Seriously?

Throwing the flag and penalizing the players is enough. Holy crap, this is getting ridiculous.

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Part of the new CBA will be the agreement to pull defenses from the field. 20 some weeks of the probowl QB competition.

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If fans don't want the rules to be continually diluted -- and I count myself among them -- then they should be lobbying for player weight restrictions. The primary reason why these rules have become necessary is that players are bigger and faster than ever before, meaning that they collide with more kinetic energy than ever. There is a limit to the magnitude of force the human body can sustain without injury; it's simple physics. If we want the NFL to reasonably sustain the hitting of old, players must become smaller. But restrictions like these would be no more popular with fans, because fans have come to expect the clash of titans on the field.

Another possibility would be for the fans to demand that players be paid less, so that they represent less of a risky investment for teams. Obviously, the NFLPA would never accede willingly to such a demand, but if fans were willing to endure a year (or two or three . . .) of work stoppage, the union might conceivably be brought to its knees.

Still another problem is the periodic lengthening of the season (which fans clamor for). We are now hearing rumblings that the season will be extended yet again, possibly to 18 games. Each additional game added to the season exposes players to increased risk of injury, further endangering the league's investments. Fans either need to oppose the lengthening of the season -- which they won't, since they want more football, not less -- or else demand that the league either a) eliminate the gameday inactive list or b) expand the 53-man roster or both.

It's a delicate balancing act for the league. Players are more popular and paid more -- they're higher visibility -- than ever before, which means they're also greater investments than previous generations of players. It makes no sense for the league to risk its most precious resource on eye-candy plays.

Frankly, I think if coaches demanded that players learn how to tackle properly and benched them for not performing to standard, a lot of catastrophic injuries could be avoided in this league. But who knows when that will happen.

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I have to disagree somewhat Nonstop. The player collisions are between players that have not really gotten that much bigger. WR, CB, S are the collisions. Those collisions are not getting worse because of size. Safeties have been 200-220 for a while, WR have been this size for a while. It is those hits that everyone sees. I don't even see them as worse, just more of them because of the rules. CB cannot be as physical so there are more catches and the only defense they have is to hit them after the catch.

Limiting size will help lineman with their knees and ankles, but won't do much for hits.

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That's the answer, in my opinion.

Proper wrap up tackling should not endanger the player to undue chance of injury.

Injuries occur when someone goes in shoulder first at a receiver in midair, puts out an arm and the neck of a QB, or drives a helmet into a sternum.


I can't believe how often people just dive at legs these days in the NFL.

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Shoulder first is the proper way to tackle. Wrapping up while doing so. You lead with your shoulder. Problem being, there is something attached between the shoulders called the head. 99% of the time when using correct form tackling the head will make first contact.

I do not agree with going for somebodies head when making a tackle. I don't agree with spearing. Most of the other crap is has just gotten carried away.

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