The Pussification of the NFL

[gwallaia]

This is not the NFL I grew up watching. This is not the NFL I used to love.

If the rules to protect QBs gets any worse, it will not be worth blitzing. Its simply not worth the risk to get called for a 15 yard roughing the passer call anytime the QB is touched. Goodell might as well institute a 3 yard halo around the QB much like a punt returner.

It is quickly getting to the point where defensive players will not be allowed to run full speed and hit any one.

This is not the NFL I grew up watching and I do not see it getting any better.

[Dread-Head]

FIRE GODDELL! The man's a dick.

[The Cush]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, 3 years from now the yellow flags those refs throw around will be worn around the players' waists

[burro]

Originally Posted by The Cush

I've said it before and I'll say it again, 3 years from now the yellow flags those refs throw around will be worn around the players' waists

I wouldn't doubt it. At that point, I would think there would be enough demand to start a new league that plays by 1970's NFL rules.

[ThaShark316]

Can't celebrate a stop on D without thinking "flag? ok none..good!"

[dream_team]

Originally Posted by ThaShark316

Can't celebrate a stop on D without thinking "flag? ok none..good!"

That's how I am. Whenever there's a good defensive play, especially in the secondary, I wait a few secs to make sure there's no flag before I start to celebrate.

I wish I could boycott football in protest of these rules, but it's a sport hard to take away from me.

[ObsiWan]

Originally Posted by gwallaia

This is not the NFL I grew up watching. This is not the NFL I used to love.

If the rules to protect QBs gets any worse, it will not be worth blitzing. Its simply not worth the risk to get called for a 15 yard roughing the passer call anytime the QB is touched. Goodell might as well institute a 3 yard halo around the QB much like a punt returner.

It is quickly getting to the point where defensive players will not be allowed to run full speed and hit any one.

This is not the NFL I grew up watching and I do not see it getting any better.

Me either.
I feel like I've been robbed. The game I used to love has been stolen from me. And Roger Goodell is the thief.

this is becoming worse than the NBA where the refs determine the outcome of the games

[rush2112mn]

Pretty soon.....the defender will have to touch the qb around the hips and say......I got you.....or put flags on the qb and have the defender pull the flags......


That is not the football I grew up on.....This is totally ridiculous.....

Both personal fouls on JJ Watt on his qb sacks were not personal fouls...plain and simple......

[Porky]

Ya, I gotta agree guys. OTOH, Nobody wants to see a player injured, but there is the letter of the law, and then there is the spirit of the law and some discretion by the refs would go a long way toward solving our discontent while still protecting the ball carriers.

There is a difference between JJ Watt falling or being pushed onto the legs of the QB (I coujldn't really tell) and the dirty play that James Harrison put on Colt McCoy. The refs needs to realize that the reason for the rule is to protect from the dirty plays. Call it when that happens, otherwise swallow the damn whistle.

[jaayteetx]

Roger Goodell is ruining the game, pure and simple.

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by gwallaia

This is not the NFL I grew up watching. This is not the NFL I used to love.

If the rules to protect QBs gets any worse, it will not be worth blitzing. Its simply not worth the risk to get called for a 15 yard roughing the passer call anytime the QB is touched. Goodell might as well institute a 3 yard halo around the QB much like a punt returner.

It is quickly getting to the point where defensive players will not be allowed to run full speed and hit any one.

This is not the NFL I grew up watching and I do not see it getting any better.

Can you say "Pussification"?


But yeah, I definitely hear you Greg!!!

Tobin said this morning, "I'm giving up my tickets. That was ridiculous. Oh well, I had a good run."

[TimeKiller]

Yeah...if you thought you couldn't touch Peyton before, wait until he has a neck surgery. Apparently Dan-O gets the same treatment. Maybe it's just the blue jersey?

[Ktexan68]

Like someone said on Twitter last night- just hang a couple of tampons from the belt of the qb and if anyone yanks the string, they're down.

[Honoring Earl 34]

What it also means is you may never see another 85 Bears team . It hard to play great defense in touch football .

Former players are finding a sympathetic ear in the courts and the NFL is scared to death. You did read about the lawsuit brought by players including Dorsey Levins and Jamaal Lewis. There are something like a dozen lawsuits working their way through Federal courts. Think of the payday coming for these people.

Here's the deal. Medicine and the law are going to ruin sports. It's inevitable. Those two heart conditions recently found on the NBA players, what if this new 3d 360 degree imaging technology was around since sports became big? What if Michael Jordan was found to have an abnormal heart valve. What is a normal one? Who gets to decide normal v abnormal.

Lawyers love this **** because the public is a stupid, overly generous with other people's money public. This is the same public that sits in the jury box and throws the book a the NFL. So honestly if you want to know who ruined it, it was you and me.

We the people demand our lives be free of risk or as close to free of risk as our government minders can keep us.

