Pigskin Perspective

 Tough week to be a football fan.

Even tougher week to be a football player. And a football player's family.

I was a boxing fan when I was a young man. but I stopped following the sport after watching the Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs. Duk Koo Kim fight. Kim's handlers wouldn't throw in the towel and Kim would die afterwards, essentially beaten to death for my entertainment.

That was it for me with boxing.

I've thought about that often in the context of my love of football. 

I played from the time I was 10-years old ("Little Tanker" football when my Dad was stationed at Fort Knox) to my teens, playing at the high school level. Camaraderie. Inclusion. I didn't have a lot of friends as a kid but I had my teammates. Was it all for a greater cause? Well, we believed it was, and that was enough.

So, I understand in some small way the gladiatorial/battlefield reenactment elements of the game. The faux heroics and sacrifice. I've had my ass kicked, hit someone hard enough to make him puke, been knocked out, and seen a teammate weeping in pain from a broken ankle.  

I wasn't good enough to play beyond high school but I never stopped being a fan and from that perspective, I have to say some of the commentary from the pigskin pundits and bobbleheads this week strikes me as performative virtue signaling, and I suspect, intentionally disingenuous. 

Violence, severe injury, and death are woven into the history of this game. It is and always has been a blood sport.

Helmuts weren't worn until players died and the President of the United States - Teddy "Big Stick" Roosevelt - threatened to ban the sport.

I saw the game where Darryl Stingley was paralyzed on a hit by Jack Tatum (whose nickname was "Assassin").

Tom Brady became Tom Brady because Drew Bledsoe had his aorta lacerated on a hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis.

More recently, we saw the devastating injury to Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier. His recovery has been nothing short of heroic but his life has been changed forever.

And now, Damar Hamlin, who thankfully appears to be on the road to recovery.

Beyond the traumatic injuries, the actuarial charts are hardly kind to men who put the stressors of high level athletic endeavor on their bodies. We might as well talk about football years the way we talk about "dog years."

Not to mention CTE. We're not supposed to mention that, are we?

Can football be made safer? Yes, I'm sure it could. I'm also sure that it would be impossible to legislate all risks out of the game. That shouldn't stop us from trying, though I fear there will always be a vocal minority yelling at those of us who would like to see those changes made to just "put a skirt on them." (Stay classy, all you "alpha" males out there.) Well, okay, but before finding the perfect a-line for Mac Jones, I would like to suggest a few changes.

Any use of the helmet as a weapon should be penalized. Not just 15 yards but a loss of down. It shouldn't matter if the target is a quarterback, running back, linebacker, safety, whatever. It's actually more dangerous for the player lowering the helmet as it lines up the spine for a compression injury, usually resulting in paralysis. Forget intent. That's impossible. Yes, circumstances may lead to a penalty due to actually accidental helmet-to-helmet contact. I get that. What can I say? Life is unfair.

The NFL needs to have a game misconduct type of foul related to endangering player safety, with immediate ejection from the game. The unsportsmanlike conduct rule, where you have to get two penalties to be ejected is just an invitation to do something terrible once because you know you can get away with it. 

Fines need to be levied against coaches as well as players. It's the coaches that teach the techniques the players use in games. They should be economically encouraged to teach players to play the game safely.

Players who consistently violate player safety rules should be banned from the league. (Sorry, Vontaze Burfict, but I'm looking right at you.) The NFL shouldn't be an open invitation to commit assault and battery with impunity.

Widen the field and expand the end zone. Like most sports created around the end of the 19th century, the dimensions of the sport were created for 19th century men, men who looked a lot more like Johnny Galecki than Dwayne Johnson. Bringing it a little closer to home: The average weight of the Green Bay Packers offensive line in Super Bowl I was 245 pounds. Jerry Kramer, their Hall of Fame right guard weighed in at 245 pounds; HOF right tackle Forrest Gregg at 249.

The Patriots center, David Andrews, is considered undersized by today's standard at 300 pounds.

The men playing the game today are too big, too fast, and too strong to play on the same field as Johnny Galecki did (or would have). Just saying.

Expand rosters to ensure that any player in the concussion protocol can sit at least one game. Give the teams the roster flexibility to actually put player safety first. 

Add a second bye week. Whether the league goes to 18 games or not, recovery time is essential to the overall health and well-being of the players. The players are, putting it bluntly, the product, and the league should be interested in putting out a quality product.

So, Okay. Put a skirt on them. 

Yeah. I'll still be watching the game. 

Go Pats!