WAKE UP THE MASSES!!!
Hello again folks! Question of the day: What do you think is worse getting locked up for (alleged) domestic violence; or accidentally driving your car off a cliff and surviving only to hear everyone call you crazy? Maybe we should ask Junior Seau; he did both of these things in one heck of a weekend.
It’s your favorite UN-official sports writer. WaTTs has a hangover from taking too much Nyquil so this is Something-Might Be-Clever.
GOTTA STAY A “HEAD” of the GAME
In this age of technology and modern medicine, the biggest story in sports is finally one that makes sense. Usually when WaTTs and I go off on rants about our favorite sports, it’s about snubs of awards, who got fined/suspended for some off the field mishap, or even just off-season boredom. This particular topic can be a real headache, no pun intended. I’m talking about concussions or more specifically, the NFL’s Defenseless Receiver rule.
The defenseless receiver rule in a nutshell is when a defender blasts an offensive skill player (RB, WR, or TE) when he is concentrating on a catch in the midst of the action. Primarily hits to the head leading with the helmet, shoulder, or forearm are what are being penalized. Granted most “normal” people have no sympathy for millionaire athletes. Despite their huge salaries, they attract hundreds of millions of viewers who pay a butt load of money to watch them destroy their bodies in relatively short period of time. Not to mention the tons of money given to the organizations for sponsorships that gets pocketed by the owners. But anyway, this week $100,000.00 was shelled out in fines for 3 players who were just doing their job the way they have always been taught to.
The past few months, the NFL has been talking a lot of smack about protecting their investments players from concussions. The recent crackdown has led to common discussion of suspending and fining of defensive players who violate this new defenseless receiver rule. Which is 100% retarded. This is why. ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown used to have a segment called Jacked Up where a highlight reel of defenseless receiver hits were shown for nothing less than viewer amusement. I am in no way advocating knocking some guy’s lights out for a quick laugh and a semi-dramatic “OOOOOOOHHH”. No, what I am talking about is a sport losing its roots and identity due to some opinions.
WaTTs & I personally played organized football on a few different levels. Not pro, but high school, college and semi pro AKA the minor leagues. I know what it’s like to be running full speed enjoying the game of football to only have a flash of light occur and then notice a group of dudes staring down at you asking you what day of the week it is and if you remember your name. Only in the game of football, anywhere else that would sound like a weekend in Vegas… Pause! Fortunately enough, I not only have been knocked into to next week with a level 2 concussion by someone twice my size that I never saw coming; I have also been the one causing the injuries since I was a defensive player. That is my point: everyone who suits it up knows and accepts that this can happen. NFL players now are faster and more massive than in any point in history. The force of their tackles is measured with the statistics they use for car crashes!. But, they have been trained to do this and prepare against this their entire lives.
Chris Carter, AKA CC, is a well known ESPN analyst, former NFL wide out, should be Hall of Famer, and voted “Best Hands of All Time” by NFL network. To put it plainly he has seen and felt his fair share of defenseless receiver hits. He says NFL players know what they are getting into. It is, and always has been, part of the game. When you go across the middle you expect to hit and hit hard. That is why many times during a game, you see WRs jeered for being afraid to go across the middle. Those that do are called warriors and tough guys. Sports are called contact sports because of what… duh...contact! If you take the superhuman element out of the game those who love it will no longer believe in it. Sadly it’s not just in football. Hockey has been suspending players for board checks that seem like normal plays but when one guy gets injured and misses games, the dude who laid him out gets fined or suspended. Baseball has been fining and suspending player who runs over the catcher who is blocking the home plate. To quote Major League 2 “you’re on the tracks and the train is coming through”. Translated: if you don’t wanna get hurt, get the freak outta the way! What amazes me most is the plays that qualify under the defenseless player rule are not called if:
- It’s not an offensive player
- The player KO’d is a nobody
- The guy gets right back up and is fine.
Offensive players and special teamers KO, cut block, and eye gouge defensive players in every game. Hines Ward, a Pro Bowl WR, is notorious for bone crunching, out of nowhere blocks on defenders who never see him coming. Keith Rivers, a Linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals knows this. Hines Ward broke his jaw a couple years ago with a “clean block”. Ed Reed, future Hall of Fame safety from the Baltimore Ravens, was literally knocked unconscious by Ward and left the game with a concussion a few seasons ago.
Where’s the concern? Sunday October 17th Earl Bennett from the Chicago Bears unloaded on the Seattle Seahawks punter. THE PUNTER!! No penalty. You know what? If that's not a penalty, than there shouldn’t be a penalty, for anyone. Only in extreme cases where guys who have 10 or 20 yard head starts lunge themselves and use their helmet as missiles. This does not happen that often anymore, definitely in the mid 90s, but not in the pas 5 to 10 seasons. But if anyone should be to blame for the receivers getting knocked sillier than a Jack black movie… it’s the QBs. In experience QBs and ill-advised throws are the reason most of guys are taking the punishment. Defenses are more complex and harder to read thanks to the progression of blitzes and coverage. The QB will make a throw to a spot not knowing that the DB is there and what happens? Well check out Carson Palmer getting one to Jordan Shipley a few weeks ago.
Or Chad Johnson AKA Ochocinco a couple seasons ago
Or Kevin Kolb’s bad throw that got Desean Jackson an early ride home on Sunday
In all of these case the there are 2 common denominators: The obvious point is that the receiver lies nearly lifeless on the ground. The other is that the QB throws a pass right where the DB is, so the WR partly is KO’d by his own momentum. The blows to the head are incidental, most of the time. On these off the mark passes, receivers jump up or crouch down and all the motion happens so fast, that for the DB to just make contact, he either hits the guy in head or knocks him backwards so the head impacting the ground causes a concussion. How many times do you see Peyton, Brady, or Brees allowing a bad throw to get one of their WRs destroyed…. Not often if ever. Either way, if the NFL wants to cut down on concussions, they can. BY CHANGING HELMETS! Science has come so far that this could even be a moot point if they were willing to spend the time and resources to protect all their players, not just the ones they pay the most.
Man!! My blood pressures up! Gotta roll out. But feel to disagree or agree follow me and hit me up on Twitter: @mightyachilles1.
Take it easy y’all,
AJ
0 comments:
Post a Comment