Comments on: Ray Anderson says enforcement, not rules, will change

By: yahoo.com

yahoo.com — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:31:52 +0000

@kellyb91985
I played college football and had three concussions. One of them knocked me out for 3 minutes. Two weeks later I was out there playing again with no problems, and still no problems to this day. One of my best freinds, we played in college and HS together, tore his ACL as a Sohpamore and never was able to play again. He still has occasional pain and walks with a slight limp. I was lucky that I only had a couple of concussions and able to have a full range of motion in my limbs. The NFL is taking away the high hits ( and low hits on QBs) on defenseless recievers wich will lead to more injuries over all than the high hits. Also, helmets provide more protection than any equipment, including braces that can be put on the knee. Thats why guys in the NFL are mostly saying that hitting high is not dirty if you don’t lead with your head, because if you go low you are most certainly goning to be called dirty. Everybody that plays football gets their “bell rung” every now and then. It is part of the game and players know it. Hitting low, on someones planted foot will almost certainly cause significant injury. That’s why when you see a linemen who has been cut block he is almost always pissed off, because it is considered dangerous.

By: thecuz

thecuz — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:53:23 +0000

Has anyone asked if the equipment technology is keeping pace with the speed of the game. Someone mentioned before the players dont have helmets strapped or fail to wear their pads. While this is true and adds to injury, i am asking is the equipment the players are using keeping up with today’s football athletes (faster, stronger) where collisions are more dangerous today than years back. I dont know if this is also a part of the problem.

By: FMWarner

FMWarner — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:55:00 +0000

Everyone in this thread insinuating that those in favor of protecting players are “on the girls’ track team” or “were too scared to play football” should get jacked up by James Harrison. Let’s see what you say after that. If you still have the power of speech.

By: thecuz

thecuz — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:32:52 +0000

@ Bradwins
You must have been been a member of the girls track team! LOL!!!

By: tccfootball

tccfootball — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:13:38 +0000

Let me start by saying Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungey should be shunned by every current and former NFL player for their comments on Sunday. Football is a voilent game and is meant to be played that way. The problem is in the coaching and today’s players.
The coaches don’t teach fundamental tackling anymore starting from Pop Warner through college. Very few players will wrap up a ball carrier trying to get them down. Now all I see are defenders diving at someone’s legs, pushing someone out of bounds, or grabbing ahold and taking a ride until the runner falls down. It’s sickening. Coaches need to stress the fundamentals of football from day 1. If that means putting your best player on the bench for not doing things correctly, have the backbone to do it.
As for the players, I have absolutely no sympathy for you. You know when you start playing the risks associated with the game. Instead of peanilizing those who actually play the way football was meant to be played, why not fine or suspend the guys who refuse to wear the protective gear available to them. How many helmets do you see popping off a guys head without the chin strap being unbuckled in a game?? If it was worn properly with the correct amount of air and strapped up tightly enough it wouldn’t happen, plain and simple. Another HUGE problem with helmets are guys having dreadlocks. I’m sorry, but helmets aren’t built to accomodate hair styles, they’re built to protect the head from injury. Fewer and fewer players are wearing leg pads and as a result the numbers of leg injuries have been steadily increasing but it’s funny how there’s no mention of this.
Then there’s the media which is mostly made up of people with no clue about the game saying how violent and unsafe it is. If you don’t like it, turn the channel. These are the same people who spearheaded and glorified the “remove dodgeball from schools” issue.
Football is a great game that is being taken away from its roots by people who are clueless about how the game is meant to be.

By: Nard100

Nard100 — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:11:11 +0000

Viking Kong – There is too much speed involved in the game to avoid serious head injuries. If you don’t want your small, speedy deep threat to get hurt, don’t run him over the middle.
Excellent point. Steve Young made a great point along the same lines last night.
But let’s be honest the new legislation (I’m sorry but thats what it is) is the product of the following:
1. The hits themselves
2. The defiant statements by SOME players making the hits.
3. The college player who is now paralyzed from the neck down due to a helmet-to-helment hit.
#2 really had to prompt some sort of action on the part of the league, but I think it would have been better as a “going forward” type of action. this way everybody has an understanding before action is being taken.

