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NFL to suspend players for devastating hits?

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LitlBuck;1796394; said:
It's not about being a man it's about playing the game correctly and not trying to injure a person for life trying to prove that you are a "man". If the person would tackle like he was taught when he first started playing football, this issue would not even come up.
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No shit. That's why I said proper form tackling doesn't involve leading with the helmet. But when two grown men collide at full speed, sometimes, people get hurt. Even when all the rules are followed.
 
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BUCKYLE;1796397; said:
No shit. That's why I said proper form tackling doesn't involve leading with the helmet. But when two grown men collide at full speed, sometimes, people get hurt. Even when all the rules are followed.
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But this isn't about those that are following the rules, that's the point.
 
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JCOSU86;1796474; said:
But this isn't about those that are following the rules, that's the point.
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Yeah, it is. Until recently, players were allowed to hit a QB in the helmet with a forearm when attempting to block a pass.

No one is arguing that leading with the helmet should be legal. But even when you see what you hit, the ball carrier gets lower and helmets touch.

The first time I'll take this rule seriously is when an offensive player is flagged and fined for getting low and diving head first into a defender. Until then, it's just the NFL disguising revenue protection as player safety.
 
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BUCKYLE;1796551; said:
Yeah, it is. Until recently, players were allowed to hit a QB in the helmet with a forearm when attempting to block a pass.

No one is arguing that leading with the helmet should be legal. But even when you see what you hit, the ball carrier gets lower and helmets touch.

The first time I'll take this rule seriously is when an offensive player is flagged and fined for getting low and diving head first into a defender. Until then, it's just the NFL disguising revenue protection as player safety.
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Ray Lewis pretty much nails it. Love him or hate him, the two calls in this game designed for player safety cost the Ravens a game. I'd love to see a study on how many first downs have been awarded on personal fouls on receivers or QB's on third downs. It has completely changed the game, and not in a good way.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkQaI0cW2dw&feature=related"]YouTube - Ray Lewis goes off on officiating & Carson Palmer in Cincinnati[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z3AqTa-xig&feature=related"]YouTube - Suggs roughing penalty.AVI[/ame]

And this is why football has lost some enjoyment to me....I'm not sure about other people, but when I see a QB bailed out on 3rd and long b/c a defensive player gets called for "pile-driving" when all he's trying to do is get the QB down, I get frustrated.

It's the same way with helmet to helmet hits. Perfect example is this hit by TJ Ward, in which he was fined by the league. For what exactly? And why was he flagged?? It was a clean play. Is he supposed to let Jordan Shipley catch it?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfoPYpC4pyY&feature=related"]YouTube - TJ WARD IS A FOOTBALL PLAYER.[/ame]

And the fact that Carson Palmer and other players get in Ward's face is even more embarrassing. Players expect to be bailed out when going over the middle. Nevermind that Ward led with his shoulder and was making a play on the ball.

BTW, from watching that video, is there any possible way for Ward to make a play on the ball without leading with his upper-torso? I mean, he could try and jump backwards and karate kick the ball out of the air? Is that legal?

I think this is getting too much attention. Hits like DeSean Jackson and Massaqoi took have been around forever. When a guy like Harrison leads with his helmet with sole intentions of killing another player, I have no problem with a suspension. It's the other garbage like when a player with zero intent of leading with his helmet makes helmet to helmet contact b/c the offensive player changes his body angle, or scraping a QB's helmet with a hand as you get flipped by a RB under-cutting you on a blitz.

And to send a message to a guy like TJ Ward for making a good football play does nothing but feed my suspicion that they're trying to take physicality out of the game. A clean play shouldn't come with a $10,000 fine and flag.
 
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Bucklion;1796780; said:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5706748

Awww...poor Jamesey is whining and "considering retirement" because he can't try to put someone in a wheelchair every game. You know what, go ahead and retire you POS...no one will miss you.
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I did not see this but I guess when the network broke away from the Browns game after Harrison made both of his hits he made all sorts of gestures like he was the man. Yeah, I'm sure he is going to retire at walk away from his $6,000,000 per year contract just because he had to pay $75,000. The only way the NFL is going to stop those hits is to suspend them for game and they start losing game checks. I will admit that there are some hits that are pretty nasty but if they were not made the offense might benefit but in my eyes you certainly can tell when a player, such as Harrison, is really trying to injure someone.
 
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Just my .02 here.

I am all for players' safety, but the NFL is really turning into a joke when it comes to these types of rules. Football is now, and has always been a violent game. People get hit, people get injured, it is what it is. If you don't want to get hit or injured, be an accountant or something else, no one is holding a gun to your head and telling you to play football or die. These players are getting paid a LOT of money to play a freakin' game that they know is violent where they might get injured. Call it hazard pay, if you will. If you are too scared of getting injured, then quit playing football. Simple as that. The league is going to suffer big time the more they mess with the rules about how, who and when you can tackle. Brutusbobcat said it best, give 'em flags and be done with it if you aren't going to let the players play the game as it should be played.

Part of the strategy for defenses is to make the opposing offense think twice about running this route or that route, this blocking scheme or that blocking scheme because of the physicallity of the defense. Take that away and the defense on every team is at an automatic disadvantage. Needless to say, but I am against these new rules.

What's next? Is the NHL going to suspend any player that does an overly agressive check on another player? Is boxing going to start using the Wii so no-one really gets hit in the face anymore? :shake:


Please don't get me wrong, I don't condone "headhunting" like Harrison obviously does, but I also don't want to see football become a pussified sport, either.
 
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buxfan4life;1796804; said:
Part of the strategy for defenses is to make the opposing offense think twice about running this route or that route, this blocking scheme or that blocking scheme because of the physicallity of the defense. Take that away and the defense on every team is at an automatic disadvantage. Needless to say, but I am against these new rules.
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Therein lies a big part of the problem. Big hits aren't discouraging a damn thing anymore. The defenders are bigger, faster and stronger, the hits are becoming seemingly more malicious, but offenses and playcallers are responding with more lightweight players and more passing plays with throws into dangerous areas in spite of all of that.

To me, this just illustrates how disposable your average NFL player is. If your second-year slot receiver gets turned into a vegetable going over the middle, just replace him with another player just like him. That's the cost of going for a first down I guess. The players don't seem to mind - they continue to participate. Coaches don't seem to mind - they keep calling the plays. Fans don't seem to mind - just hear the outcry about changes in the rules changing the essence of the game. The people that seem to have an issue with it as a group are Roger Goodell and the league office.

I don't know - maybe they are wrong, or maybe they are ahead of the curve a little bit. Historically speaking, it's true that football has always been a violent game. Concerns for player safety are nothing new though either - in fact, it's as old as the game itself. As for the game of football changing - it is constantly changing in terms of both rules and strategies. Over the years they've changed point values, moved the goal posts, played single wing, wishbone, I-formation, spread formation and now back to single wing. I'm about to turn 30 years old, and the game I watch now is different from the game I watched as a kid. Hell, even the forward pass is something that was a rule change. Ironically enough, it was also considered an innovation in player safety because it spread players out and reduced the occurrence of the brutal pile-ups that occurred by running the football on every single play. Ironically enough, now it's the passing plays that are the greatest contributor to violence in the game. Perhaps the game needs to evolve once more to keep from becoming too disgusting of a spectacle.
 
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