As an All-Pro linebacker for the Redskins and Giants in the 1950s and 1960s, Sam Huff was one of football’s hardest hitters. And he’s not happy with the way the league office is cracking down on the hardest hitters of today.
Huff told the Charleston Daily Mail that fines for helmet-to-helmet hits are handed down from league executives who don’t understand the game.
“‘Look, he’s getting hit! They shouldn’t do that!’” Huff said. “That’s what they sit there in the offices up in New York City and say. What the hell? They’re up there sitting looking at replays. They’ve not practiced, not touched a football, not been on the field, not worn a helmet.”
Huff, who works as a radio commentator on Redskins games, said he thinks the league is out of touch with what players want.
“I know what it’s like to be a player,” Huff said. “Today’s players know what it’s like to be a player. The people making these rules don’t know what the game is really like. They aren’t out there.”
Huff believes that helmet-to-helmet contact is an integral part of football.
“It is tackle football,” Huff said. “It’s the NFL. It’s not a game of touch football. It’s blocking and tackling. Helmet-to-helmet? It’s why you wear helmets.”
And Huff singled out NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for criticism.
“It’s all been built up over a period of time, and if the people who run the game -- Roger Goodell, those people -- aren’t careful they’re going to tear it down in short order,” Huff said. “And that’s sad.”