By: rexranius

rexranius — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:03:09 +0000

Spoken exactly like a guy that was too scared to play the game when he was a child. Uh, when we played football, we were taught not to lead with the head. Back in 3rd Grade.
=================================
That was the dumbest thing I’ve read on these boards. You cannot tell me that your coaches taught you to lead with the head? You obviously didn’t play past the 3rd grade because coaches NEVER teach that.

By: SuckitFlorio

SuckitFlorio — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:54:15 +0000

Does no one remember week 2, there were at least 2-3 penalties for roughing the passers where the QB was barely touched. Making some blanket statement about violent hits is only going to increase this number. Knee jerk over reaction~!

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:50:45 +0000

All I have to say is that this is crazy! If you cannot take a hit, then why play football. Football is known for hard hitting. It is sad to say, but players hit hard to hurt and knock the player out of the game. Why do you think that Quarterbacks get hit so hard… it is not for fun, it is to knock them out of the game. Hitting is part of the sport. You take hitting out of football then you have then you have two hand touch, o wait… they might touch to hard.
Lets go to hockey… What about fighting? It is going to take someone to get knocked out by getting a blow to the head with fist to quit fighting. What? Are they going to tell the players to quit hitting each other in the head when they fight? No!! That is what makes hockey.. Hard hitting and fighting. If you take those out of the equation then you have polo.
All I am trying to say is that those players get paid to do the job. When they signed up for the job, they knew that they would be getting hit hard. They make millions and they are complaining.
Their highschool coach warned them in the beginning…”If you cant handle it, then quit!”
and did they, no… so it is their problem!

By: goat2060

goat2060 — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:48:14 +0000

Bring back leather helmets!!!

By: clintcooper

clintcooper — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:43:01 +0000

Typical waffly wimpy stance from the NFL. First they indicate they will issue suspensions for flagrant hits, and now they are backpedaling. Get some balls NFL. Decide what you’re going to do and then do it.

By: Bradwins

Bradwins — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:31:21 +0000

@thecuz,
Nice rambling sermon on the manliness of football players. Nobody is for eliminating big hits, though. Its just the diving helmet first into the head of players trying to make a play on a ball in the air that bothers those of us who survived football with still-functioning brains. Hit a guy as hard as you want. Don’t launch yourself helmet-first into another guy’s face as you are both running 20mph into each other and he is trying to catch a ball coming from the other direction.
There is nothing more unfair to the defenders or “soft” (new PFT-standards appropriate term) about this rule than the fair-catch rule. I don’t see anyone complaining about that rule. Should the punting team be able to crush the returner as he stands there trying to catch the ball falling out of the sky? Its just needlessly and excessively dangerous to the weel being of the players.
Just because you play football shouldn’t mean you are consenting to having your brain turned into yogurt.

By: pakasprz

pakasprz — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:15:53 +0000

I have to applaud the NFL for what they are doing. I am a former high school football player and my life has been altered tremendously due to concussion, and I played on the offensive and defensive line.
I suffered over 50 minor concussions, the bell ringer types that just give you black and purple spots before your eyes, just from playing outside linebacker my senior year.
Kids at the high school and pee wee levels aren’t up to speed on concussions like NFL players are and by the time some of these players reach the NFL level they unknowingly have already suffered numerous concussions.
Also, there is another way to deliver a big hit without ever delivering it to the head of a player and that is with a good form tackle to the gut, which is just as effective.
Numerous friends from high school who were football players or were friends with football players are now refusing to let their kids play football. Simply, if the NFL doesn’t do this there won’t be any quality players left they will be playing soccer or other sports.

By: thecuz

thecuz — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:08:58 +0000

As an ex-college linebacker, i want to say i dreamed of shots like the one put on D.Jack. Doesn’t come any better than that. Florio, did you run girls track in high school ’cause it sure wasn’t football. Football is not for everybody and hitting is just part of the game. Are you going to tell your defensive guys dont come in to hard or watch where u are hitting. First the defensive player has to fight off offensive fat slobs and then get to the ball carrier that has more moves then fred astaire then he has to wrap up and tackle any which way he can. You take the aggressiveness out of the game and then you have football for people that ran girls track in high school. Football is a hard sport and if you dont like it Florio, go watch the marbles tournament in Wildwood, NJ. Seems more your style and let the men play the sport.

