There are multiple points to made from this story: the need to protect players, the NFL being a giant hypocrite, understanding the history of the league and football, the idea that no one makes you play football and risking you body is part of the game, etc. The reason I have gravitated to this story so much (just check out the recent activity on my Facebook page) is partly because of all the issues this brings to light. Having played football for many years, being a huge fan of the game for a similar period of time, my hardcore fandom of the NFL due to following my own favorite team (the Cardinals) for past 6-7 years, plus my dedication to being a competitive player in my Fantasy Football (my favorite hobby) make this issue important to me for really only one reason - I don't want the game to change.
There is a reason that the NFL is currently the most popular sport in the US. Bigs hits play a huge part of this popularity. I love watching big hits. I loved getting hit hard, still holding on to the ball, and getting a first down when I played TE in high school. There are many reasons that people love big hits - general excitement, sense of danger, pride in getting up after getting hit, a big hit that changes the course of game, and so on. There is also nothing wrong with big hits (as long as there are legal.) Why are guys such as Ronnie Lott, Jack Tatum, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Jack Lambert, Dick Butkus, Lawrence Taylor, and Deacon Jones names that I know even though I never saw them play? Because of the havoc they caused on the field. These guys are great examples of football players and boy did they hit hard. Now many rules have changed since these guys played (the "head slap" that Deacon Jones used comes to mind) especially the rules about hitting the QB. The rules have changed so drastically that I am not sure that some of these guys could play in today's NFL. But, we still have players like Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, Adrian Wilson, Joey Porter, and Clay Matthews of today's game, plus recent retirees like Derrick Brooks and John Lynch that were able to play at a high level (and hit hard) under the current rules and make a name for themselves.
Now, I believe the NFL is going too far in their effort to "protect the players" - really they are just trying to protect their own image. If the NFL really cared about player safety, they wouldn't want to extend the regular season to 18 games. Because of today's knowledge of concussions and the instant Twitter world that we operate in, the NFL is worried that concussion exposure is going to hurt their image. However, legal hits that may cause concussions should not a fine-able or suspend-able offense. Mike Golic and many others at ESPN have said that Daunta Robinson's hit on DeSean Jackson was a clean and legal hit - and I agree. What Jerome Harrison did to Cribbs was also a legal hit as he was a "runner" and not a "defenseless receiver." I will not argue on behalf of the other two hits in question from this past Sunday, as one was a in a gray area (Harrison's hit on Muhammad Massaquoi) and one was pretty dirty (Merriweather's on Todd Heap.)
This shows why I fear that the game may change - players were fined for contact that is legal according to the rules. Though the league is saying that no rules are being changed, by upping enforcement, they are changing the rules. When the league cracked down on illegal contact after the Colts and Patriots played in the playoffs in 2004 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1771047) no rules were changed, but any fan can tell you that it has impacted today's game significantly. And really, fans do not want the game to change as they don't see that anything is wrong. According to SportsNation polls on ESPN.com, 79% of fans say the NFL not too violent, 33% (the majority answer among four choices) say the league is less violent now than it was 20 years ago, 49% (again the majority) said that Robinson's $50,00 fine was too much, plus 48% of folks said that Robinson's hit was clean but an unfortunate result (with 37% saying it was bad but not dirty and only 15% saying it was a dirty hit.) I just don't want to see this new crackdown leading to guys playing differently. I still want guys to be afraid to go over the middle - the ones that aren't scared are the ones that we all admire. I want QBs to get rid of the ball quickly for fear of getting hit by a blitzing LB. I want football to be football. Matt Millen made an excellent point on the MNF postgame show, saying something to effect that these have been concerns for years and that one weekend should not change how we play the game.
My final thought: Changing the rules is not the correct solution. The solution should be to better educate players. This article: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2314899 that appeared in ESPN the Magazine shows that wearing the proper mouthpiece limits concussions and that players do not wear them. Also, growing up we were told that our helmets should be snug, but how many players don't buckle their chin straps all the way or wear helmets that fly off every other play. A concussion reducing helmet won't work if it is not worn correctly. Players need to take responsibility to limit concussions, not suits up on some league office where no one played in the NFL. By cracking down on injuries to the head (where you have helmet) will only cause player to get suffer knee injuries (where this is little padding) like Larry Fitzgerald did this preseason. Rather than hitting Fitzgerald up high, the Houston DB went low and Fitzgerald sprained ligaments in his knee according to the team (but he may also have suffered a partial tear) causing him to miss the rest of the preseason and play with a limp in the Cardinals first game. Please NFL keep the game the way it is!
I know this post all over the place, so to wrap up: the NFL should not change the rules (whether they officially do or not,) illegal helmet to helmet hits are bad (especially when they are intentional) but please remember that your shoulder (which you are supposed to lead with) is connected to your head, and that players need to take more responsibility about there own safety.
Please leave your comments as I really love discussing this topic.
Follow me on Twitter @TheJasonStation