Lorini
2801
Steve Young says this happens because incompetent QB’s put their receivers in jeopardy. Leading a receiver across the middle against a zone defense is asking for a receiver to get hurt. Should QB’s (or offensive coordinators) be discouraged from doing this? In the end, it’s the responsibility of the guy hitting of course but why expose receivers that way anyway?
Why isn’t it the defensive coordinator’s fault for running zone defenses? There wouldn’t be a guy in zone defense if that weren’t the play. Shouldn’t the coordinator be the one fired? Man-to-man is the only safe way to play.
I think it should be a game suspension for every time a QB whines about getting touched…
I think they ought to review every questionable play at the end of a season, rather than in the middle of games, and award wins and losses as the NFL sees fit.
Rimbo
2805
Colt McCoy throws for almost 300 yards against the Steelers’ D and his first TD pass; Tebow throws not at all and runs for his first NFL TD.
Guess which one ESPN replays constantly?
Hey, that touchdown probably saved 50 of the unborn from abortion!
Keep writing them letters, Rimbo.
Rimbo
2808
hahahahahahahahahahahaha!
naw, i don’t care at all…i just think it’s silly.
Shmtur
2809
I think you have a good point on this one.
Steve Young is a loon, but this is a valid point. It’s not the sole reason this is happening; removing those plays isn’t going to change how receivers are getting hit, of course not. But some scary hits come with an inaccurate quarterback floats a pass over the middle that a receiver has to leap and get, exposing him to linebackers and safeties patrolling the middle of the field. If you’re going to work the middle of the field, you need to be accurate with those passes.
Lame.
And every WR that calls for a flag? Every DL that says he was held?
If you are talking about the Suggs hit on Tom Brady, it was by the rule a late hit, and should have been called. There was also a late hit from Ray Lewis in the 4th quarter, and Tom didn’t complain on that one.
Actually, I was thinking about the Fins-Pack game where I got sick to my stomach watching Aaron Rodgers whine every time a Fins’ passrusher crossed the line of scrimmage….
Tom knows better, Ray would have stabbed him.
I’m leaning more and more to just removing protection from the players. Take away face masks and give them helmets they can’t lead with as easily (aren’t as heavy and don’t make good battering rams). Make shoulder pads smaller too.
If you make players more concerned for their own safety, instead of feeling like they are wearing armor going to war, they’ll quit trying to act like missiles out there.
Erik_J
2815
One of the commentator’s said something about padding on the outside of the helmet. The mental images of that are awesome.
I was going to post the same thing yesterday, but I cannot find anything to back up my feeling that this would be a good thing.
I’m fine with fining large amounts for dangerous hits. I just can’t understand how they can fine Dunta Robinson the same amount as Brandon Meriweather, when Meriweather’s hit was far, far worse.
Shmtur
2818
The man had some teeth damaged on an uncalled helmet to helmet hit. He’s getting hit helmet to helmet almost every week, and it hasn’t been called once yet. I think he has a legitimate complaint there. As for the rest, I must’ve missed the whining. Sure you didn’t watch a different game than I did?
ckessel
2819
I suppose you could reference rugby injury rates.
Or this JoePa thinks it should be removed.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/JoePa-didn-t-wear-a-facemask-He-doesn-t-think-t?urn=ncaaf-278329
Which leads to This
The first hard-shell helmets, which became popular in the 1940s, weren’t designed to prevent concussions but to prevent players in that rough-and-tumble era from suffering catastrophic injuries like fractured skulls.
But while these helmets reduced the chances of death on the field, they also created a sense of invulnerability that encouraged players to collide more forcefully and more often. “Almost every single play, you’re going to get hit in the head,” says Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Jake Long.
One of the strongest arguments for banning helmets comes from the Australian Football League. While it’s a similarly rough game, the AFL never added any of the body armor Americans wear. When comparing AFL research studies and official NFL injury reports, AFL players appear to get hurt more often on the whole with things like shoulder injuries and tweaked knees. But when it comes to head injuries, the helmeted NFL players are about 25% more likely to sustain one.
Nonetheless, the strongest argument for the helmet may turn out to be an economic one. The NFL is shaped around the notion that players can run into each other at high speeds without consequence. It’s the same sort of idea that has made Nascar the nation’s most popular form of motorsport. And beyond all this, there’s the very real question of whether the prospect of serious mental impairment later in life will ever discourage people from playing the game—let alone watching.
