For years the NFL ignored the repercussions of concussions. Players got their bells rung and team doctors and coaches sent them back on the field and laughed about the fact the player was in another area code for a while. Finally, they came around to the fact that players needed to be held out of games until their brain function and cognition had fully returned. Helmet to helmet hits were outlawed and those committing the crime have been fined and punished.
Now following a weekend of numerous player concussions, they league is ready to change the rules and really bring down the hammer on players for vicious hits. But is this really a step in the right direction? I’m all for the rule changes regarding keeping players off the field until they’ve been fully cleared after suffering a concussion, but I think they’re attacking this new issue from the wrong direction.
Sunday DeSean Jackson suffered a severe concussion as a result of a violent hit from Dunta Robinson. But it wasn’t a helmet to helmet hit. It was a form tackle. Shoulder to sternum. It was the speed at which the blow was delivered that caused the whiplash and concussion. It occurred on a crossing pattern where Jackson was left open to the possibility of a hard hit.
NFL Operations Executive Ray Anderson says the league wants to eliminate hits with the head, forearm or shoulder to the shoulder or head areas. You might as well say let’s play flag football. Now you’re asking defenders to lower their heads where they risk serious injury by exposing themselves to neck injuries and concussions from contact with knees.
The only way the NFL is going to eliminate the ferocity of the hits is to eliminate the extent of the armor the players wear. Shoulder pads need to be brought back to the size they were in the 60’s. Players have little fear about launching themselves into another player because they’re so well protected and because of the speed at which they game is now played. Coaching has to change as well. No one really teaches wrapping up a player with your arms anymore. Most tackles you see today are from a player just trying to deliver a shoulder blow. Lessen their protective gear, lessen the ability to deliver the blow. That should even go for helmets.
Players use their helmets and lead with their heads because the helmet is now a weapon. Protecting the players is important, but I believe making rash rule changes in mid season doesn’t solve the problem. Football is a violent sport and that violence is what made it popular. The NFL promotes that violence at every turn. The players can change in time, but this doesn’t solve that issue. Change the equipment.
