Equipment Question? Shoulder pads...

[TheHumanAlphabet]

I have been way out of the game for a long while...

Seems to me the shoulder pads have gotten smaller, is this so? I remember when I played, we really wanted the biggest pads we could find and wanted that "Frankenstein" look with really high shoulders. I even remember in the 80s the pads being big.

Today, the pads seems small - like hockey shoulder pad size. Is it better technology or are all the pads being downsized and the guys are playing more like "without" pads.

Just wondering, thanks for any input.

[NormanPride]

Better technology, and a need for more range of movement. Those big pads didn't provide near the shock absorbtion that the newer ones do, and these let the kids run a lot faster as well.

I'm just waiting for them to put a layer of padding on the outside of the plastic shell so we don't hear any "pop" anymore. :(