Speaking as a non-fan, that puzzles me. Wouldn't leather helmets and pads offer less protection than the type currently worn?
The theory is that with leather helmets the players would stop thinking of their head as invulnerable and stop using it as a weapon. That theory is mostly driven by how often these concussions are caused by helmet to helmet hits, guys are clearly leading with their helmet, and doing a lot of damage to themselves and others with it.
Yes, but players who know they would be at more risk of being injured will not try for a hit that is more than what is needed to knock somebody off their feet.