I think Hines is changing the face of football and the League doesn’t like where he’s taking it. Receivers just don’t block like that, at least they haven’t in the past anyway. They are hittees not hitters !

 Safety’s and Lb’s have traditionally been the big hitters on the unprotected that cross into their domain. Now receivers are laying in wait for their old nemesis and not only don’t the defenders like it but they are vocally protesting ( whining about it ) the practice.

 Now the League in it’s quest for the ultimate ‘Kumbyah’ , wants any additional violence that may be injected into Pro Football to cease and desist but hasn’t invented a rule to cover it.

  But have no fear the “No Fun League” will prevail and new legislation will be forthcoming and vests with colored areas will be worn by all players and anyone caught hitting outside the designated area will be fined and made to sit next to a coach on the bus/plane ride home.

Reading your post made me so f*@king angry I have nothing constructive to add. I just want to say thanks for crystalizing the issue and getting it out for discussion.

One thing though that I find doesnt quite add up is your assertion that ‘its just a business now and now about us’. Well, we do foot the bill for at least some of the game. I think we’re perhaps just in a cycle that could shift again back towards less puritanical or corportae or whatever you wanna call it rules.

Nice article, ark. That is a ridiculous quote from Lewis, and it makes me hope Ward knocks like 4 of them out. I’m really starting to think that Rog is a pretty crappy commish. Like you said, I understand trying to clean up the game, but they’ve handed out so many fines and such for celebrations it’s ridiculous. The players want to celebrate and I don’t hear any fans complaining about it. He’s fighting against the grain of players AND fans.

Meanwhile, the outlook for the labor situation is tenuous and doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere. I get the feeling that a guy like Jerry Jones is going to manipulate the league into something that’s good for him and bad for the game. Goodell’s priorities are messed up. This isn’t your Upshaw-Tagliabue NFL anymore.

I think what they told Troy about caring about the players more than the money is complete BS. I just read somewhere the other day that if the NFL feels all the injuries that have happened this year start to affect the quality of the game, they’ll consider drastic rule changes. It sure sounds like safety matters more than their “product”…

I honestly don’t remember a season this affected by major injuries. The Steelers have lost three running backs, three lineman and a cornerback. The Patriots lost Brady, Maroney and Harrison. The Cowboys are playing without Romo and others; the Chargers badly miss Merriman. We played the Browns, Jags and Bengals, all three of whom were badly depleted from injuries. I’m sure if we went around the league we could find many more. Of course, injuries are always part of the game, but when they spike to this heightened degree, the league takes a reaction to curb what they fear is a new trend. Sometimes the reactions don’t address the problems, if the problems are anecdotal in the first place.

There is also a chance that the injuries are not anecdotal and that the players bodies have evolved to a speed and strength degree to the point where the game is going to have excessive casualties. This would be problematic and indeed cause for rules changes to minimize the casualties. The NFL might consider banning the side block that caused the Bengals first-rounder to be the latest casualty. This would be a shame on one hand but if the gain outweighs the loss then so be it. There might be other rule tweaks that reduce injury.

Regarding the showboating, I don’t think there is any place in the game for that garbage. You can call me a No Fun Leaguer, but taunting and showboating only fuel the fire that causes opponents to want revenge, thus increasing the injury factor. The NFL should copy the colleges in this case. Football is a team game, not a me game. Players who call attention to themselves after making a play are not accounting for their 10 teammates who helped put that player in the position to make the play in the first place. College football is no less exciting for toning down individual attention-getters.

Thank you ark. I am with you 100%
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The league is changing. So is the game. Old school players like Ray Lewis and Hines Ward are becoming a thing of the past. Soon you will not hit the QB only pull a flag. There will be no kickoffs (too dangerous) so everyone starts from the 40. No punts either! If you don’t score the other team starts from the 40.

I will still watch the game and root for the players and the violence (not the injuries) as long as there is football. But it is changing.
Hopefully one thing that changes is the way the NFL pays their rookies HUGE amounts of green without a stat sheet while the older retired players that made the game wallow in poverty and ill health. One thing I hope doesn’t change and the I hope the NFL finds a way to work out is the Pittsburgh Steelers being owned by the Rooney’s. This is the most important change coming that I hope does not,

PS my two favorite teams are the Steelers and who ever plays the BrownRavens and Murderin’ Ray this week!

After watching our economy tank and the reason why, do you wonder that the NFL and its new billionair owners are just as greedy? They cut the rosters ($Savings$), and now they are trying to get some of their money back AND protect the smaller rosters.

I wont even mention that they are trying to protect some of the worst refs on record by fining coaches and players into silence. I believe that freedeom of speech is guarenteed in the constitution. No? Oh, I just read the constitution and there is an NFL exception. My bad.

I think Goodell is owned by the Cowboys and Patriots. Don’t even get me started!

