Tonight on MNF, the splendid Mike Tirico pointed out that there was an average of 51.9 total points scored per game during this past weekend’s NFL games. That’s the highest total since Week 6 of the 1987 season when replacement players were on the field due to the NFLPA strike!
So…the question must be asked: Are all these now frequent 15-yard penalties, huge fines and even suspensions for big hits actually starting to take their toll on the mindsets of NFL defensive players?
Due to the overwhelming early death rate of former NFL players, it’s obvious that commissioner Roger Goodell feels he has to help these big dummies, who…not only refuse to help themselves, but continue to loudly (and childishly) complain about the new stricter policies. Even ‘Iron Mike’ Douchebag Ditka, who claims to be fighting for the rights of disabled former players is railing against the sanctions now in place. As an avowed player advocate…shouldn’t ‘The Dit’ want these guys simply not to get crippled in the first place? Guess that’s not ‘tough’.
Hey, don’t get us wrong, we love big hits as much as anyone. There is very little more satisfying than when you lay a hit on some poor dude in which the back of his helmet hits the turf first. It’s like a tape-measure home run that you barely feel off the bat because it’s so perfect. But about 15 years after a crappy Division 1-AA college football career ended…and almost a dozen operations later…we sure as hell understand what Goodell is trying to do.
Hopefully, some of the more intelligent NFL players will start to see the bigger picture.
