In the NFL, they have been changing the rules as to how tacklers may hit an offensive player. Ultimately, this was caused by the lawsuit imposed by the Player’s Association for concussions toward the NFL, which in turn, made the NFL pay out a lot of money. These new rules are meant to protect the player, but it does negatively impact the game.
For instance, in the NFL, the Quarterback cannot be hit below the thighs or above the chest. So, within the game, if the quarterback runs with the ball or ducks, and a defensive player attempts to tackle him; that is a personal foul. Have you ever watched a game where Steve Young, John Elway or even Dan Marino ran with the ball and got hit like that and the defender received a flag for personal foul. I am willing to bet not. If you YouTube search Steve Young Buccaneers, you see Steve Young getting sacked by Warren Sapp and even his head getting hit by Hardy Nickerson’s knees. No foul. Note: In that game he was taken out due to a Concussion.
Another change to the rules is how a Wide Receiver can be hit. If the referees determine he is a defenseless received (not taking steps to run or able to adjust himself to avoid injury), the defenders can be called for personal fouls. Again, I do understand the reasons for these penalties, as with the Lions and Ravens game this Sunday night, the Ravens receiver was hammered in the head by a defender. With that said, I watched a lot of football in the late 90’s and early 00’s and loved watching a receiver jump up for the ball only have his legs taken out from underneath him and hitting the ground hard losing the ball. Football is known for being barbaric game, now we taking the barbarity out of it. Hell, College football is looking tougher.
Another thing it doesn’t seem to happen is the referees are not taking the full play into an account. There have been games where the defender gets called for personal foul when the defender is going in for the tackle and offender ducks and causes an helmet to helmet. One being, where a back ran up the middle ducking, getting a helmet to helmet contact and the referee called Personal Foul on the defender. If we are going to make rules, the offense should be called for it too.
Another point I would like to bring up, this is hindering stat records. More catches for more yardage are happening because the defender is now limited as to what he can do to break up the pass. Quarterbacks are also more protected. Do you truly believe Peyton Manning would be putting up the numbers he is if he had to play in the era of Young, Elway, Marino, and Montana? Not likely, he would get hit a lot and these quarterbacks were equipped to run away, one thing that I don’t think Manning can do.
Football is a barbaric sport, but that is why we like it. Bill Romanowski has said, he use to rake and dig at eyes and even bite to get the ball in a pile; though it was illegal before, he wouldn’t go very long for personal foul calls nowadays, for his legal hits. It is a shame, a true shame.
For instance, in the NFL, the Quarterback cannot be hit below the thighs or above the chest. So, within the game, if the quarterback runs with the ball or ducks, and a defensive player attempts to tackle him; that is a personal foul. Have you ever watched a game where Steve Young, John Elway or even Dan Marino ran with the ball and got hit like that and the defender received a flag for personal foul. I am willing to bet not. If you YouTube search Steve Young Buccaneers, you see Steve Young getting sacked by Warren Sapp and even his head getting hit by Hardy Nickerson’s knees. No foul. Note: In that game he was taken out due to a Concussion.
Another change to the rules is how a Wide Receiver can be hit. If the referees determine he is a defenseless received (not taking steps to run or able to adjust himself to avoid injury), the defenders can be called for personal fouls. Again, I do understand the reasons for these penalties, as with the Lions and Ravens game this Sunday night, the Ravens receiver was hammered in the head by a defender. With that said, I watched a lot of football in the late 90’s and early 00’s and loved watching a receiver jump up for the ball only have his legs taken out from underneath him and hitting the ground hard losing the ball. Football is known for being barbaric game, now we taking the barbarity out of it. Hell, College football is looking tougher.
Another thing it doesn’t seem to happen is the referees are not taking the full play into an account. There have been games where the defender gets called for personal foul when the defender is going in for the tackle and offender ducks and causes an helmet to helmet. One being, where a back ran up the middle ducking, getting a helmet to helmet contact and the referee called Personal Foul on the defender. If we are going to make rules, the offense should be called for it too.
Another point I would like to bring up, this is hindering stat records. More catches for more yardage are happening because the defender is now limited as to what he can do to break up the pass. Quarterbacks are also more protected. Do you truly believe Peyton Manning would be putting up the numbers he is if he had to play in the era of Young, Elway, Marino, and Montana? Not likely, he would get hit a lot and these quarterbacks were equipped to run away, one thing that I don’t think Manning can do.
Football is a barbaric sport, but that is why we like it. Bill Romanowski has said, he use to rake and dig at eyes and even bite to get the ball in a pile; though it was illegal before, he wouldn’t go very long for personal foul calls nowadays, for his legal hits. It is a shame, a true shame.