The NFL is cracking down... AGAIN!

Is the lockout here yet? f**k the NFL, let the s**t abyss commence.

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:

Originally posted by al49erfan:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
okay, so now a defender going in for a hit is gonna think, "I better not hit high, let me aim low." Boom, blown out knees, broken legs. Then what??? this is f**king stupid.

Or they will think - let me use my arms and wrap around the guy - like I was taught back in high school and college.

you still have to make initial contact. You're not gonna run up with your arms out like you're about to hug him.

Do you even know how to tackle?

a little

I don't know what you mean - but you are taught never to lead with your head. You wrap 'em around the waist or thighs.

Here's a perfect video:




This is how one should tackle. If every player tackles like this, you won't see stupid missed tackles that plague the league currently.

Coach always told us if you don't keep your head up you could die, pretty simple

Originally posted by HessianDud:
refs had the ability to eject players for "violent" and "devastating" hits even before this, they just never did. The rules haven't changed, just the enforcement of them.

On the one hand, I do see why people could be upset about this; it seems kind of knee-jerk since this past weekend seemed to be unusually full of dangerous hits. But on the other hand, all it takes is one hit to paralyze somebody, so I understand the NFL acting swiftly.

So you understand people being upset and swift action? Great. So today, now, not the previous 85+ years, people have become enlightened to the nature of the game. But if protecting the players is so important why not take it to the next level too? Lets no longer allow cortisone and other pain shots to 'mask' pain so that players can play. Maybe make mandatory medical suspensions specific to particular injuries...... Comes down to this. This rule will not stop injuries from happening. If you dont want to go into a burning house dont become a firefighter. If you dont want concussions and torn achilles etc DONT PLAY FOOTBALL.

This is a huge mistake! I can understand helmet to helmet, but the "devastating hit" part is too open to interpretation and as someone has already said, how do players completely control their bodies in some tackling situations, esp if they're trying to jar the ball loose or prevent a critical gain (like a first down or TD!)? Those types of contact REQUIRE very hard collisions! All I can say is there are going to be a lot of fines/suspensions!

Originally posted by 9erfan4life:

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:

Originally posted by al49erfan:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
okay, so now a defender going in for a hit is gonna think, "I better not hit high, let me aim low." Boom, blown out knees, broken legs. Then what??? this is f**king stupid.

Or they will think - let me use my arms and wrap around the guy - like I was taught back in high school and college.

you still have to make initial contact. You're not gonna run up with your arms out like you're about to hug him.

Do you even know how to tackle?

a little

I don't know what you mean - but you are taught never to lead with your head. You wrap 'em around the waist or thighs.

Here's a perfect video:




This is how one should tackle. If every player tackles like this, you won't see stupid missed tackles that plague the league currently.

Coach always told us if you don't keep your head up you could die, pretty simple

That's all well and good but it looks like those kids can't run sub 6 second 40 yard dash times.

It's pretty simple for Goodell to be a business man and fine elite athletes, who've been playing the game since they were outta diapers and can move sideline to sideline in an instant, and never played a down of football, professional or collegiate alike.

Patrick had it right! No one gets mad at an offensive linemen when they chop at a defenders knees. Knee's are more vulnerable than the skull by far!

I agree with the spirit of the rule (protecting players/profits) but I don't see how this will help anything. Anyone that's ever put on pads can tell you that it's not 100% possible in every case to avoid helmet-to-helmet contact.

A 250-60lb linebacker with 10lbs of pads on running full speed just simply cannot alter his body mechanics a split second before impact. That's basic physics. Also, it's natural for runners to lower their head before impact. Of course that means a tackler has to do the same thing (get even lower), or just get run over.

So what happens when they bump heads? Who's going to be penalized?

My guess is it won't be the players on offense. And I foresee some even using this new rule to their advantage.

Really, this whole thing stinks to me. I don't see how the NFL can propose lengthening the season, and at the same time act like they're so concerned about player safety. This smells like another ploy to increase offensive output to boost ratings (and in turn revenue).

It seems like every year there's some new rule enacted that gives the offense an advantage....under the guise of "player safety."

Let's be real here people. It's FOOTBALL. It is inherently a violent sport. The only surefire way to avoid players getting hurt is to take away tackling.

