NFL's new safety policy

[forgop]

I just heard Kyle Turley on Jim Rome. He expressed how po'd he is at the league and the union over this. He mentioned how players are consistently denied disability from former players complaining of injuries stemming from hits to the head. Like he said, the NFL wants to crack down on these hits while collecting fines, but then deny every claim possible.

[Slow Triathlete]

I think that it is turning into a league of nannies!!

That's why I switched to rugby.

[Blak Smyth]

My personal feelings are these guys are being paid millions of dollars to "play" a game. Let them hit and get hit. There are risks and they are fully aware of them. If they don't want to take the risks somebody else will. It is a sport and should not be compared to a job. I don't wish harm on anybody, but I do want to see hard hits.

[yachties23]

I was alluding to the his recent interview in Mens Journal....

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Blak Smyth

My personal feelings are these guys are being paid millions of dollars to "play" a game. Let them hit and get hit. There are risks and they are fully aware of them. If they don't want to take the risks somebody else will. It is a sport and should not be compared to a job. I don't wish harm on anybody, but I do want to see hard hits.

The NFL is a 15 billion dollar a year business, it's far from a "game". Players are multi-million dollar entertainers. To not protect that investment to some degree would make no sense whatsoever.
Players, owners, and the NFL are all going to do anything they can to protect players, and rightfully so.
Can you expand on your comment "it is a sport and should not be compared to a job"? Those boys definitely work their asses off, and they have an extremely demanding job, both mentally and physically. One of the toughest in the world from a physical standpoint.
That said, I don't want to see the game changed, and I get a bug up my ass every time a new rule is instituted. I also don't want a guy to suffer a career ending open field hit that could be tuned down a bit, so it's tough to swallow new rules, especially when they're pointed straight at my Steelers.
The new contract cuts out a lot of non-gameday hitting, and that'll help with all the wear and tear on these guys that leads to injury. I'm hoping that translates to even more intensity at game time, and I think it will. It'll also help keep players playing rather than sitting on the bench, which is good for all us fans.

unfortunatly I predict it leads to less intensity at game time. We'll see what happens though. Just like if the steelers stop doin goal line drills for the sake of preventing hits, of course their goal line defense game time is going to suffer.

[BHalbrooks]

Harrison always whines about getting fined, but absolutely rips heads off...
I feel as if most of the new rules this Season had him and Suh in mind. Just my opinion.

[yachties23]

He actually laughed about it on his twitter.


The guy is a joke, and once the NFL tests for HGH he will be gone.

You don't go from a 230 LB practice squad guy to a 255 LB wrecking machine made of steel at age 26 without a little help.

[waffle]

Originally Posted by yachties23

He actually laughed about it on his twitter.


The guy is a joke, and once the NFL tests for HGH he will be gone.

You don't go from a 230 LB practice squad guy to a 255 LB wrecking machine made of steel at age 26 without a little help.

Or a lot of hard work and complete, free access to a top-notch strength & conditioning coach with every piece of workout gear in the world... Just saying with enough motivation and a guy telling you exactly what to eat & drink and how to work out, its amazing what you can accomplish.

[yourchoice]

Originally Posted by waffle

Or a lot of hard work and complete, free access to a top-notch strength & conditioning coach with every piece of workout gear in the world... Just saying with enough motivation and a guy telling you exactly what to eat & drink and how to work out, its amazing what you can accomplish.

People argued the same thing for all of the 50+ HR hitters in baseball ten years ago. We all know how that turned out.

[yachties23]

Oh to view the world through a pair of black and yellow glasses....

Originally Posted by waffle

Or a lot of hard work and complete, free access to a top-notch strength & conditioning coach with every piece of workout gear in the world... Just saying with enough motivation and a guy telling you exactly what to eat & drink and how to work out, its amazing what you can accomplish.

[chippewastud79]

Originally Posted by yachties23

Oh to view the world through a pair of black and yellow glasses....

He is definitely not a Steelers fan, in fact that assertion is laughable.

[Parshooter]

Well Harrison got a 1 game suspension for his hit on McCoy. We'll see if that changes his MO. Doubt it.

I might not have been clear Scott. I don't defend Rothlisberger at all. It's pretty clear in my mind what I believe the evidence to show.

I was just making the point that not all Steeler fans were shocked to see him back on the field.

Unfortunately every team has fans who'll defend to the death the players on their team , no matter what they did. I'll bet Rae Carruth still has his defenders amongst Carolina fans.

You watch the tape, it's pretty clear that Harrison went right for another head shot, so his lies won't get him anywhere. Whether the rules are right or wrong they're the rules, and when you repeatedly show that you're going to ignore the rules and just do whatever the hell you want, what's the league supposed to do?

