Since they changed the kickoff rules what % of injuries now happen on kickoffs? I would bet it is very low.
Even when people return kicks there really isn't time to set up a wedge. BTW if you look at early football in the 1900s several rules that we have now (like having a P!) came about to make the game safer. President Roosevelt threatened to ban football entirely unless it was changed because 24 people died in a year playing it. So as distasteful as it seems, fundamentally changing the rules to make the game safer has been a part of football forever.
Having said that, I can't see changing something if it doesn't make sense. This doesn't make sense. Leather helmets don't make sense either. Anecdotally I would guess that less than 15% of concussion inducing hits are helmet to helmet. You just don't see a ton of those spearing type hits. What you do see is shoulder to helmet, shoulder to chest, blindsiding defenseless receivers or opponents on crack back blocks off turnovers or QBs hitting their head on the ground when being sacked. A lot of times with the defenseless receiver rule when a receiver is running one way and a defender hits him running the other way, even if he hits him chest to chest it's the sudden deceleration that causes the concussion not the direct contact of the blow. Your head and brain are going 15 mph in one direction and are decelerated to 0 in about 0.1 second. Your brain is going to hit your skull like a car running into a brick wall. None of these things have anything to do with helmets used as a weapon. Can you imagine that hit Ed Reed put on Deion Branch in week 3 if Branch had a leather helmet? It was not helmet to helmet, Reed went shoulder to helmet. Branch literally might have died with a leather helmet on for this hit while Reed would have been no worse for wear.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=JwpmUbxUxe8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJwpmUbxUxe8
