NFL rule changes

I find it highly telling that the NFL powers that be will make rule changes to protect their money-making active players, yet do nothing for them after they retire.

Two years ago, I wrote a column about the long-lasting effects football players endure due to the injuries they suffer during the course of their careers. The results of my research turned up some startling statistics. Former NFL players suffer from dementia and Alzheimer's diseases at an alarming rate compared to the average public.

I don't have a copy of the column on me right now, but I do remember a few things I found. Such as, former Colts tight end and Hall of Famer John Mackey suffers from dementia so badly that his wife has permanent notes posted in their bathroom reminding him to shower and brush his teeth every day.

I don't remember the name of the guy, but there was a former Pittsburgh Steeler (linebacker, I think) who committed suicide by drinking antifreeze. He was in his late 40s, and when doctors autopsied him, they said his brain resembled that of an 80-year-old man with Alzheimer's Disease.

These are only two of the many distrubing cases I stumbled across while reasearching for this column, and not once did I find any evidence of the NFL helping these families with their problems.

Sure, the NFL will protect its players while they're making the league money. But what do they do for them when the curtain draws on their careers?

Tom Brady gets a season-ending injury from getting hit by somebody who is laying flat on the ground? Next thing you know, we'll change all the metal jungle gyms on school playgrounds to plastic. Oh, wait...

No matter how hard we try, no matter how politically correct we try to make society, we NEVER will completely clense ourselves of injuries and accidents, especially when you put 22 of the most physically gifted people in the world in a confined space and tell them to hit each other as hard as they can.

 

Let's see how they handle the Stallworth thing after the legal system is done with him.

I'm assuming you are making a Leonard Little reference, and you are correct. It is dispicable that the NFL did nothing, though I wonder if it would have been different under the current rules and leadership.

That said, the NFL can't claim any moral high ground. It never could. The league really doesn't care about the morality of its players until it starts costing owners money or hurting the NFL's reputation. There is a shameful history of steroid abuse. The current talk about protecting the health of the players is almost comical given the league's past history when dealing with concussions in particular, not to mention the serious health issues faced by former players.

When it comes to how the league has been run in recent years up to this point, the NFL is superior, but not when it comes to morality. We'll see about the rest as the current labor problem gets sorted out.

 

No one who played before 1993 is getting a humane pension, but we can't let Tom Brady bang his knee again. Because then all hell would break loose.

 

It's all about perception. Neither of those things actually has an impact on the NFL's bottom line, but the league seems to think that injuries to star players actually hurt. You would think the minimal impact of Brady's injury would have made that clear.

 

How can you overrule a whistle? Players at all levels are taught to stop at the sound of a whistle.

If they keep going in hopes something might be overturned, it will only create more chaos and led to more late hits and injuries.

 

Exactly. It definitely leads to some bad calls, but I can't see the league ever bending on that one.

 

Excellent point made regarding rules changes benefiting offense in the past 30 years. Because of these changes, comparing statistics or offensive players over generations is virtually impossible. It's also why Johnny Unitas' backers can still make a compelling case that he's the best QB of all time. When he played, receivers could be hit almost indiscriminately.

 

The thing that bothers me the most is that it's only because Brady was hurt. We wouldn't be having this discussion if it were Jason Campbell or somebody else the league deems equally unimportant.

It's disheartening that doing more to prove that fans don't appreciate good defense anymore. I guess I'm just old school. I'd rather see a big hit than a 50-yard touchdown pass. I'd rather watch a 14-10 physical battle than a 35-32 shootout. I played on the defensive line. We were told to do anything we could to get to the QB. Injuries happen.

Without Brady, watching the Patriots was actually interesting this year.