And by fun, I mean "devastating hits" (which is not clearly defined)

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5701512

Careful tackling is not how NFL works... What do you think? Is this safety mentality aiming to pacify critics and kill the fun in the sport, or is it a necessary development for the modernization of the game rules?

the online poll of viewers' reaction - is this appropriate action on behalf of the NFL or overreaction - is a dead even 50/50 split.

just another reason why we are real men and you fags are pussies

rugby should be more popular in america

this will go over as well as the "no checking" did in hockey.

Everyone needs to settle down about this.

A. Rugby is the pussiest game ever. Here is a video that by it's own description claims to be the "biggest rugby hits ever."

bennyhillifier
You'll notice that most of these are pussy shoulder checks that even Deion Sanders would have been able to pull off. Even when a guy does wrap and tackle they rarely drive to the ground like you'd see in the NFL, NCAA, or hell even Mixed Martial Arts. Secondly, it's been empirically proven that NFL players not only hit harder than rugby players, but that the "protective gear" (that everyone thinks puts them in an invincible bubble) actually allows them to damage their opponent more.

If helmets make you a pussy then why does Anquan Boldin have a metal plate in his face?

bennyhillifier

And while we're doing video show and tell here's what happens when a 250 lb man attempts to stop another 250 lb man dead in his tracks with a shoulder check when performed in a real sport, and not by rugby homos:

bennyhillifier

B. This rule actually doesn't bother me. Rodney Harrison is one of my favorite athletes ever. But the guy outlined the NFL players' collective mindset towards illegal hits well enough whenever he'd go off about not giving a shit about fines. Plenty of players are more than happy to get fined for the chance to injure an impact player and make a rep for themselves.

Ask yourself, if there had been real rules in place for cheap hits would Bernard Pollard have taken an extra lunge at Brady's knees? Would we have been subjected to a year of Matt Cassel? Would the greatest passing attack ever have been put on hiatus for a year?

I consider Merriweather to be a candidate for one of the top 5 safeties in the game right now, and his aggressiveness make that happen. But the hit on Todd Heap was malicious and there was an obvious conscious intent to go helmet first.

There are plenty of ways to hurt a guy, and to play hard nosed football without breaking somebody's skull with a helmet. The NFL is too profitable to let its star players continue to be targeted by the Cortland Finnegans and Eric Smiths of the league.

disclaimer: If the NFL should decide to retroactively suspend Merriweather then I will immediately be changing my tune.

i like the rule change and i think meriweather should've been suspended for the hit, and i love him as a player. if they retroactively suspended him, it wouldn't bother me.

I would also like to see Todd Heap suspended for ruining several of my fantasy seasons with trivial groin injuries that rendered him useless. Fuck that guy.

if they take the "devastating hits' part out of it, I have no problem with this

the reason being is, this will end up causing more injuries for defensive players, because this will be on the mind of all of them, they'll play tentatively, and when you play that way, you greatly increase your chances of getting hurt

I think Meriweather should be penalized for that hit...but I thought the Dunta Robinson hit on DeSean Jackson was perfectly legal

this is like trying to pass a law against crashing in NASCAR.

retards

wait, but dudes will still be allowed to rape, beat their wives, drive off cliffs, and touch each other, right?

you clearly need some of my for her pleasure protection

bennyhillifier

One can only hope amirite

I think the Meriweather hit SHOULD have been a penalty. Let's look at Ray lewis for a second here, he's a terrifying, hugely intimidating player... who isn't known for helmet to helmet hits. These guys know not to lead with their heads, the helmet's a weapon, and he leaped up with his head first... not with his hands, foreamrms, shoulders, but his head. Jack Tatum was known for helmet to helmet hits, and he paralyzed Darryl Stingley that way. It isn't like you can't level someone without being dirty either, plenty of players (included the aforementioned Ray Lewis) instill the fear of god into the opposition, and they don't play dirty.


Think about this. Who understands the speed with which things happen on the football field better than Bill Belichick? If it was just part of the game that was unavoidable... then would he still have given Meriweather the look he did on the sidelines after he took him out? And you better believe Bill LIKES having enforcers on his team... (Vrabel, Harrison) he likes dudes who FUCK UP the other team, but he doesn't think they need to play dirty to do it. THAT'S what the look bill gave meriweather after the hit meant. It was a look of disappointment mixed with disgust.

A lot of world culture gets studied at The U.

They were actin like, i don't wanna say, little lil' females.. heheheh

acta like li-uhl keeeeeahds

50,000 dollar fine and he can play next week. woooo!!

by the way link: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...on-meriweather-50000-no-suspension/

Actually after reading this, I've changed my view a little bit: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5702673

To me, this sounds like they are outlawing a defender who is jumping up for the ball along with a receiver, trying to break up a pass and accidentally hitting a guy in the head on top of the rest of these hits. That almost completely castrates a defender when a receiver is in the air going for the ball.

I think this will breed more problems:
1) Like I already said in this thread, we will see more injuries to defensive players because they will be more tentative to make a hit that might be considered egregious in the eyes of the NFL

2) You may see more low hits on "defenseless" receivers that will not only result in leg injuries, but its also possible that receivers will be sent flipping towards the ground causing them to land on their heads/necks. This has happened before, the one that immediately comes to mind is the Jets player (forget his name) who got flipped when he jumped for a high ball, landing on the top of his head, which temporarily paralyzed him.

3) This is by far the least important aspect of it in the grand scheme of life, but it will still happen. We will see situations similar to when Mathias Kiwanuka let go of a tackle on Vince Young when he thought Young threw the ball a couple of years ago. I think defensive backs will stop when they see a guy in the air and let him catch the ball because they don't want to get suspended, and this can negatively affect the outcome of games.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/nfl-fines...-football-for-helmettohelmet,18312/

hahaha

this past weekend had the most combined points scored since 1983....coincidence?

the rest of the world laughs at you idiots

Really? Because I'm laughing at the rest of the world's inability to reproduce athletes like this, or wrap your brains around a sport this complicated, or create a sport that's this profitable.

Forbes reported that the top 25 soccer clubs in the world are worth on average $597 million. That's really cute. The least valuable NFL franchise (again according to Forbes 2009 numbers) is almost twice that and over a billion dollars.

But by all means, continue laughing.

And for reference sake the Patriots are worth roughly $1,324,000,000, just about 2.2x the world's most valuable soccer club average.

Cool peasant sport bro.

Justin beeber is worth about 100 million of your US dollars. thats roughly 1,000,000,000,000 x what in the shit is worth. cool band mate.

correct grammar is priceless.

OH HAI!

Thanks for signing, stamping and notarizing my point. Anyone who can't even dream up a decent comeback doesn't stand a chance at comprehending football.

Football is serious fucking business.