By: steelersmichele

steelersmichele — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:08:14 +0000

songbre says: Alot of these player have families and and lives to live AFTER football. They need to be able to go home and BE with that family….They throw there bodies and lives around for the love of the game and YOUR ENTERTAINMENT !!! So it’s easy for your sorry asses to sit back in you nice safe house or bar WATCHING the hits, as opposed to getting KNOCKED ON YOUR ASSES !!! You’re not taking ANY risk what so ever.
Yes, they have families and throw their bodies around. They also get paid a hell of a lot of money to do it. Ask any player and the say the money is worth the risk. 99% are in it for the money.
Do I honestly care about their well-being? I don’t want any player to get a career-ending injury or have brain damage, but at the same time, if they break a leg or pull a hamstring, there is a back-up ready to take their place. Hard to hear, but it’s the truth. I like football and my team. When players leave to go to another team for more money, they don’t care about me or their fans from that team, so why should I really care about them?
Do you think the players think about you or the average Joe who spends their vacation money on season tickets? Do you think they care there is a recession and people are out of work and losing their homes? My friend is a Ravens fan and lost her job. Is Lewis or Flacco helping her out? Nope. Some players help, but most could care less.
Don’t give me the crap that they have families and should be able to live after football and we need to look out for their well-being when most could give a damn about the well-being of their fans.
They want money and will do anything for money. That’s why they want to keep 60% of the revenue. It’s not my job to worry or care that much about their safety. It’s my job to watch football and be entertained. It’s their job to give me a good game.

By: kellyb91985

kellyb91985 — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:56:08 +0000

@Jonathan – I’ve always thought “Defenseless WR” meant that they had a crappy QB. Thats the definition I’m going with.

By: SuckitFlorio

SuckitFlorio — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:51:27 +0000

protectthishouse54~- you dont think you can sustain a severe concussion from whiplash? Or from slamming your head on the ground, or from a knee to the head…? I could go on, the point being it doesnt take a helmet to cause a concussion of any kind!

By: kellyb91985

kellyb91985 — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:45:14 +0000

@yahoo.com
While it may take a lot longer to recover from a torn ACL, you can’t actually be comparing a brain injury to a leg injury. Thats just ridiculous.

By: Bradwins

Bradwins — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:44:37 +0000

@thehouseofho -
Yes. I know Millen USED to play football. Maybe there were less rules, but the players weren’t nearly as big, strong and fast. The equipment was not nearly as good (for example, as helmets have gotten better they have become better weapons more than they have become better suited to prevent brain injuries to players being hit). So to me it is easy for Matt Millen to sit there and talk like a tough guy, but he is not out there playing the game in this environment.
And even if the dangers weren’t greater, our knowledge about the dangers of blows to the head clearly is. This is purely a case of hubris at the expense of common sense and dignity.

By: steelersmichele

steelersmichele — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:44:33 +0000

Connie, I don’t know how many people use GUM to shoot someone. I do know that in almost all of your posts you want something violent to happen to someone. You’re upset that Harrison only wants to hurt someone and not injure them, yet you say someone should break his leg. Then you mention you want Ben to get hurt with a clean hit. Why are you such a violent person yet claim to be against violence?
I’ll tell you what I’d like: you to lose your internet connection!!!

By: protectthishouse54

protectthishouse54 — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:42:35 +0000

jmac1013: “Helmet leaning is not illegal. That’s how you tackle. It wasn’t helmet to helmet. It wasn’t a blow to Desean’s head. It was shoulder to shoulder.”
How is it that he sustained a “severe concussion” then, as the Eagles have put it?

By: SuckitFlorio

SuckitFlorio — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:42:20 +0000

ItalianStallion – Dude you can’t possibly have watched that video and call it spearing… I have seen at least 2 dozen people comment on the hit and have watched the video replay at least a dozen times and its not even close to spearing. Get a clue!

By: Brazy

Brazy — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:41:27 +0000

Harrison’s hits were spears. He lead with his head both times, that is the kind of hit we need out of the NFL. If you lead with your head down, like a spear, that is when people get hurt and has no place in football. As a youth you are taught to be a face hitter. Lead with your face. Harrison on both plays lead with his head, like a spear. It’s a penalty and should be grounds for ejection/suspension if you put a guy on the shelf with that kind of hit.

