Most will scoff at what they read below, and this started out to be tongue-in-cheek indeed, but the more I got thinking about it..... Well, you decide.
Much has been made of late about head injuries in football, notably the NFL. New rules have been created whereby a tackler isn't supposed to lead with his head (helmet). Particularly if his target is "on or around the head or neck area" of the opposing player he's about to hit. More particularly yet if that opposing player happens to be a quarterback. (Yet, there are times when a tackler rightfully aims at the torso or legs of a ball carrier, but at the last second, the ball carrier ducks his own helmet anticipating contact, and -- well -- sometimes the helmets cracking just doesn't seem to be avoidable.)
Given the speed and ferociousness the game has evolved into, this is probably a good idea. A lot of these guys are dumb enough already without having their brains further turned into mush. Seen and heard them talk on TV? I rest my case.
But there's always been an easier way to solve this problem. Getting rid of the helmets entirely would seem to be a little Draconian, but as long as potential tacklers have them, there will be those that continue to use them as weapons. So why not split the difference?
Just cut the tops off the helmets, exposing the tops of their heads. Leave the rest of the helmets intact as protection against the various other not-so-niceties that happen during the course of a game. If a player still wants to lower his head to make contact, he would do so at his own peril. Good luck with ramming the top of one's exposed head into the helmet or pads of another player. They might be dumb, but they're not THAT dumb -- I think. All that helmet to helmet contact would stop immediately. Problem solved.
Tired of all the face-mask penalties? Me too. It's easy to understand how a defender trying to latch onto anything he can get to make a tackle will wind up grabbing a facemask, intentionally or accidentally. Given the current situation, it's probably just a matter of time before a tragedy occurs. If a ball carrier is going full speed one way, and his head/neck get violently twisted another by a tackler -- one hates to think about what could possibly happen in a worse case scenario. If that neck gets twisted a little bit too far, too fast, and snaps -- welcome to the wonderful world of an on-field fatality. And oh my, would the you-know-what hit the fan, but it would be too late for that poor devil.
Thing is, it doesn't have to be this way. Get rid of the facemasks. Replace them with the high-tech, super-duty clear visors many current NHL players wear. If they're tough enough to stop a slap shot, they're certainly tough enough to withstand anything that might happen in the NFL. And unlike facemasks, there's nothing to grab on to. Besides, despite the wide variety of facemasks football players currently wear, depending on what position they play, one way or the other the bars in that grid have to impede vision once in a while. This would not be a hindrance with a full-face visor. And trust me, NHL players need every bit the vision NFL players do -- if not moreso. Another problem solved.
How am I doing so far?
Yours truly has a few suggestions on how to vastly improve the penalty calling in the NFL as well. Some of this stuff is archaic to the point of being absurd. There are much better ways to go about it.
An example: Why is it that one team can commit a 5 yard infraction, and the other a 15 yard infraction -- on the same play -- but the penalties offset, and the down is played over? Does that sound fair, much less make sense to you? Not me.
That, and more penalty rants --- next time.
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