In recent months the media put a lot of discussion into the subject of concussions and head injuries in football. How they are caused, how to treat them, prevent them and the long-term damage.
As recently as last week, a string of hits in both the NFL and NCAA football put those two worlds on high alert. The most destructive of those being the hit on Rutgers DT Eric LeGrand who was paralyzed from the neck down and whose long term prognosis is still unknown.
With this image fresh in the minds of the public, the NFL decided to make mid-season rule adjustments, something the rules committee is normally very stringent on. Just ask Calvin Johnson's Week 1 TD catch.
So the NFL sent a video to teams and the press supposedly showing what clean hits look like and what illegal hits look like. Though clear in this case is more of a murky 1-percent milk kind of clear, but, hey, why be picky its just America's new favorite pastime right?
In the video, a series of “illegal” plays from the previous week are shown as examples of defenders trying to purposely harm offensive players. Except that’s not what is shown in a majority of the examples. Instead, defenders attempt to hit offensive players in the midsection. The offensive player try’s to adjust to the oncoming hit by folding their body and a helmet-to-helmet collision ensues.
The question is, how does the NFL, or anyone for that matter, stop them from happening?
It's a player's job to control himself. It's a player's job to lay a hard hit. They aim to lay a hit hard enough to jar the ball loose or make the offensive player think twice about making the same play again. A player has to make the play first, because if he doesn't, his opponent might. It's all a series of split second decisions that can lead to a vicious hit. A hit that according to the new rule changes is considered malicious. Who is a good judge of what is considered malicious?
Apparently, according to the NFL, anytime THEY deem a receiver is defenseless and/or helmets connect. OK, so don’t hit people who look defenseless and don't hit them in the head, easy enough.
But again, what if the offensive player ducks, tucks or puts their head down to absorb the hit? If a player aims for an opponent's waist and the opponent ducks down and they connect, is it the defender's fault? Is it a fine and a suspension? According to the video, yes.
So how does a defensive player work around this issue? The answer is simple. Target the knees and legs, and that, my friends, is a whole other can of worms. Just ask Wes Welker.
This very same tactic started to happen in Week 7. It's already illegal to target the legs of QBs and kickers. Now linebackers and defensive backs will start to target the knees of receivers coming over the middle or running backs coming out of the back field.The number of injuries to players legs will increase and the NFL will be right back in this situation.
When this type of targeting happens the NFL will react in a similar way, telling defenders they can't target defenseless runners at the knees or below which leaves them with arms, stomachs and chests as available spots to tackle a player … so long as they don’t get their head too low, then comes that nasty penalty, fine or suspension.
Point is: Skip all of the wasted time and rule changes, and revise the league all together. How about the NFFL? You know the National Flag Football League, guaranteed to attract the same TV ratings the NFL currently hauls in. Same moves, same plays, huge touchdown grabs, elusive runs, awesome throws! It will be amazing. Just ask Carolina receiver Steve Smith who broke his arm this off-season playing the sport.
Wait! What?! Someone got hurt playing flag football? Oh no, you know what, maybe this new league isn’t such a good idea either. Maybe we should just fire up the ol' Madden NFL 11. Players can still play as themselves and determine winners on the cyber-field. Of course, then there's carpel tunnel, obesity, hemorrhoids, etc. to worry about.
Okay, so maybe that thought process is a bit outlandish, point is these are professional athletes, most of the guys have been playing this sport since they were in single digits. They know how to play, they know the risks, are compensated to take them, and have accepted the terms of these risks.
Let's be honest, this problem has been coming for a long time. Players have always launched themselves into tackles and the frequency of injury was never as high as the past couple of years. Some might say it is due to our ignorance towards what constitutes a concussion and I'm sure there is some truth to that idea. Yet that is only part of the problem.
Players size and speed have drastically increased in the past 10 years. Defensive linemen now run sub 5 second 40's. Linebackers and defensive backs are bigger than ever. Yet the technology of the protection for the players has not advanced at the same rate. Doesn't it makes sense to improve the protection not dilute the product.
The league is coming dangerously close to adjusting their product to something fans won't want to watch anymore. I know I know, it seems too far-fetched but mark my words.
One day you may see Ray Lewis standing at mid-field, arms outstretched, holding a small patriots-colored flag in his right hand – a flag he pulled from the waist of the mighty Tom Brady to win the 2013 AFC championship. Looking around wildly at the 13,000 or so fans, he'll scream: "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? IS THIS NOT WHAT YOU WANTED?" And those soccer fans will quietly clap and chant back: “OLEEEE' OLE' OLE' OLE' OOOOOLEEEEEE' OOOOLEEEEE'!”
