The Nfl is so soft now.

[JEEPercreepermd]

This season has made me so absolutely disgusted with the NFL that it may be my last as a nfl fan.

Today's NFL is complete garbage. I mean, who REALLY likes the fact that Roger Goodell has taken what was once a game of willpower, attrition, bent the rules and turned it into an absolute sh(poop)...show. Half of the NFL's players (the defenders) have to play with the deck stacked high against them...You can't truly defend anymore.

The players have the highest minimum salary of any sport, yet they only have to play 16 games...over 4 MONTHS. NHL players play an 82 game season THEN have to play a minimum of 16 games to be crowned champions...that's if they go undefeated in the playoffs. Some teams play over 20 games by the time they reach the finals. Those guys make far less money, play a much more demanding sport and many are superior athletes to most NFL players, yet how many off season arrests in the nhl do you see? A fraction of those in football. Its unheard of to hear of a hockey player murdering people, beating women, having non legit children, yet it's almost commonplace now in football. Yet they still sit back and whine about player safety. Screw that. People pay THOUSANDS of dollars a year for tickets, jerseys, tv packages ect..to watch these guys play a game..man up and do your job. That's why when I hear someone like a Ray Rice complain about his thigh hurting it enrages me. You are making millions of dollars to play 16 games. Shut up and play.

The product on the field is atrocious from every team out there. A lot of the players are babies, and the LEAGUE promotes all of that because of it's rules to benefit offense and increase the number of star quarterbacks in the league.

I will not be a party to it. This season is my last supporting the NFL or any of it's teams.

I am an old hockey player, so Im going to focus all of my attention on the Nhl and my Flyers. Faster game, superior athletes. End of story.

[Ngata Chance]

Sad news, but I agree with the sentiment. The game, when Ray Lewis was in his prime and could hit a man as hard as he could to knock the ball loose, is gone. And it's new incarnation, well, it's kind of a joke. I'm all for players safety, but one almost expects the next rule to be handed down to be that defenders must tie one arm behind their back.

Smash mouth football has become patty-cake football.

Long live Hockey, I suppose.

[The_Patriot_Way]

R.I.P. NFL I knew and loved

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0is3rf-TA6c

[Moderator 2]

Life is too short to watch your Pats Harrison love fest, but you can not lead with your head to tackle, period. See what you tackle and tackle what you see. Text book tackle by the GOAT. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oCOn2mWtceE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoCOn2mWtceE



And this http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JrnDLXxVoFE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJrnDLXxVoFE

[Moderator 3]

The NHL won't be far behind for fear of lawsuits. First it was mandatory helmets; next they'll ban checking.

[T3hRaven]

The NHL won't be far behind for fear of lawsuits. First it was mandatory helmets; next they'll ban checking.

 

They barely fight anymore too.  Player safety is a big deal in all sports now.  While I think the league needs more defined rules on a lot of things, I don't have a particular problem with what they're trying to do.  Of course their intentions have nothing to do with player safety, but I don't think they're ruining football like a lot of you.  

 

I can enjoy the game watching guys wrap up and form tackle, I don't need to see someone's head blown off and concussed to enjoy the strategy of the sport.

[The Mom Gene]

I have a friend who's daughter plays hockey with both girls and guys... She's now 25.  She has had 18 surgeries... and doesn't flinch.  I played fast pitch softball for about 20 years.. suffered an injury so bad...that I had one surgery that had I not had it would have left me a quad.  I cannot believe that we don't realize the risks in playing these violent sports...  I love Football.  I don't mind the rules as they are now...  You're correct Mod 3....  Hockey will not be far behind....

[The Mom Gene]

They barely fight anymore too.  Player safety is a big deal in all sports now.  While I think the league needs more defined rules on a lot of things, I don't have a particular problem with what they're trying to do.  Of course their intentions have nothing to do with player safety, but I don't think they're ruining football like a lot of you.  

 

I can enjoy the game watching guys wrap up and form tackle, I don't need to see someone's head blown off and concussed to enjoy the strategy of the sport.

