The NFL has a problem.
For years the league marketed the organized violence that is at the core of the game. It was the stuff of highlight reels, the nightly news, and the oohs and aahs of the fans.
The league at one time glorified the kind of hits that are now casting a dark shadow over the game.
Anyone remember the now classic photo of Eagles tough guy Chuck Bednarik exalting over a prone Giants wide receiver Frank Gifford after knocking him cold with a mid-field hit?
Of course, there is quite often a human toll that accompanies these collisions.
Gifford was fine. He went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career and long stint as a broadcaster.
Not everyone has been as lucky.
Today, the athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster. The equipment they use, in particular those helmets, are now almost as much a weapon as a protective element.
Concussions have become a big issue in the league. So is protecting the quarterback.
But in their zeal to protect the game’s superstars, to keep these marquee athletes on the field, the league has seemingly gone overboard.
No one wants to see the kind of sickening scene that we witnessed yesterday, with Colts wide receiver Austin Collie lying motionless after a big hit.
It is exactly the kind of hit the league once reveled in. Now, it’s a penalty, allegedly falling under the category of a helmet-to-helmet hit. You could have fooled me. I didn’t see it that way. I saw it as the way safeties have always been taught to separate a receiver from the ball.
There is a tremendous amount of concern in the league about the concussions that are popping up with increasing regularity. Luckily, Collie apparently suffered only a concussion on the play.
Even more troubling was the call late in the game against Eagles defensive end Trent Cole, whose hand brushed against the back of Manning’s helmet as he went to knock the ball loose. He did just that, the Eagles recovered and the game appeared for all intent and purpose to be over. Until the ref reached in his pocket and threw that flag. His interpretation? An illegal blow to the head of the quarterback. First down Colts.
Manning directed his team to a score and eventually got the ball back and was driving them toward a winning field goal attempt when Asante Samuel preserved the Eagles win by picking off a pass.
It never should have come to that. The Eagles should have calmly run out the clock after recovering Manning’s fumble. It’s pretty clear from his reaction that the Colts’ QB did not consider Cole’s play a penalty. He was too bush scrambling for the loose ball.
NFL Boss Roger Goodell obviously has decided to crack down on the big hits that are the hallmark of his game. He’s been handing out big fines like trick-or-treats on Halloween. He dropped a $50,000 fine on Eagle Ernie Sims last week.
In this case the trick might be on Goodell. The league can’t have it both ways.
No one want to see players injured. But Goodell and his honchos might find no one wants to watch two-hand touch either.
The NFL is a violent game. That is part of what makes it so popular. No one will admit it, but that does not make it true.
The league once reveled in such violence. Now it wants to rein it in.
They might learn you can’t have it both ways.
For years the league marketed the organized violence that is at the core of the game. It was the stuff of highlight reels, the nightly news, and the oohs and aahs of the fans.
The league at one time glorified the kind of hits that are now casting a dark shadow over the game.
Anyone remember the now classic photo of Eagles tough guy Chuck Bednarik exalting over a prone Giants wide receiver Frank Gifford after knocking him cold with a mid-field hit?
Of course, there is quite often a human toll that accompanies these collisions.
Gifford was fine. He went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career and long stint as a broadcaster.
Not everyone has been as lucky.
Today, the athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster. The equipment they use, in particular those helmets, are now almost as much a weapon as a protective element.
Concussions have become a big issue in the league. So is protecting the quarterback.
But in their zeal to protect the game’s superstars, to keep these marquee athletes on the field, the league has seemingly gone overboard.
No one wants to see the kind of sickening scene that we witnessed yesterday, with Colts wide receiver Austin Collie lying motionless after a big hit.
It is exactly the kind of hit the league once reveled in. Now, it’s a penalty, allegedly falling under the category of a helmet-to-helmet hit. You could have fooled me. I didn’t see it that way. I saw it as the way safeties have always been taught to separate a receiver from the ball.
There is a tremendous amount of concern in the league about the concussions that are popping up with increasing regularity. Luckily, Collie apparently suffered only a concussion on the play.
Even more troubling was the call late in the game against Eagles defensive end Trent Cole, whose hand brushed against the back of Manning’s helmet as he went to knock the ball loose. He did just that, the Eagles recovered and the game appeared for all intent and purpose to be over. Until the ref reached in his pocket and threw that flag. His interpretation? An illegal blow to the head of the quarterback. First down Colts.
Manning directed his team to a score and eventually got the ball back and was driving them toward a winning field goal attempt when Asante Samuel preserved the Eagles win by picking off a pass.
It never should have come to that. The Eagles should have calmly run out the clock after recovering Manning’s fumble. It’s pretty clear from his reaction that the Colts’ QB did not consider Cole’s play a penalty. He was too bush scrambling for the loose ball.
NFL Boss Roger Goodell obviously has decided to crack down on the big hits that are the hallmark of his game. He’s been handing out big fines like trick-or-treats on Halloween. He dropped a $50,000 fine on Eagle Ernie Sims last week.
In this case the trick might be on Goodell. The league can’t have it both ways.
No one want to see players injured. But Goodell and his honchos might find no one wants to watch two-hand touch either.
The NFL is a violent game. That is part of what makes it so popular. No one will admit it, but that does not make it true.
The league once reveled in such violence. Now it wants to rein it in.
They might learn you can’t have it both ways.
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