[ Edited by baltien on Oct 21, 2010 at 09:05:23 ]

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by valrod33:
Adam_Schefter

More fallout: Steelers LB James Harrison was excused from practice today and his agent said Harrison is contemplating retirement.

lol, what a baby.

For sure! What a D@#k head!

Originally posted by facestabber:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
refs had the ability to eject players for "violent" and "devastating" hits even before this, they just never did. The rules haven't changed, just the enforcement of them.

On the one hand, I do see why people could be upset about this; it seems kind of knee-jerk since this past weekend seemed to be unusually full of dangerous hits. But on the other hand, all it takes is one hit to paralyze somebody, so I understand the NFL acting swiftly.

So you understand people being upset and swift action? Great. So today, now, not the previous 85+ years, people have become enlightened to the nature of the game. But if protecting the players is so important why not take it to the next level too? Lets no longer allow cortisone and other pain shots to 'mask' pain so that players can play. Maybe make mandatory medical suspensions specific to particular injuries...... Comes down to this. This rule will not stop injuries from happening. If you dont want to go into a burning house dont become a firefighter. If you dont want concussions and torn achilles etc DONT PLAY FOOTBALL.

well, this is just getting silly.

There's no need to be this upset about this. The games will go on this weekend and no one will notice much of a difference, and millions of people will have to spend all day monday un-bunching their panties.

Why is this such a personal affront to some fans? The NFL is trying to balance on field competition with long-term safety, and I think that's great. I don't think that the NFL suffers from players not being able to pull each other down by the facemask, though I'm sure at the time they outlawed that there were plenty of people complaining.

Yes, its a violent game, and its always been violent. But players have never been as big or fast as they are now, and they've never been so celebrated for being so vicious, and we've never known so much about concussions and other long-term physical effects of playing football. I am not okay with guys getting Alzheimer's and not being able to walk at 45 just to entertain me. So the NFL is looking for balance...nothing at all wrong with that.

If players can get suspended for a helmet to helmet hit and fined thousands of dollars, to be fair, shouldn't helmet to helmet hits be reviewable???

Originally posted by Kolohe:
If players can get suspended for a helmet to helmet hit and fined thousands of dollars, to be fair, shouldn't helmet to helmet hits be reviewable???

The league office reviews the tape before handing out any fines, so nobody is going to get fined or suspended without a review.

I don't want to start making penalties reviewable. That would slow the game down too much imo.

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by facestabber:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
refs had the ability to eject players for "violent" and "devastating" hits even before this, they just never did. The rules haven't changed, just the enforcement of them.

On the one hand, I do see why people could be upset about this; it seems kind of knee-jerk since this past weekend seemed to be unusually full of dangerous hits. But on the other hand, all it takes is one hit to paralyze somebody, so I understand the NFL acting swiftly.

So you understand people being upset and swift action? Great. So today, now, not the previous 85+ years, people have become enlightened to the nature of the game. But if protecting the players is so important why not take it to the next level too? Lets no longer allow cortisone and other pain shots to 'mask' pain so that players can play. Maybe make mandatory medical suspensions specific to particular injuries...... Comes down to this. This rule will not stop injuries from happening. If you dont want to go into a burning house dont become a firefighter. If you dont want concussions and torn achilles etc DONT PLAY FOOTBALL.

well, this is just getting silly.

There's no need to be this upset about this. The games will go on this weekend and no one will notice much of a difference, and millions of people will have to spend all day monday un-bunching their panties.

Why is this such a personal affront to some fans? The NFL is trying to balance on field competition with long-term safety, and I think that's great. I don't think that the NFL suffers from players not being able to pull each other down by the facemask, though I'm sure at the time they outlawed that there were plenty of people complaining.

Yes, its a violent game, and its always been violent. But players have never been as big or fast as they are now, and they've never been so celebrated for being so vicious, and we've never known so much about concussions and other long-term physical effects of playing football. I am not okay with guys getting Alzheimer's and not being able to walk at 45 just to entertain me. So the NFL is looking for balance...nothing at all wrong with that.

