RugbyMuffin
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I think Ray Lewis says it best:
"My opinion is play the game like that game is supposed to be played, and whatever happens happens," Lewis said Wednesday about the NFL's decision to crack down on dangerous and flagrant hits.
Agreed, Mr. Lewis. Agreed.
Play the game how it is supposed to be played. 99% of the time the NFL athletes do so. But, no where in the game is there EVER been a thought that you should go out and try to kill or seriously injure someone, or yourself (seriously injure = cripple/paralysis).
NEVER. I don't care what people are going to say about it, but it has never been part of the game.
Big hits, injuries, pain, soreness, are part of the game that is accepted. That is the risk you take. I do not think anyone thinks paralysis, and crippling of players is part of the game.
When I played rugby. I played hard. On the edge. In hockey they call it an "agitator, or enforcer". Well, that was me.
I layed big hits, "tilted the game in our favor", etc. BUT, I always tried as hard as I could to make sure "Everyone can go to work on Monday morning." You think footbal is crazy, physical and you have no time to react. LOL. Try playing a game with the same potential for voilence that never stops.....NEVER STOPS. There is no huddle, there is no time to really "think", and most of the time you are in a situation that is like full contact combative twister, or in situations where there is potential to cripple yourself (scrum downs) Still, using what I was taught, the technques, the "proper way to play the game", and playing with respect I never seriously hurt anyone, and rarely saw situation were it was the case. And in those cases of dangerous play those player were thrown out of the game and were looked down upon by both teams. Point is, there is a way to dish out the voilence in sports, and there is a reason why techniques and rules are put into a game. The athletes saying they cannot help what they are doing are F.O.S. If a marginal, hometown hero, can control his actions then a multi-millionaire super athelete can do so as well.
Getting back to football......
Let's take the four big situations that have lead to national headlines.
Merriweather's hit against Heap, and Harrison's hit on Cribbs were viscious. They were without a doubt fine-able, and should have been penatlies. Suspension worthy ? I don't think so, but I feel a judgement call should be left to the officials in the league. Just as hockey has been, and continues to do. (NHL is having the same exact issues as the NFL, and they have been trying to figure out what to do about it for going on two years now).
Harrison's hit on the Browns' WR (Massaqui, pic shown below) was not "playing the game like that game is supposed to be played." There is not a coach in the world that teaches to tackle like that. Not a single one. They would be run out of town before they got to the pros. It is dangerous for the recpient of said tackle, and the one doing the tackling. There is no place for it, the game will be better for it if it never happens again, and furthermore it is a horrible example to show to anyone in regards to how to play this game." He should be suspended for that hit. There is no doubt about it, he should be made an example of and every single football show should be showing a clip of why that was so stupid and dangerous of a play. I hope beyond hope it never happens, but for Harrison's own safety he should reflect on that hit.
The fourth example, is tragic, but a needed example. Why is James Harrisons hit on that Browns WR a horrible situation ? Look no further than what happened in the Rutgers game last week. A linebacker looking to make "the big hit" crippled himself. Lead with the head, in a spearing action, and head down. I feel for this kid, I really do being a fan of this team, and him being from my area. But, there are reasons why you are taught not to do that when playing football.
The real tragic part about all this, is that Harrison sit and whines about fines and his legacy, while a kid is in the hospital crippled.
It is a game. When you take the NFL out of it, it is a game. 95% of people that play football play for the fun, discpline, commradarie, and thrill. Big hits are exciting, and part of the combative part of the game. It is one of the things that makes the game what it is, and special. Yet, there is a way to do it, a technique to it. There is a reason they teach tackling, there is a reason why when you were a kid they yelled at you for putting your head down, and leading with it. Because it is NOT part of the game. The reason it is not part of the game is because it can result in paralysis, and even death. This is not the colessium, there are no lions on the football field, no swords or maces. This is not war, this is a game.
A helmet to helmet hit to me is what I saw Adrian Wilson do to Trent Edwards. He hit Edwards in the head, but it was not a sprearing motion. Wilson stuck his face mask in Edwards' chest, he hit him in the head, he knocked Edwards out, he was laying a "big hit". Could he have been fined ? Sure. Penalized ? That is a judgement call for the officials but sure. Suspended ? No way! There was no attempting to spear Edwards head to head, in my opinion the contact to the head area was accidental. Wilson had good form, good technique, and was doing right.
Harrisons hit was a spead to another man's head. There was no form, no technique. The only contact was the top of Harrisons head to the head of the reciever. No part of the game, and never has been.
The NFL is following the footsteps of the NHL. Being a Pittsburg Penguins fan I saw, first hand, the infamous hit on the Bruins Marc Savard that created a meeting of the owners, and implementation of an in-season "rule" about hits to the head. The NFL is going through the same situation, and while player believe it will effect this year, it will not really be felt till next.
I strongly believe the NFL will not hurt the intergrity of this game, and what makes it special. If you just go back to the basics of football, and how things are taught, aka the proper way to play the game then they will come to an agreement that allows the sport to be voilent, yet not take any unnessicary safety risks. A hit like Harrisons is just not needed in the game, it adds nothing, it has no place in the NFL, and the game is better without it.