By: songbre

songbre — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:39:39 +0000

I’m all for the “BIG HITS” BUT for all the people on here talking bout, “they get millions to play”, “they get this, they get that”. These are probably some idiots who NEVER played the sport in there life, or last time was when they were in diapers …
Violence does make the sport but like the guy said earlier, “These aren’t gladiators of old” where they fight and go home to no life. Alot of these player have families and and lives to live AFTER football. They need to be able to go home and BE with that family.
All you idiots on here talking bout they are “to soft” or “wusses” how much do you want to bet that you wouldn’t say that to there faces !!! They throw there bodies and lives around for the love of the game and YOUR ENTERTAINMENT !!! So it’s easy for your sorry asses to sit back in you nice safe house or bar WATCHING the hits, as opposed to getting KNOCKED ON YOUR ASSES !!! You’re not taking ANY risk what so ever, and it’s always these people who have the most mouth, that’s funny …
Love the game, enforce the rules and I will Still enjoy the play on the field, because it is still a game that only a few have the priviledge of playing and your no less of a man for wanting to have your mind in tact AFTER the battles are over …

By: Cornerdenizen

Cornerdenizen — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:39:26 +0000

@Tian: Very well put.
Its like theyre trying to legislate basic physiology along with the laws of physics. Okay, so you lead with your shoulder…but guess what? Your head follows. Unless you’re plastic man and your shoulders, neck and head move completely independently of one another, you’re always gonna have some part of the helmet involved in a collision.
There’s a way to cut down on the defenseless receiver phenomena and it involves the quarterback. Just like the offensive tackle has an obligation to protect the quarterbacks blindside, so is the qb obligated to keep his receiver out of danger. On deep crossing routes, slants, or any route that’s run into the heart of the defense, throw the ball low. Throw it where your receiver has to go to the ground, underneath the defender to catch it. Sure, it requires more precision, but the qb is the highest paid guy on the field.
You cant totally eliminate violence from a violent game, but you can find ways to keep guys out of danger.

By: yahoo.com

yahoo.com — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:34:25 +0000

I just wanted restate the fact that forcing players to hit lower in that situation will likely cause more “devastating” hits to the legs and knees. That is going to end more careers than concussions. Just a thought. Torn ACL recovery 1 year, concussion recovery 2-3 weeks. Knee injury to a reciever career ending/altering. Concussion not really.

By: FriarBob

FriarBob — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:26:58 +0000

You know, we can argue for decades over whether Dunta’s shot was “cheap” or “dirty” or whatever else. Because unfortunately we don’t even have standard definitions for those words.
But regardless of whether it was a cheap shot (which it wasn’t) or dirty (which by the definition of “intent” it wasn’t, but by the definition of “illegal” it was), the fact remains it was still an unsafe (for both of them) and illegal hit. Dirty or cheap don’t really matter after that.
What makes me laugh is people who try to pretend it wasn’t illegal because they’re Falcons fans. This is sad, but completely understandable. They’re your team so you excuse what they do. Vikings fans excuse Jared Allen, Steelers fans excuse Harrison, and many other teams have a player or two (or more) who is a “hitter” and they excuse him when he makes an illegal hit because he’s “their guy”. And I think that this is the biggest problem that we have to work on. Yes we need to enforce the rules on the books, with ejections and suspensions and whatever else. But most importantly, we need to get to where the fans no longer excuse illegal hits because it’s their team making them.

By: Ollie

Ollie — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:26:42 +0000

Connie, you can’t hurt people with gum!!
Just kidding, know what you meant.

By: ItalianStallion

ItalianStallion — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:24:02 +0000

Dunta put his head down and tackled with the crown of his helmet, which is called spearing, and is a penalty. Does nobody teach players to tackle with their head up anymore? That’s the reason Dunta was so shook up after the play as well, becuase it’s dangerous to both players.

By: yahoo.com

yahoo.com — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:18:43 +0000

@ Baldwins
Matt Millen played several years of linebacker in the NFL as recently as the mid- 90′s, I think that he can speak to the facts of the game. I didn’t realize that Roman gladiators lives had no value.