Courtesy: MaxDenver
Listen, the NFL is going to change for better or for worse regardless of what us, fans, have to say about it. With that said, let me just say that it is a travesty that not even our referees know the rulebook well enough to make a call correctly. Now you are telling me that the refs are starting to cuss out players? Really? What is wrong with the NFL right now? Can they not see that all these rules are ruining the greatest sports product this world has ever seen? All of these questions are aimed at one man. Roger Goodell, come on down, you are the man who is single handedly ruining football. This past Sunday, we had a ref cussing at players and the Monday night football game between the Panthers and Patriots, instantly a classic, ended with one of the most inexplicable no-calls the league has seen. We already had the field goal debacle between the Patriots and Jets– and now this? You have got to be kidding me. I have never seen a league so in flux with its own set of rules. Not only do the players and coaches not know anything regarding the rulebook, but when the guys enforcing the rules can’t even get it right, it might be time for a change. The biggest gripe I have with all of this overreaction by the NFL is the hypocrisy of it all. The NFL says it cares about players safety, yet they want to add two more regular season games, going to an 18-game schedule. The number of injured players goes up every season, now you want to add two games. That makes no sense.
Furthermore, the hypocrisy gets even worse
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was fined $75,000 for his helmet-to-helmet hits the Browns. Yet, the very same NFL that fined Harrison, and is saying that they’re trying to eliminate “these hits” from the game, go on and sell photos of Harrison’s “dirty hits” in the same week that it happens.
The same league that had segments called “jacked up,” and has sold countless videos of the biggest hits of all-time as pointed out in a very good rant by former player Mark Schlereth of ESPN. Big hits are a part of the game. The players love them, and so do the fans. Everyone that has ever decided to go on to the field and play football has known this and played the game on their own free will. The NFL is slowly getting ruined. This is all happening on commissioner Roger Goodell’s watch. I know he’s not the only person, I know there are committees, but since he’s been commissioner I’ve had gripes with him. He’s been very inconsistent with his punishments, and is the main reason the league might to go to an 18-game schedule. He also wants to take “American” franchises and move them to other countries. I’m sorry but the NFL is “America’s game.” If you want football in Europe then give them back the Euro league.
There’s also a very serious chance that there will be a strike next year
I haven’t been impressed with Goodell’s rein as commissioner what so ever. Yes the league is popular, but my 13-year-old brother could be commissioner and the NFL would still have the same popularity. Goodell needs to find a way to help player’s safety without ruining the actual product on field. James Harrison is now contemplating retirement, because he’s not sure if he can still play effectively under these new rules.
To me, one fix should be the actual helmet. The helmet has become a weapon in itself. If they use a lighter helmet, more like the helmets used in the NHL, I think you would see almost no head-on-head hits, and therefore even less head injuries. Whatever happens, I really hope this beautiful game, the greatest game on the planet, doesn’t get ruined by Roger Goodell, and/or the rest of the people that are ruining it as we speak!