[gtexan02]

Simple fix:
Fine the refs for every bad call. They need to learn that referees are intended to supplement the game not dictate it. Review every call fine referees who make egregious bad calls. Make them be 100% sure before throwing that stupid yellow flag.

OR allow review on penalties

[Porky]

Originally Posted by kingh99

Former players are finding a sympathetic ear in the courts and the NFL is scared to death. You did read about the lawsuit brought by players including Dorsey Levins and Jamaal Lewis. There are something like a dozen lawsuits working their way through Federal courts. Think of the payday coming for these people.

Here's the deal. Medicine and the law are going to ruin sports. It's inevitable. Those two heart conditions recently found on the NBA players, what if this new 3d 360 degree imaging technology was around since sports became big? What if Michael Jordan was found to have an abnormal heart valve. What is a normal one? Who gets to decide normal v abnormal.

Lawyers love this **** because the public is a stupid, overly generous with other people's money public. This is the same public that sits in the jury box and throws the book a the NFL. So honestly if you want to know who ruined it, it was you and me.

We the people demand our lives be free of risk or as close to free of risk as our government minders can keep us.

Interesting "out of the box" take, but I have to say this makes some real sense. The Govt dictates everything now and has attempted to take all risks out of life. You have to wear a seatbelt, a bike helmet, kids can't be kids and if the kid gets a bruise the parents want to find someone to sue.

The poster is right - we have seen the enemy, and it is us.

[Texanator]

When this becomes roughing the passer, all hope is lost!

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

Simple fix:
Fine the refs for every bad call. They need to learn that referees are intended to supplement the game not dictate it. Review every call fine referees who make egregious bad calls. Make them be 100% sure before throwing that stupid yellow flag.

OR allow review on penalties

I would love for a coach to have a separate "penalty challenge" which could either impliment or negate a penalty. I think you'd HAVE to have certain restrictions placed on it though because you can probably find a holding or something on each play. I think the coach would have to specify exactly what was being challenged and you might have to narrow it to "immediately effecting the play" or something, which can be quite discretionary I admit.

For example that no offensive pass interference call against Joseph, I think it was. The WR was blatantly pull his jersey that made a huge impact on Joseph not getting seperation for the interception. THAT should be a one-time reviewable play.

These penalties late in the game DEFINITELY had an impact on the game and most were awful awful calls. I'm not going to say THAT is why we lost because I'm very disappointed in our offensive production... but you know what, you don't have to have a great offensive game or defensive game or special teams play to win every game. Team suck ass on one side of the ball all the time and FIND A WAY TO WIN. That was us yesterday and the refs took it away.

As of PUSSIFICATION of the NFL - The roughing the passer call on JJ Watt pissed me off the most. Terrible call. I understand protecting the QB, I understand no helmet to helmet... but what the league is doing is taking it to an extreme where players may actually end up getting more hurt because of it. In a crucial situation late in the game all a QB has to do is lower his head a few inches and the defender will likely make contact with his helmet. QBs could intentially BEGIN doing this to draw the flag. They could be willing to put themselves at more risk and that is just extremely counterproductive to why you want that rule in place.

Originally Posted by Porky

Interesting "out of the box" take, but I have to say this makes some real sense. The Govt dictates everything now and has attempted to take all risks out of life. You have to wear a seatbelt, a bike helmet, kids can't be kids and if the kid gets a bruise the parents want to find someone to sue.

The poster is right - we have seen the enemy, and it is us.

Thanks for the kind words. It wasn't really my revelation. I was lucky enough to work for a small business where one of the owners knew people who he met through going to graduate school. One year the group was given a speech by R. Walter Cunningham, Apollo Astronaut and US Marine.

Essentially he said we're in trouble as a society because we aren't willing to accept risk anymore. I thought to myself afterward what it would be like to try and get the combustion engine passed into lawful use today. Imagine the eco and safety concerns of riding around on top of 15 gallons of explosive fuel. Unpossible! Here is a quote from Col Cunningham:

Will an organization, unwilling to accept the risk of flying a truly great spacecraft in familiar Earth orbits ever be willing to accept the inherent risks of landing humans on the Moon, let alone sending them to Mars? Is NASA, today, a reflection of society's growing desire for a risk-free existence? With that attitude about risk, we would never have gotten to the Moon and become pre-eminent in human space flight. NASA was founded to explore the unknown, evaluate the risks versus gains, and then take calculated risks to move our society forward.

We should continue to improve the safety of our missions and our spacecraft, but we should not let failures paralyze our ability to move ahead. It is time that NASA management took a more pragmatic approach to the technical, political and the emotional issues of spaceflight. Yes, we lost a crew, but it wasn't the end of the world. If NASA insists on avoiding risk at all costs, it can sound the death knell of manned space activity.

Whatever happened to the "right stuff?" Is it going out of style?