WOW... I agree with you T3hRaven

[Pats]

well the nfl would be a lot better without the helmets causing huge brain damage and bad form tackles, then if there was no brain damage reports in mass like there already has been i'm sure the rules would get tougher again. But I liked it better when players like dick butkus, jack tatum, jack lambert etc were playing and smashing everyone and the defenseless receiver rule was non existent.

[The Mom Gene]

well the nfl would be a lot better without the helmets causing huge brain damage and bad form tackles, then if there was no brain damage reports in mass like there already has been i'm sure the rules would get tougher again. But I liked it better when players like dick butkus, jack tatum, jack lambert etc were playing and smashing everyone and the defenseless receiver rule was non existent.

... and like the Brady rule which has only been applicable to "certain QB's"?  Others go without call.....  But that's an entirely different conversation...  Even the helmet to helmet... and QB rules..... 

[Pats]

... and like the Brady rule which has only been applicable to "certain QB's"?  Others go without call.....  But that's an entirely different conversation...  Even the helmet to helmet... and QB rules.....

yeah brady is satan and the league is fixed for him and he ruined football and he created all diseases, oh sorry got caught up telling you what you wanna hear. That's got nothing to do with anything I was talking about

[Moderator 3]

I, too, have begun to consider the viewpoint that the modern helmets cause more injuries than they prevent..

[The Mom Gene]

yeah brady is satan and the league is fixed for him and he ruined football and he created all diseases, oh sorry got caught up telling you what you wanna hear. That's got nothing to do with anything I was talking about

I didn't say all those things....  but neither Joe nor RG3 benefitted by the Brady rule, and both were clearly hit below the knee.  (Not saying that Ngata deserved any special treatment).  There are more too....  But, that rule would have never been implemented without the hit on Brady by Pollard when he was with KC....  Brady rule, Tuck rule....  the man actually gets rules created for him..... 

 

and yeah, the thread is about rules,  injuries,  and the NFL getting soft.

[The Mom Gene]

And yes, Mod 3....  I agree that the newer helmets actually create more sometimes....

[Pats]

I didn't say all those things....  but neither Joe nor RG3 benefitted by the Brady rule, and both were clearly hit below the knee.  (Not saying that Ngata deserved any special treatment).  There are more too....  But, that rule would have never been implemented without the hit on Brady by Pollard when he was with KC....  Brady rule, Tuck rule....  the man actually gets rules created for him.....

That's not true the tuck rule was around before that game with oakland and as stupid a rule as it was it was properly enforced in that game. And as for the below the knee stuff, brady has never gotten a flag for that from all the games I have seen from him, not even from the pollard season ender. If you wanna blame someone blame the awful refs the nfl employs year in year out, over here if a ref has a bad game he gets sacked for at least a week if not a long period so they dont do it again.

[The Mom Gene]

WOW...  Doesn't matter whether he got that "flag" or not...  He got the rule.  Nuff said.

[JO_75]

We might as well not worry about drafting any DBs in the future. Just turn them into WRs so they can still score points and catch the balls except it would be Touchdowns not a Pick 6. 

 

It seems receivers can do whatever so there is no use for any DBs. If you get an interception, refs will find some way to find a flag for it to reverse it since it doesn't score any points for offense. Forget about how or why the rule was created, just enforce it equally for all quarterbacks. No playing favorites and throwing a flag for some QBs while it is open season on other quarterbacks. 

 

Honestly, nothing will change until Goodell is no longer in charge, and that is if we are lucky that someone under Goodell doesn't replace him. We need someone who would be willing to throw out half the player safety rules to get back to real football. Sadly, even then I doubt it will be fixed because in today's world, someone will complain about how they aren't concerned about player safety even though every player knows the risk involved.