But this is an impossible task to balance. In a game that requires hitting and tackling how can you regulate the physics involved? If a running back is diving low to get that last foot for a score how can a defender stop that without getting lower? The defender has to get just as low and by doing so means his head is coming down with his body. This regulation is just silly. Next up running backs will have to run staight up and down and never lower center of gravity. Sounds silly but lets be realistic, running backs lead with their head all the time yet the defenders are singled out and told to find a way to hit a moving target with their chest.

"Hey buddy, do me a favor and stand still so I can tackle you with perfect form."

Originally posted by Overkill:

Originally posted by Kolohe:
If players can get suspended for a helmet to helmet hit and fined thousands of dollars, to be fair, shouldn't helmet to helmet hits be reviewable???

The league office reviews the tape before handing out any fines, so nobody is going to get fined or suspended without a review.

I don't want to start making penalties reviewable. That would slow the game down too much imo.

Your right, it does, but 10 times outta 10, the players always seemed to get fined. I'm talking about reviewing it before it gets to the office review. And I believe in Personal Fouls being reviewed, not all penalties. It just frustrates me that the league protects officials, where's their fines when they blow a call that cost games??

this is just another way for the NFL to avoid huge lawsuits for somebody getting hurt.

Originally posted by facestabber:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by facestabber:

Originally posted by HessianDud:
refs had the ability to eject players for "violent" and "devastating" hits even before this, they just never did. The rules haven't changed, just the enforcement of them.

On the one hand, I do see why people could be upset about this; it seems kind of knee-jerk since this past weekend seemed to be unusually full of dangerous hits. But on the other hand, all it takes is one hit to paralyze somebody, so I understand the NFL acting swiftly.

So you understand people being upset and swift action? Great. So today, now, not the previous 85+ years, people have become enlightened to the nature of the game. But if protecting the players is so important why not take it to the next level too? Lets no longer allow cortisone and other pain shots to 'mask' pain so that players can play. Maybe make mandatory medical suspensions specific to particular injuries...... Comes down to this. This rule will not stop injuries from happening. If you dont want to go into a burning house dont become a firefighter. If you dont want concussions and torn achilles etc DONT PLAY FOOTBALL.

well, this is just getting silly.

There's no need to be this upset about this. The games will go on this weekend and no one will notice much of a difference, and millions of people will have to spend all day monday un-bunching their panties.

Why is this such a personal affront to some fans? The NFL is trying to balance on field competition with long-term safety, and I think that's great. I don't think that the NFL suffers from players not being able to pull each other down by the facemask, though I'm sure at the time they outlawed that there were plenty of people complaining.

Yes, its a violent game, and its always been violent. But players have never been as big or fast as they are now, and they've never been so celebrated for being so vicious, and we've never known so much about concussions and other long-term physical effects of playing football. I am not okay with guys getting Alzheimer's and not being able to walk at 45 just to entertain me. So the NFL is looking for balance...nothing at all wrong with that.

But this is an impossible task to balance. In a game that requires hitting and tackling how can you regulate the physics involved? If a running back is diving low to get that last foot for a score how can a defender stop that without getting lower? The defender has to get just as low and by doing so means his head is coming down with his body. This regulation is just silly. Next up running backs will have to run staight up and down and never lower center of gravity. Sounds silly but lets be realistic, running backs lead with their head all the time yet the defenders are singled out and told to find a way to hit a moving target with their chest.

its a fair point, but I think players can hit and tackle without trying to knock a guy out. The Meriwether hit last weekend was unnecessary; he launched himself at the guy's head. He knew what he was doing. The Harrison hit on Massaquoi, and the Robinson hit on Jackson are somewhat tougher, "heat of the moment," kind of hits, but, at the same time, it doesn't seem too much to say, "you know, when a guys' coming over the middle, go towards his body to break up the pass instead of up towards his head."

i think the perception of this stricter enforcement is that the league is restricting tackling, but that's not true. They're just saying don't try to knock a guy out. Lets not forget that these hits sometimes hurt the defenders too, so they're protecting guys on both sides of the ball, protecting players themselves.

Is it hypocritical since the league has often celebrated some of these types of hits? Yes, it is, but its not too late to change that culture within the league.

We'll see what effect, if any, this has. I think its a good move, but it might be good if we all reserve judgment until we see how/if this actually affects the game.