NFL=Gratiutous Violence?

NEWSWEEK WEB | Thursday, 6 November 2002 | Mark Star

[BaghdadBarney]

"The league can’t do enough to protect the quarterbacks; already five legitimate Super Bowl contenders—St. Louis, Philadelphia, Denver, Miami and Pittsburgh—have lost quarterbacks to injury; a couple of those teams have already had two QBs go down..."

So maybe the league should just disallow hitting/tackling the quarterback at all. Two-hand touch? Hmmmm....

[lepton]

Clifton was chasing far behind a play

So he was indeed trying to make himself part of the play, right?

[lepton]

and runs unconscionably fast for a man his size.

He thinks how fast Warren Sapp runs is unconscionable?

[wasp69]

The league has rules in place to punish those that like to take cheap shots at other players; just ask Romanowski. Football is a dangerous game. I understood that when I was playing, the players understand that and for the most part the general public understands that. Changing the rules on the field would be wrong but levying fines and suspensions (which already happens) should curb some of it.

[mr.pink]

And the simple solution is to make the most gratuitous of them—when the receiver is outstretched for a ball five feet over his head or a scrambling quarterback is one inch from stepping out of bounds—illegal.

Sorry, but if a QB decides to throw his WRs "hospital balls" high over the middle...the QB is at fault, not the DB.

When an O co-ordinator decides to get cute and send five out on patterns, he's made a conscious choice to expose his QB to punishment/injury. The best protection for a QB is a strong running game.

Cheap shots are cheap shots and should be punished harshly, but physical/tough play and hard hits are an integral part of the game.

[lepton]

And the simple solution is to make the most gratuitous of them—when the receiver is outstretched for a ball five feet over his head

Or make it illegal for him to stretch out and try for a ball when it would make him so vulnerable?

or a scrambling quarterback is one inch from stepping out of bounds—illegal.

Or make the QB run out of bounds earlier...or take advantage of the slide rule - and if he heads towards the sidelines and DOENS'T run out of bounds, call an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on him?

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

The truth is that fear is part of football, and of baseball. Overcoming fear is what courage is all about. If you can't do that, you will never get a hit off a Nolan Ryan, and you will never catch a high pass that forces you to stretch out and make yourself vulnerable.

Take the element of fear out of those sports and you have transformed them into track-and-field events--completely different animals.

My brother taught a kid how to throw a fastball, and in his first effort in a Little League practice game he accidentally beaned a batter. My brother called him over to him, and I called out, "Not your fault, Butch!" You could just see the relief come over him when he heard that. But I can ask myself, "If it wasn't Butch's fault, and if a kid was hurt, whose fault was it?"

But then, I'm not sure I like the answer to that! It is at the very least a cost of doing business in our culture. And possibly the responsiblity of the coach who taught the pitcher and the batter.

[FreeTally]

I bet this pansy Mark Star has never worn a jock strap. He probably prefers interviewing guys in the locker room wearing only jock straps.

[kjam22]

The answer is in equipment. If a person wants to "soften" the game.... they can start by banning face masks, and make them wear leather helmets. There will still be a few psychos who lead with their head when tackeling..... but not many for very long.

[IYAS9YAS]

Words escape me. IT'S FOOTBALL. THERE WILL BE INJURIES. WARREN SAPP HITTING A QB IS KINDA LIKE A PETERBUILT HITTING A YUGO. YUGO LOSES. Sorry, BB, the yelling isn't meant for you. If I could make big bucks playing a game, I'd think the risks would be worth it.

[Michael Barnes]

NFL=Gratiutous Violence?

Dummy....Gratiutous violence is in HOCKEY!!! Hell, a good ol fist fight is how them players get to know one and other..

[IYAS9YAS]

"I think I broke his ******* neck!" Longest Yard Bump.

[Dog Gone]

They are well-paid gladiators and the brutal hits are part of the appeal. Change that and you'll turn it into something that appeals to me about as much as a figure skating league.

[VMI70]

This is just one of the reasons why we are giving up our Redskins season tickets after having them since inception. It has devolved into a different game: unpleasant fans, unpleasant players, unpleasant venues, unpleasant prices, etc.

Professional football is quickly gaining ground on professional wrestling in the quest to be the lowest common denominator of sports. "Professional" is a misuse of the word when referring to either of them.

[underthesun]

....And the simple solution is to make the most gratuitous of them—when the receiver is outstretched for a ball five feet over his head or a scrambling quarterback is one inch from stepping out of bounds—illegal......

If the players aren't aware or willing to take the risk that is involved with the game then we might as well give them all flags to stuff in their back pockets.
Most of the violence that incurs is not intentional and that which is, there are sanctions and penalties for.

[FreeTally]

You sound like you have been a football fan for quite some time. Surely you realize the brutality of the game in the 1950's and 1960's before they outlawed the "clothesline" and leading with the helmet? Jack Lambert and "Nighttrain" Lane were some brutal, feared men. And there were many others as well.

If anything, the sport has become less brutal over the past 30-40 years.

[freedomcrusader]

Sapp is a low-life thug.

[jpl]

This is just one of the reasons why we are giving up our Redskins season tickets after having them since inception. It has devolved into a different game: unpleasant fans, unpleasant players, unpleasant venues, unpleasant prices, etc.

And in the case of the Redskins one could also throw in unpleasant head coaches and unpleasant owners as well.