[Moderator 2]

Had Levy hit The Brady like he did Flacco and injure him to the point of needing a brace and potentially ruining the teams chances at the playoffs there would have been a lot more said and done, it's the way it is and not really talked about anymore.
I think the new helmets make the kids feel more invincible and are more apt to tackle with the crown because 'its new and improved' and supposed to protect them. My sons HS was starting to use them 4 yrs ago when he walked on, I cried when he quit after two weeks but I am quite happy now, and I think all the colleges are using them. What we need is mandated training and teaching of all football coaches from pee wee to D1 college, you can still see great tackling and hits that are legal and not career ending. A knee injury may seem more devastating because its career ending when you don't see the big picture of the CHI's, think Ali. Repeated head injuries may not show up 20 years post retirement.
I think the older players should be taken care of also, I know that is un-popular with Godell.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

I agree with this, though I will continue watching anyway 

[T3hRaven]

The sport has to evolve.  Imagine what would happen to the NBA if Michael Jordan came out and said he was having mental issues because of what happened to him playing basketball.  The NFL is basically going through that right now.  They're lucky one of the QBs hasn't come out claiming CTE symptoms in a hard core fashion, at least until Favre started talking about his memory loss recently.

 

Maybe someday technology will evolve to the point where the sport is safe, but I doubt it.  Some helmets are doing a better job at preventing concussions, like Rodgers' who had quite a few before he switched, but I don't know what effect that will have on the lasting brain damage caused by the sport.  Honestly, I used to lament not having been allowed to play the sport, but now I'm not so sure that was a bad thing.

[Gordo52]

Benard Pollard might be right. I can't even imagine what the league will look like 5 years from now.

Sports in general are getting softer. It's a real problem in America IMO.

MLB is eliminating home plate collisions. Every player in every sport is flopping. Can't touch the QB,K or P (who are men I remind you).

Two hand touch for receivers only is what it's leading to.

[T3hRaven]

I don't think the rules on receivers are that wrong, the enforcement of them is just terrible.

[Ravenglenn]

The NHL won't be far behind for fear of lawsuits. First it was mandatory helmets; next they'll ban checking.

They've already cracked down on the fighting and the penalties for this and that are growing.  It's not been the same NHL since the lockout and canceled season.

[BallHawker]

You guys are way overblowing this. Some of the rules are illogical such as offseason workout limitations and certain QB late hit rules, but the majority are aimed to protect players - including head to head (spinal cord injury, concussions, neck), defenseless player, horsecollar tackling. These are in place not only for protection of assets in case of lawsuits, but also general health and well being of the players. Minimizing risk is the best prophylactic measure, which then allows the best players to stay on the field longer. More and more informed parents would not be letting their kids on the football field unless these rules are in place, thus decreasing the talent pool and value of the league.

 

But, you are right, the salary is too high for the risk. Still, it's based on basic supply and demand. The demand for football is at its all-time high; and if their salaries are lower, those stars may go to other sports (Russell Wilson to MLB, many TEs to basketball). 

 

Besides, if the "NFL is so soft now," we'd see our Ravens scoring easily on every team purely based on league rules. Unfortunately, that's not the case..

[TSizzle00]

I, too, have begun to consider the viewpoint that the modern helmets cause more injuries than they prevent..

 

How you figure that? A person could make 80 tackles in a season and only one of them result in a concussion. Not sure if they cause more injuries rather than people just care more about injuries than they did before due to the lawsuits. If you fall on your back after being tackled Im sure most people would prefer to have a helmet on then to fall right on their heads.

[The Raven]

I, too, have begun to consider the viewpoint that the modern helmets cause more injuries than they prevent..

 

 

And yes, Mod 3....  I agree that the newer helmets actually create more sometimes....

 

How???

[Inqui]

I've got a few thoughts here.

 

*Why the Goodell hate? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure he's just a spokesman of the league (which is collectively owned by the 32 team owners). It's not like he's trying to outlaw everything under the sun so he can line his pockets with caviar or anything. I think he's an easy scapegoat and everyone piles on him with the pack mentality being no small part of it.

 

*People have a knack for glorifying the past. I have no idea why it happens so much (it doesn't serve any evolutionary purpose as far as I'm aware), but I see it everywhere. NZ's journalism industry group is full of old codgers lamenting the "glory days" long past. I've seen people complain about how the forum's best days are behind it on every board I've ever frequented (only one of them's dead to this day, but that's because the admin was a prick). I think that's why LBJ won't get recognised as the best ever until long after he retires - if he ever gets that recognition. I see people complain about life in general was better "back in my day" even from people my age (22 if you were wondering). Don't get me started on music (I get it, you liked older stuff and you think musicians these days produce crap. Cool story, now find someone who cares).