"My opinion is play the game like that game is supposed to be played, and whatever happens happens," Lewis said Wednesday about the NFL's decision to crack down on dangerous and flagrant hits.
Agreed, Mr. Lewis. Agreed.
Play the game how it is supposed to be played. 99% of the time the NFL athletes do so. But, no where in the game is there EVER been a thought that you should go out and try to kill or seriously injure someone, or yourself (seriously injure = cripple/paralysis).
NEVER. I don't care what people are going to say about it, but it has never been part of the game.
Big hits, injuries, pain, soreness, are part of the game that is accepted. That is the risk you take. I do not think anyone thinks paralysis, and crippling of players is part of the game.
When I played rugby. I played hard. On the edge. In hockey they call it an "agitator, or enforcer". Well, that was me.
I layed big hits, "tilted the game in our favor", etc. BUT, I always tried as hard as I could to make sure "Everyone can go to work on Monday morning." You think footbal is crazy, physical and you have no time to react. LOL. Try playing a game with the same potential for voilence that never stops.....NEVER STOPS. There is no huddle, there is no time to really "think", and most of the time you are in a situation that is like full contact combative twister, or in situations where there is potential to cripple yourself (scrum downs) Still, using what I was taught, the technques, the "proper way to play the game", and playing with respect I never seriously hurt anyone, and rarely saw situation were it was the case. And in those cases of dangerous play those player were thrown out of the game and were looked down upon by both teams. Point is, there is a way to dish out the voilence in sports, and there is a reason why techniques and rules are put into a game. The athletes saying they cannot help what they are doing are F.O.S. If a marginal, hometown hero, can control his actions then a multi-millionaire super athelete can do so as well. Getting back to football......
Let's take the four big situations that have lead to national headlines.
Merriweather's hit against Heap, and Harrison's hit on Cribbs were viscious. They were without a doubt fine-able, and should have been penatlies. Suspension worthy ? I don't think so, but I feel a judgement call should be left to the officials in the league. Just as hockey has been, and continues to do. (NHL is having the same exact issues as the NFL, and they have been trying to figure out what to do about it for going on two years now).
Harrison's hit on the Browns' WR (Massaqui, pic shown below) was not "playing the game like that game is supposed to be played." There is not a coach in the world that teaches to tackle like that. Not a single one. They would be run out of town before they got to the pros. It is dangerous for the recpient of said tackle, and the one doing the tackling. There is no place for it, the game will be better for it if it never happens again, and furthermore it is a horrible example to show to anyone in regards to how to play this game." He should be suspended for that hit. There is no doubt about it, he should be made an example of and every single football show should be showing a clip of why that was so stupid and dangerous of a play. I hope beyond hope it never happens, but for Harrison's own safety he should reflect on that hit.
The fourth example, is tragic, but a needed example. Why is James Harrisons hit on that Browns WR a horrible situation ? Look no further than what happened in the Rutgers game last week. A linebacker looking to make "the big hit" crippled himself. Lead with the head, in a spearing action, and head down. I feel for this kid, I really do being a fan of this team, and him being from my area. But, there are reasons why you are taught not to do that when playing football.
The real tragic part about all this, is that Harrison sit and whines about fines and his legacy, while a kid is in the hospital crippled.
It is a game. When you take the NFL out of it, it is a game. 95% of people that play football play for the fun, discpline, commradarie, and thrill. Big hits are exciting, and part of the combative part of the game. It is one of the things that makes the game what it is, and special. Yet, there is a way to do it, a technique to it. There is a reason they teach tackling, there is a reason why when you were a kid they yelled at you for putting your head down, and leading with it. Because it is NOT part of the game. The reason it is not part of the game is because it can result in paralysis, and even death. This is not the colessium, there are no lions on the football field, no swords or maces. This is not war, this is a game.
A helmet to helmet hit to me is what I saw Adrian Wilson do to Trent Edwards. He hit Edwards in the head, but it was not a sprearing motion. Wilson stuck his face mask in Edwards' chest, he hit him in the head, he knocked Edwards out, he was laying a "big hit". Could he have been fined ? Sure. Penalized ? That is a judgement call for the officials but sure. Suspended ? No way! There was no attempting to spear Edwards head to head, in my opinion the contact to the head area was accidental. Wilson had good form, good technique, and was doing right.
Harrisons hit was a spead to another man's head. There was no form, no technique. The only contact was the top of Harrisons head to the head of the reciever. No part of the game, and never has been.
The NFL is following the footsteps of the NHL. Being a Pittsburg Penguins fan I saw, first hand, the infamous hit on the Bruins Marc Savard that created a meeting of the owners, and implementation of an in-season "rule" about hits to the head. The NFL is going through the same situation, and while player believe it will effect this year, it will not really be felt till next.
I strongly believe the NFL will not hurt the intergrity of this game, and what makes it special. If you just go back to the basics of football, and how things are taught, aka the proper way to play the game then they will come to an agreement that allows the sport to be voilent, yet not take any unnessicary safety risks. A hit like Harrisons is just not needed in the game, it adds nothing, it has no place in the NFL, and the game is better without it.
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