WHAT WOULD CHUCK DO?
The fascinatingly swift reaction from the powers that be that run the NFL to come down hard on any player who, well, comes down hard – ah, the irony – seems to have polarised opinion.
On the one hand - presumably a hand held up and away, palms open – you have the group who feel that the spate of helmet-to-helmet “tackles” – such as this one from the Patriots Brandon Merriweather (watch?v=Zb1CmHk9GK0 ) – have no place in the modern game of football.
They argue that given the knowledge we now possess about the dangers of concussion, not to mention that most of these plays resemble the kind of move you’d see from one of Pacman Jones’ mob when told “not to touch the ladyeez”, it’s not just outmoded, but borderline criminal, to allow such acts of violence. Figures, really.
Our generation benefits from the ever improving pace, athleticism and finesse of our sportsmen & women (and El Hadj Diouf) but not without a cost. These guys run faster, but they hit harder. The pressure is on to be better to get the gig, and this isn’t always reflected in the flair plays by the token team diva – yes we mean you Dimitar Berbatov/Braylon Edwards/Kevin Pietersen.
But what’s really surprising is a growing number, including, interestingly quite a few players, who have come out in opposition of the new ruling. Take Bills Linebacker Paul Posluzny.
“In our game, we’re taught to play fast, we’re taught to be physical. So things like that are going to happen. For them to be able to say ‘Well, all hits like that are fineable, you can get suspended,’ I think they’re taking it too far,”
Or as Hunter S. Thompson put it “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”
Mike Golic, co-host of the Mike & Mike show on ESPN Radio outlined that Merriweather, or any player in that situation, would be welcomed back over by the sidelines as a conquering hero by his teammates.
Players have also voiced a reasonable point that any enforced hesitation for a defensive player is arguably more dangerous for the player that they’re trying to tackle.
This core argument permeates down to the message boards : NFL is turning into a pussy league says one YouTuber, who sadly isn’t being literal, and, furthermore, outlines that he’s had concussions in the past, which makes a fair bit of sense. But this fear that somehow the new ruling will soften up the game of football irrevocably, is as genuine as it is short sighted.
Most of the intelligent concern seems to stem from the subjectivity of a call – when does a “hit” move from being tough to psychotically unnecessary?
I’ve spent years defending NFL against a braying mob of Rugby loving Brits who hurl grenades polished with Dorothy Parkers eyeliner to the tune of “Why don’t they just pass it?” (in relation to the lack of laterals) or “if they’re so friggin’ hard why do they wear more pads than a Dynasty reunion?”
The blinkered argument has always been a bugbear of mine, but there’s no doubt that Rugby has its players following a “hard but fair” code – thumb-to-eye gouging and fake blood scandals notwithstanding – without losing any of it’s tough appeal. In Aussie Rules – another helmet & pad less game – players suffer less concussions than in the NFL, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Will the NFL ever revert to the removal of either?
Perhaps Old School Legend Mike Ditka put it best “let’s see how those pretty boys do without a facemask”. I hope to God he was talking about Defensive dirty hitters, by the way.
