Is The NFL Doomed?

Coyote Blog ^ | January 23, 2013 | Warren Meyer

[1rudeboy]

I think Megan McArdle is being naive about the tort system in this country when she writes

So Junior Seau's family is suing the NFL over head injuries, which lead to chronic brain damage, and possibly his suicide.

...

But this lawsuit strikes me as pretty out there.  Junior Seau can't possibly have been unaware that football caused head injuries.  Nor even that multiple concussions are probably bad for you.  Note how many people are still playing, even though we now know this all too well.

Really?  I know of cases where people have successfully sued for drownings that occurred within feet of a no swimming sign.  I could easily ask if there are really people unaware that water can cause drownings.   Any sense of individual responsibility has been stripped from the tort system, such that it has become a way for folks who had bad outcomes of some sort to cash in from deeper pockets, irrespective of any reasonable sense of justice.

The NFL knows this and is clearly running scared.  How do we know?  Just look at Saints coach Sean Payton, who just went back to work after a one year suspension, a historically really large penalty for a coach.  He was accused of tangential association with a bounty system players and coaches had in place for great plays that may also have been a bounty system for injuring opposing players.  The NFL knows this goes on all the time, but must now prepare for the day they are in court getting sued for having an unsafe work environment.  They do not want a case based on negligence to be made far worse by accusations that the league was actively promoting behavior that created injuries.  So they threw the book at him.  The other folks who were suspended threatened the NFL with suits for all sorts of due process errors, but the NFL didn't care.  They can survive a judgement on an unjustified suspension of one or two players.   They cannot survive a judgement on causing hundreds to have brain damage.

Quoting from Walter Olson, who spends most of his time studying the tort system in this country:

 if subjected to the same injury liability rules that American courts apply to other businesses, organized football is unlikely to survive.

[TexasCajun]

WELCOME TO THE NGFFL !!

[Sivad]

No thanks. I’ll just content myself with thinking about how
bad the Niners are plucking the Crows.

[Dr. Sivana]

I am going to be a bit contrary here. The fact is that major rule changes have been incorporated into the game before, and that presidents were involved.

From Wikipedia: Forward Pass

Rules changed in 1906 to allow the forward pass. 1905 had been a bloody year on the gridiron; the Chicago Tribune reported 18 players had been killed and 159 seriously injured that season.[4] There were moves to abolish the game. But President Theodore Roosevelt personally intervened and demanded that the rules of the game be reformed. In a meeting of more than 60 schools in late 1905, the commitment was made to make the game safer. This meeting was the first step toward the establishment of what would become the NCAA and was followed by several sessions to work out "the new rules."[5]
[ . . . ]
The New York Times reported in September 1906 on the rationale for the changes: "The main efforts of the football reformers have been to 'open up the game'—that is to provide for the natural elimination of the so-called mass plays and bring about a game in which speed and real skill shall supersede so far as possible mere brute strength and force of weight."[6] However the Times also reflected widespread skepticism as to whether the forward pass could be effectively integrated into the game: "There has been no team that has proved that the forward pass is anything but a doubtful, dangerous play to be used only in the last extremity."[7] The forward pass was not allowed in Canadian football until 1929.[8]

One could argue that the earlier rule changed created today's situation. But much more has happened since then. In the '70s, offensive holding was made easier (hands could be used), and the penalty lessened (from 15 yards to 10). Chucking rules also changed. For the most part, these changes made the pass-happy NFL possible. Ringing up yardage and passing touchdowns unknown since the days of the 1951 Rams with Van Brocklin, Waterfield and Crazy Legs Hirsch.

Of course, Something else changed. The athletes. In the 1930s Bronco Nagurski was considered a brute, and won wrestling championships (the legit kind) as well as being a bull of a defensive tackle as well as fullback.

