Looking at that pic in another thread (1973 Ohio vs. Penn State) I couldn't help but notice the oversized shoulder, hip, and thigh pads. Comparing the uniforms from then to the "slimmed down" versions used today, does anyone think there's any correlation with the many shoulder or other injuries that players sustain nowadays?

When you look at today's uniforms, it looks like there's very little protection at all. I know that new technology makes things thinner and stronger, but less area protected has to be a negative.

Are players sacrificing vanity to look better over protection?

Shoulder pads for most positions are smaller and based more on the positon.  Back in the 70's, there were probably three or four basic styles and now there are many more based on position.  While the current shoulder pads are smaller on top of the shoulder, I think that most cover a larger area around the chest and upper torso.

Thigh and knee pads were much larger back then, but I doubt the smaller knee pad or even no knee pads for many receivers make much difference as most knee injuries are based on the foot being planted and the knee bent.

Most of the hip pad today I believe are set in the girdle.  Back in Junior High and High School we had hip pads on a separate belt and most of the players put that over the jersey so they stuck up and were visabile.  Since most NFL players did not wear hip pads, I wore them under my jersey so you could not see them and so I would like an NFL player.  I played somewhere between average and below average, but at least in my mind I thought I looked good, kind of like looking good for golf.

I think many of the injuries today are based on much larger players and getting away from old school techniques such at tackling with your shouder and trying to lift the players feet off the ground during the tackle.  It seems that the advancement of helmets and equipment has taken fear away and maybe leads to more injuries.

I think that the main problem is that weight training and diet can make players bigger, faster, and stronger. That means more energy to be absorbed in every collision. Pads may be stronger, and safer, and even fields, and all that helps. But, guess what - some things never change. Tendons, ligaments, cartilege, etc are unchanged. Bones do get stronger a little, but not enough to compensate for the increases in muscles, etc. Add it together, and you are going to get more injuries.