I'm starting to wonder when the question is going to be asked- "How safe do we want to make the game?". Over the last two weeks I've now watched both college and pro football games where calls in the name of safety not only were ticky tack but altered the course of the game. Football is a violent sport at its core, so how much are we willing to change that in the pursuit of safety?
This is where I am. Do we recognize the game has always been one of inherent risks to limb and life and do we want to change the game to something we won't hardly recognize?
Take the case of protecting the QB. You can't hardly breath on the QB anymore. Jesse Palmer mentioned the difference now and compared that to when he played and that was just a few years ago.
Wonder how Bradshaw feels when he sees a QB get bumped and the DL called for "roughing?"
I'm not against trying to keep the game as safe as possible, but I want the game to still resemble the game!
That's the question...and given the injury rate in the pro's (close to 100%) and the overall rate of concussions/brain damage -- higher than we want to admit -- I vote for caution. One of my best friends played at Bama and had 12 concussions in high school and college. It affects him to this day....quite a price to pay. Most young men don't realize the ultimate effect.
I think people have to choose when they've been injured that it may be time to not play anymore.
But if we try to take injuries out of the game, it's not football anymore.