So how soon are they going to stop wearing pads in the NFL? If the league keeps banning different kinds of hits, the plastic protection will soon be obsolete.
Word out of Hawaii is that the NFL is considering making a hit on an "unsuspecting player" qualify as "unnecessary roughness."
Included in this new definition would be hits such as the one in which Warren Sapp knocked out Chad Clifton following an interception two years ago. Clifton was following the play with his head turned and got leveled by Sapp, and ended up with a season-ending injury. Is that unfortunate? Yes. Should it be illegal? No.
Please tell me this is a sick joke. Alas, it is not quite April 1st, so I can only assume the jokers on the league rules committee are serious.
The last time I checked, players wear pads because football is a physical, violent game. Also, the last time I checked, that's what makes it great. It's for damn sure what makes it so popular.
I just don't understand why the league can't figure that out. They already went too far by making any contact to a quarterback's head - incidental, accidental or anything else - illegal. The Eagles nearly lost to the Browns because someone tapped Jeff Garcia, almost imperceptibly, on the head on a 4th down play in the fourth quarter during the Browns' game-tying drive.
Now they want to ban blind-side hits? Give me a break. Few things are more a part of the game. They are loud and spectacular, and they remind players of a certain aspect of life that is important - always keep your head up because you never know what might be coming. Players are taught to hit until the whistle. No one should have sympathy for anyone who ignores this lesson and gets crushed by someone they never saw.
