Two plays in a
span of four showed why the NFL has not done anything to prevent concussions.
On a pass play
over the middle, Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson was hit by Bears safety
Ryan Mundy over the middle. It was as routine as a football play can be –
Nelson jumped up the catch the ball, landed and Mundy hit Nelson with his
shoulder. So obviously, a flag
was thrown for Mundy hitting a defenseless receiver.
Just three plays
later, the Bears appeared to have a defensive stop as Eddie Lacy was tackled
short of the first down. However, there was a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness
on Bears LB D.J. Williams who – like an idiot – launched himself helmet-first
at Lacy as he lay on the ground. It was a terrible, stupid play by Williams. Of
course, everyone in Soldier Field booed.
That, in a
nutshell, is why concussions are not being eliminated from the NFL. There is no
consistency and, even worse, no true punishment. The play by Williams is
exactly the play that needs to be removed from football forever – the moron morphing
into a projectile missile. However, he received the same penalty as Ryan Mundy
did for making a solid football play.
We wonder why NFL
players get upset. Roger Goodell, as he
usually does, has contrived so much noise and bluster about protecting
players that nothing has changed, except players are getting fined more. Those
fines don’t make concussions un-happen.
Meanwhile, the
amount of vicious helmet shots on Saturday has dwindled dramatically and noticeably.
In fact, it becomes national news when one player is not called for targeting
and another player is not benched despite suffering a
likely concussion.
It is all thanks
to the targeting rule, which I said could
save the sport of football. I don’t know if it will save it – that ship may
be sailing – but it could change it.
During the very
first game of the year, a South Carolina wide receiver went to catch a post
pattern in the end zone. The Texas A&M defender – later revealed to be a
mere freshman – turned his head and hit with the shoulder directly on the
football to break up the play. Neither player went to the ground. Neither
player was carted off. Most importantly, no one cried foul about college
football turning into flag football.
So why the difference?
Because a targeting penalty in college football carries a substantial
punishment – you are ejected from the game. And if it happens in the second
half, you miss the first half of the next game.
While its initial
introduction was controversial, the NCAA made the smart decision to ensure
every targeting call and ejection is reviewed. From the games I’ve watched,
every ultimate decision has been correct. Yes, sometimes a flag is thrown for a
good play. Yes, it is momentarily annoying. Yes, it is immediately rectified.
The targeting
rule is perfect in its simplicity. If you lead with your helmet or target the
head of another player, it’s a penalty. That’s it. It doesn’t take a rocket
scientist to figure out what you can and cannot do.
The penalty is
likewise perfect because it sends a clear and distinct message to players to
change how they play. Players want to play. If you take that away, there are consequences
and they have to answer to their coaches and teammates.
In the NFL,
players are fined – a punishment that ultimately means little and only
antagonizes players. If players are suspended, they rightly get upset because
there is no consistency and the NFL is constantly changing the rules on them.
Look above to
Ryan Mundy’s penalty; it was based on the subjective notion that Nelson was
defenseless. Meanwhile, in college, the rule is cut and dry – don’t hit a guy
in the head or with your head!
It’s remarkable
to think that the NCAA, one of the worst organizations on the planet, is so far
ahead of the NFL, one of the most profitable organizations in human history.
If football wants
to survive
as a sport, it needs to fundamentally change. We are seeing that on the
college level. The sport is still football but the nauseating helmet-to-helmet
hits are thankfully starting to disappear. They aren’t all gone. But the idiots
who remain are quickly ushered to the locker room.
In the NFL,
players like Brandon Meriweather still do this:
And still say
stupid things like
this:
“I tried to aim at his numbers,” Meriweather said. “I
kind of seen the pass go, and I went in and aimed low, and I hit him with my
shoulder. I did everything my coaches taught me to do, and I got the
flag."
Brandon
Meriweather was looking at the ground when he made that tackle. In an era where
we know so much more about concussions, that should be an obvious no-no.
Instead, Meriweather claims he was in the right and complains about a two-game
suspension.
If the NFL had
the college football targeting rule – a clear, cut and dry definition – he would
have nothing to say.
That’s why the
NFL needs the targeting rule.
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