 

Is it really a surprise that we're seeing the same thing with sports? Sure people who miss the glory days could be right and it possibly was objectively better in every way back then, but I think it's more likely we're just looking at another brick in the wall. There are plenty of reasons why you could argue the product's improved since the days of Butkus. Athletes are far better conditioned these days, schemes are more complicated and modern medicine allows players to recover faster (yay, watching first-string players play more games!).

 

*I get the point about the pansification of the league, but I agree with the people who talked about the importance of player safety. It's actually self-serving for the league too - you don't want some freakishly talented player heading to baseball because that's all their parents let them play from an early age. I think the concern for long-term player safety is a fair one. I won't add too much more because I don't feel like any of my thoughts on it are really original, but I find it a bit hypocritical for someone to pay their respects to the tragic circumstances of Junior Seau's death and then talk about how they miss HARDCORE FOOTBALL two weeks later. Sucks for the guy, but I want to watch the hard hits dammit!

 

*(American) football is still a lot rougher than you guys give it credit for. Rugby is the big contact sport here and, while I'm not going to call it soft I will say that you don't get nearly as many highlight reel hits every week.

 

*And besides, if you want to watch a sport purely for its violence then stick to boxing for cage fighting. I can't name a sport that compares to either of those two for having men (and women) slug it out in raw combat. I also love watching (American) football for the displays of athleticism, the skill of the players and the strategic aspects. Interestingly enough they've all improved over the years.

 

*Finally, the "football will become two-hand touch" argument and the like is a load of rubbish. It's called the slippery slope fallacy and frankly it's such a weak argument they literally named a logical fallacy after it. It's like saying "if we allow gays to marry then we'll let animals marry next". It implies there 1) is already a good reason to make the next step and; 2) can't be a middle ground. Put it this way: the NFL is out to maximise its viewership. Would they put in a rule change that dramatic without a majority of fans wanting it? Ravens president Dick Cass has spoken a bit about their business model: it's easier to keep fans around than it is to try and attract new ones, so people like us will always be a big priority when the game's development is considered.

[The Mom Gene]

How???

The helmets are padded more and taking that into consideration,  the harder the helmet, the harder the player hits...  which creates more of an impact causing more of a chance for concussion...  These guys have been hitting way harder...  players are actually getting concussed hitting their heads on the ground...  It's not protecting even that.

[The Raven]

The helmets are padded more and taking that into consideration,  the harder the helmet, the harder the player hits...  which creates more of an impact causing more of a chance for concussion...  These guys have been hitting way harder...  players are actually getting concussed hitting their heads on the ground...  It's not protecting even that.

 

Yeah, no, not really. The helmets are designed to absorb some of the blow so the brain doesn't get rattled as much. The helmets aren't actually getting harder. I played ball in HS and a bit in college, and the helmets have gotten no harder, lol. I've worn the new helmets and some of the older ones, and they are not harder and they have a LOT more protective gear. There's even more soft padding inside to protect your brain.

 

The reason there's an increase in concussions is that players are actually reporting them now.

[pmr468]

Every big hit seems to be flagged these days. It's obvious that this sport will cause concussions. New rules such as "no hits to the head" have become "no hits to the upper body". Take Kam Chancellor's hit on Vernon Davis last season. It was a clean hit, yet it was flagged, probably because the officials thought it was too hard. The NFL is making the game better suited to more points and wimpy QB's like Kaepernick so that you can't touch the QB without getting flagged and probably fined. The NFL knows the more offense = more fan interest which equals more tickets sold. The NFL is just one of the big corporations who only cares about the money in their pockets. Players are starting to hit receivers at knee level, therefore causing more knee injuries. The NFL doesnt really care about player safety, they just don't want to get sued by players for their injuries, and squeeze every last dollar they can out of player with BS fines.