Clothslining people used to be legal too, maybe we should still allow that.. We don't want to sissify the game too much after all.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Resipsa

You watch the tape, it's pretty clear that Harrison went right for another head shot, so his lies won't get him anywhere. Whether the rules are right or wrong they're the rules, and when you repeatedly show that you're going to ignore the rules and just do whatever the hell you want, what's the league supposed to do?

I hear ya, brother. And to waste a kid like Colt McCoy, really? For what?
Harrison, like I said before, is an asshole. He's got no problem with letting everyone know he's an asshole. He just opens his mouth and it falls out.
He got suspended for one game and they denied his appeal. He could care less. James Harrison is his own biggest fan, he doesn't care about what impact it has on the club. He's the James Harrison island.
I'm sad he's not gone for the year. It'd make for a better locker room and a big sigh of relief from the players.
He'll redeem himself with his play again and everyone will forget they can't stand him. I think he likes it that way.
Personally I just hope he gets sent to Dallas.
I'd trade him for a pair of mediocre guards or a good left gaurd in a heartbeat, that's what we need. And I'd love to see Matt Flynn throwing the ball in Pittsburgh. Ben would do well in a Bengals jersey.

[yachties23]

Sorry for making this an anti-steeler thread. Wasn't really my intention. I think we all like rough, physical, hard hitting football. Honestly there aren't better games than the in division games where every play is a highlight reel hit.

I think we are all in agreement, that Harrison's hit on McCoy was totally dirty, and in the continuing string of cheap shots. I've seen people defend him, in this very thread, I've see his twitter account quoted basically laughing it off, and worse of all I've see the league just continue to allow this to happen. In my mind one game wasn't enough, hes a repeat offender who will continue to push the envelope.

Also I wasn't wrong on the lax testing for HGH. The NFL has been trying to get something on the books, but as of right now has nothing. Even the US congress was trying to get involved in implementation, but where do we stand? No testing.

So again I stand in the court of public opinion; Whats your take on James Harrison?

Things we know
- Practice squad player, suddenly gains 10 percent of his body weight and becomes the NFL defensive MVP in one season
- Constantly dishing out illegal hits, even after being warned
- Has off the field domestic assault issue
- Bad mouths entire team, league, and Goddell in Mens health interview

Do I know for sure he took HGH? Nope not at all but look at this. The guy has zero respect for other players, his teammates and the league. Lets face it the reason this thread was created is because last season this guy saw fit to take two massively cheap helmet to helmet cheap shots in the same week. So yeah, I'm not going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by yachties23

Things we know
- Practice squad player, suddenly gains 10 percent of his body weight and becomes the NFL defensive MVP in one season

Then you don't know Jack. Look, I'm no fan of Silverback, but what you're saying is plain nonsense. Here's a picture of him in NFL Europe in 2004:


Here he is in 2005 when he tackled the Cleveland Browns fan:


And finally here he is during his interception return in the Super Bowl against the Cardinals, the year he won the DPOY (where you claim he packed on 10% of his bodyweight in one offseason).


In any of those pictures that span over a four year period does he look noticeably larger.


Finally, although by no means scientific, his listed playing weight going all the way back to his Senior season at Kent State has always been around 240 lbs.

[yachties23]

I could be wrong on the weight thing, looks like he was listed at 238-240 in his days at kent state and the highest I've seen him listed in the NFL is 250, currently listed at 242.

But, cut 4 times by the steelers, sent to lawlnfleurope, and all of a sudden beast mode... begs the question...

I'm not saying people can't become better players, it happens all the time. But a guy cut from an NFL roster 4 times, usually doesn't become the Defensive MVP of the league.

Originally Posted by Stephen

Then you don't know Jack. Look, I'm no fan of Silverback, but what you're saying is plain nonsense. Here's a picture of him in NFL Europe in 2004:


Here he is in 2005 when he tackled the Cleveland Browns fan:


And finally here he is during his interception return in the Super Bowl against the Cardinals, the year he won the DPOY (where you claim he packed on 10% of his bodyweight in one offseason).


In any of those pictures that span over a four year period does he look noticeably larger.


Finally, although by no means scientific, his listed playing weight going all the way back to his Senior season at Kent State has always been around 240 lbs.

[chippewastud79]

Originally Posted by yachties23

Also I wasn't wrong on the lax testing for HGH. The NFL has been trying to get something on the books, but as of right now has nothing. Even the US congress was trying to get involved in implementation, but where do we stand? No testing.

Which pro sport tests for HGH? And what is the reliable test for it? There are none. The NFL is no more lax on their testing policy of HGH than any other major sport. They test more often and for more items than any other of the major sports. I realize this is all based on James Harrison, but the league is doing more than any other sport to prevent PED use.

[shilala]

On the other side of the ball, we have Kurt Warner.
Wasn't he packing groceries before he came and won a Super Bowl?