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George Hopkins has studied the game tapes – not for highlight plays, but to find a reason why so many players have been losing their helmets in the early going this CFL season.

What the Calgary Stampeders equipment manager found was a recurring issue with a possible new wrinkle. Traditionally, Hopkins said, more helmets are lost in the opening month because the players are still adjusting to their headgear and are not fully fastening the four-point chinstraps. The wrinkle has to do with the skull caps some players wear under their helmets.

The skull caps are to prevent sweat from dripping down into a player's eyes. Unfortunately, they may also create slippage inside the helmet.

"Off our game in Winnipeg, we went through all of the [lost helmet plays] and, with the exception of three instances, everyone was wearing a skull cap," said Hopkins, noting there were 11 lost helmets when the Stampeders and Blue Bombers played July 14. "When the skull caps get wet and the helmet gets wet, it can cause some slipping. It's something that needs to be looked at."

Hopkins decided to make a move during last Saturday's game against the visiting Edmonton Eskimos. He had extra skull caps available to the players and made sure they changed them every quarter.

"Against Edmonton, we had one [helmet] that disappeared and it was late in the game, in a pile-up."

The CFL has been monitoring the number of helmets seen rolling around the field and is concerned about player safety. Hopkins said he got an e-mail from league officials in Winnipeg before halftime asking what was going on.

Against Edmonton, an on-field official told a Calgary player to properly do up his chinstrap or else. "We got politely warned that one of our guys was wearing only three points [of his strap]," Hopkins said. "It was, 'The next time the guys sits out three plays.' " The vast majority of CFL players use the Riddell Revolution Speed helmet, as do their NFL counterparts. This is the fourth year the CFL has used the Speed, a spatial-style helmet inflated with air to protect the head on the top, sides, back and neck.

Several Toronto Argonauts players, who saw their quarterback Cleo Lemon lose his helmet (along with a tooth) during last Saturday's loss to Winnipeg, expressed their satisfaction with the Riddell helmet and offered reasons why so many lids have been flying to this point in time.

"Maybe guys are trying to wear their helmets a little more comfortably," defensive lineman Ricky Foley said. "When you buckle them up tight, it's tough to talk and communicate and can get uncomfortable. I wear a skully and it can be slippery, but I'm bald so that would be even more slippery without one."

Toronto defensive back Willie Pile, who wears a headband and said he hasn't lost a helmet during game action, has a theory that goes beyond comfort and technology.

"If it comes down to a helmet popping off because you are trying to make a play, so be it," Pile said. "I don't think it's an equipment fail or a technique thing. Everybody is hitting right now. Guys are getting after it. They are flying and sacrificing everything."

The Stampeders have an extra component when it comes to their helmets. When they play in Eastern Canada at lower altitudes, their helmets "go flat" and need to be reinflated to create that cushion. When the Stamps return to Calgary, well above sea level, they have to have air removed from their helmets.

"When we come back, guys can't get their helmets on," Hopkins explained. "We have to take the air out. That's for 42 guys every game we go on the road. It's laborious."

CFL Players Association president Stu Laird added he has been in contact with league officials in an effort to gather more helmet-related information.

Both sides, Laird said, want to know: "Is it improper inflation? Is it the four-point chin harness? Is it about the skull caps? Let's find out the facts."

With files from Rachel Brady in Toronto

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