As a Giants fan, I’ve hated Ray Lewis ever since the 2000 Super Bowl, and that quote just makes me hate him even more. What a d-bag. I know Lawrence Taylor had his own issues, but when he destroyed Theismann’s leg, he knew it and was mortified, immediately jumping up and signaling for the Redskins medical staff to come onto the field. That’s the way the game should be played: rough, but with respect for your opponent. Ray Lewis has none of that.

And I agree with your premise that the NFL is really becoming ridiculous and hypocritical. I respect Goodell trying to clean up the image of the league, and guys like Pacman Jones have no place on the field, but football is a violent game…just let these guys play!

I actually posted this comment in one of the posts yesterday – but thought it was much more appropriate for the discussion here. Its about my struggles between being a football fan and a Ghandi fan. Seemed appropriate. I also wrote prior to the Holmes suspension but I stand by it. I still think that the Steelers are a character driven team.

My post from yesterday:

Its really interesting, I’ve always had a hard time explaining to many of my friends and my girlfriend why I LOVE football. Although I served in the army (Israeli Army) and understand the need for honorable and dedicated people to serve their country (I am very proud of TMVT – for what he’s just accomplished) – at heart I believe very much in non-violence – as it was taught by Ghandi. I think that human beings are too quick to anger, violence and war and too slow to compassion.

And yet, I love watching Troy, Siverback and Fines Ward play the game. I love the integrity, passion and sportsmanship they bring to it. These guys are not looking to hurt anyone (I really do believe that’s true of all of them, even Silverback) they are looking to play a tough game with excellence.

I also love how passionate and for the most part nice the fan base is for the Steelers. I’ve watched in bars all over the country and for the most part met decent, kind caring folks, who really watched the game. I find SBN to be a treat because people are not only passionate, but thoughtful, intelligent and curious.

Of course, like any where else in life there are people, who due to some lack of security, self-worth, fear or something feel the need to be assholes.

Se7ens rant against Hispanic people on the Giants site comes to mind. It reminds me of many people I met who thought their was something funny about saying stupid racist shit. I am really not sure what its about (ignorance, fear?) but I think it has something to do with a really stupid and cowardly way to try to prove your manhood.

Which brings me back to football. Football played the right way is a chance for people to really test their mettle, to step up and be men. Its a brutal game, and their are many other ways to step up and be a man in this world that don’t involve wearing a helmet and shoulder pads, but no one can deny that the game is, week in week out a test of character and will.

For this reason I loved reading RickVA’s brilliant piece about his time on the Temple team. You could tell how meaningful it was for him to struggle to make that team and prove himself in the face of all of the obstacles.

So yes there are fans out there who cheer wildly when an opposing player gets hurt, talk stupid meaningless and angry shit, get into drunk fights etc. There are also players out there who take cheap shots, have enormous egos and probably wouldn’t blink about doing violence to other people outside of the game.

But for the most part they do not define the game. For the most part the game is defined by sportsmanship, teamwork and character.

I also think we are very lucky to have a team whose ownership, coaches and most of its players think that character is the first and most important ingredient in building a team. I would say that is also true of the Giants.

Great writeup. I almost always agree with your comments on here. This was another example. Thanks for getting those Youtube examples to highlight exactly how hypocritical the league has become in this respect. We’ll see what happens, but this meeting this week may have brought it to a close, I hope.

It makes me mad hearing that. For proof that Hines blocks whoever is infront of him (not based on what direction they are facing) check out “Hines blocks Ed Reed” (or anything close to that) on youtube. Reed runs right into him front to front and gets leveled…….

Kind of surprised to hear Lewis say that about Mendenhall. I’ve never been a big fan of him but I thought he had a little more class than that.

Great read by the way, this should be posted on NFL.com…………somehow.

This is a great article. I really liked that you put enough evidence on the guys complaining.

Thanks!

My generation of Steeler fan had the Mel Blount rule….this one will have the Hines Ward rule. Every so often the NFL trys to take down those big, mean Steelers by creating rules that limit the aggressive play of our team. First by targeting Mel for clobbering receivers and now Hines for laying out DBacks and Linebackers. Funny how things change, yet remain the same.

Go Steelers, kick some Opie arse!

Enjoyed your comments.

How great after the league fined Hines he tattoos Rivers the very next game! Hines answered the league definitively, letting the league, the fans, and his teammates and coaches know he’s going to keep on playing clean, hard, physical football. Hiens Ward is the definition of a football player, somehow the league needs to preserve that.

Tomlin has described the game as violent, and wanting the Steelers to be the most violent. I think it was a very good thing that the league office sent a couple top representatives to the Steelers office this week and established a line of communication on the subject. Injuries have to be the main issue, hopefully they can find a way to protect the players AND the game.

The Ted Johnson story rips your heart out. No way a 30 something year old should walk away from the game this f’d up. Concussions must be the #1 issue, along with spinal cord injuries. Maybe they can develop better bigger helmets.