Schlereth Shreds the NFL for Fining Hard Hits

The NFL has definitely glorified the violence. The NFL website sold photos of the violent hits, for God's sake. There was a decent column on Fanhouse.com about it.

 

It wasn't that long ago that the most popular segment on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown consisted of the crew yelling "JACKED UP!" as repeated big hits were shown over and over.

 

Harrison's situation is a perfect example of the problem: these guys have been taught to play this way. What they haven't been taught is that the way they play is unsafe. The modern football helmet, particularly with the advances that have been made over the last 10 years, has made these guys feel like they're invincible and that they can use their head as a weapon.

It seems like simple logic that the last thing you'd want to do if you're a 260-pound man getting ready to run full-speed into another 240-pound man is put your head right in the middle of that collision, but that's exactly what most of these guys do.

 

Don't confuse it, though. Jacked up was an ESPN thing, not an NFL thing. That being said, Sclereth hit it out of the ballpark.

 

I like Schlereth.

But the man uses the word 'football' over and over and over and over until I can't listen to anything he says. All I hear is 'football' on a loop when I see his face.

 

Exactly. Don't think the NFL is worried about a possible precedent set by a wholly unlikable human being.

Ultimately, this knee-jerk bullshit by Roger Goodell and his cadre of PR flaks that run the league is driving me to watch baseball. Baseball, for God's sake!

And unfortunately, I don't think the NFL really has to worry about much fallout re: its hypocrisy. The league is almost invincible at this point. Want proof? The Titans-Jaguars game crushed in the ratings Monday against an ALCS game that featured the hottest pitcher in baseball against the most popular and successful team in the history of the sport.

 

Then you'll be happy to know he wants to take the word 'football' out of the 'National Football League' and replace it with 'hypocrisy,' expressing strong regret that the NHL was already using those initials.

 

At least part of this is posturing on Goodell's part. He sees the writing on the wall with the upcoming labor dispute, and he knows that player safety is going to be one of the key issues.

Now he thinks he's found an issue where he can look tough on player safety all while spinning safety issues back on the players.

 

Pissing off half the league with indiscriminate fines should do wonders for negotiations.

 

I meant more posturing for the public and media, which are predisposed to fall on his and the owner's side anyway, as opposed to posturing for the players and the union, which fans and media are going to blame if there's no NFL season in 2011.

 

Check out the players' weights on this 1979 Chicago Bears roster:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/1979_roster.htm

The heaviest guys were 266 and 267. I think there's a half-dozen who are over 250, all linemen. Hell, one of the starting DTs, the great Alan Page, is listed at 245.

It's such a bigger and faster league now that the injuries are going to keep piling up, until they find a way to build better helmets, pads, etc.