The sport of football developed off of rugby and is a very physical game. From a defensive perspective the point of the game is to tackle the ball carrier and hold him to the least amount of yards possible. The sport has many aspects which can be analysed through physics, including hits and the equipment.
When someone gets hit, there are many factors to consider, the two masses of the people going into contact, the speed of both players, as well as if the hit is two players running directly at each other. Often people unfamiliar to the sport, will assume that the biggest players -who tend to be around 300 pounds in the National Football League (NFL)- will deliver the most powerful hits. This though tends to be incorrect though, as the intensity of the hit they can deliver is based on their mass and speed. Those players to lack the physical ability to go fast enough to make powerful hits, the position that tends to have the best combination of speed and mass is the defensive back, they have the speed to cover all offensive players, and are in excellent shape to give them the most power. Marcus Truffant of the Seattle Seahawks weighs 199 pounds and can complete the 40 yard dash in 4.56 seconds, giving him the capability of a tackling force of 1600 pounds.
The developments in the aspect of the shoulder pads has been a change of materials making them lighter and easier for players to move in, but they also have changed the arrangement of padding, aligning it to form right angles, to deflect contact from the player getting hit.
The following video shows an analysis of a football hit which had enough force to cut the ball carriers jaw open. It applies the conservation of momentum into the hit, calculating the velocity of both players before the hit and the result of the hit, both players going towards the sidelines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGhKVNUfPcc
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