it-hurts-too-much-to-see-on-replay leg snap of 49er Bryant Young reminded the nation of Joe Theismann's brutal incident 13 years ago when the Giants' Lawrence Taylor awkwardly spent his weight on Theismann's leg, causing a compound fracture. For football fans, this was an event equivalent to the assassination of Kennedy— everybody remembers where they were when they saw it. But how did it happen?— medically speaking.
But when considering that most injuries associated with pro football are fairly minor, some may argue that getting sacked, for instance, by 6-3, 258-pound Jets linebacker Mo Lewis doesn't hurt that much.