His weight? 226 lb. the size of a modern day ordinary quarterback (Kurt Warner)

Now, lets bring in physics:

If I recall, Force equals Mass x Acceleration. If we compare the 226 pound Nagurski to, say, Ndahmikung Suh, Suh is probably at least Nagurski's speed, and has a ONE-HUNDRED POUND weight advantage. Subtract the amount of the hit absorbed by the uniforms, and a pocket passer is a lot more likely to be seriously hurt, even though the QBs themselves are probably beefier, it is no where near enough to compensate.

Also, since then, new formations (e.g. teh shotgun) can increase the amount of sped with which the QB is hit.

I can also only assume that going back to the 1905 rules would not help much, as the players in the pile would have even more MASS, and with close to the same acceleration.

What do we do? Size limits? Weight limits? Then we don't get to see the extreme athleticism and arguably the best football. Most positions are now reserved for freaks, as in basketball.

If we go back to the old holding and chucking rules (pre 1977 or so), offensive linemen would not afford their QBs as much time, receivers couldn't get downfield as often, and there would be more interceptions in the shortened field.

Basically, if we cannot decrease the MASS, we must decrease the ACCELERATION. And no, I do not want it to get to the point where we do nothing where 18 guys a year get killed and thousands more get maimed.

Is it a job for the government to mandate? Not the fed, but states certainly could if they chose. It is in the NFL's interest to find a way to change the game (as they constantly do anyway) to keep it interesting, but to also address the new breed of player.

For my part, I actually prefer the '60s - '70s style football, which seems more balanced and watchable, 42-35 finishes were remarkable and rare, and 9-0 championship games were watched closely by those who appreciate good defensive play (Rams-Bucs 1979).

I don't want the government to get involved, but the NFL and NCAA should be able to make rule/equipment changes (hard helmets may have been a bad idea) that are less severe than the ones made in the past.

[SCHROLL]

As much as I loved watching Seau on Sundays, his injuries were the result of his actions in using his head as a battering ram nearly every play. You’re taught from Pop Warner on up not to use your head in that manner. Don’t blame the league or the game here folks.

[Slyfox]

the express intent of liberals to destroy anything that is masculine

What better way to implement the planned effort to destroy our Republic?

[ReaganGeneration2]

Right. Why not destroy the last bit of what makes America great?

Also...
Staates’ rights. Check.
Kids playing outside. Check.
Marriage. Check.
Religion. Check.
Founding Fathers. Check.
Property rights. Check.
The Constitution. Check.

[perez24]

Agreed.

There are going to be some concussions in any game where people run around and hit collide with other people, e.g. hockey, football, rugby, lacrosse, etc.

My son got a mild concussion when he was in 3rd grade on a perfectly legal hit. His coach consistently preached not to lead with the helmet and the kid who hit him was told about it, even though it really wasn’t the kids fault.

The problem with football these days is that so many players lead with their helmets on both sides of hte ball. When was the last time you say a DB legitimately wrap someone and take him to the ground? It seems like its always a helmet or shoulder to the other guy’s knees or helmet.

[Average Al]

Two thoughts, either eliminate helments all together or turn them in to big nurf balls. Either way the injuries
should go down pretty quick.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

Just wanna throw this out there...
The NFL is under fire for making money off a game where people sustain head injuries that may later cause depression or even suicide.

Is it just as possible that,

The NFL pays individuals large sums of money in their youth when they can play the game, sums of money which most of the have never had before or can manage properly, only to find themselves in later life with little money and limited employment prospects. Could this too cause depression and maybe even suicide?

[nascarnation]

I’m surprised that so many FReepers seem to equate the NFL with conservative ideals.
Many of the owners, the coaches, and nearly all the players are devout Baraqqis.

[Perdogg]

NFL PING

FReepmail Perdogg to be added to, or to be taken off the NFL Ping list...

[vpintheak]

Shock Headline:
Any and all Activity Can Lead to Injury! Chances Increased as Activity is Reapeated! You Have Been Warned!

[ken5050]

Since next year's Super Bowl will be held in NY, in January...(just look at the weather there now), maybe the headline should read:

"is the NFL Domed?