Roger Goodell continues to ruin the NFL

[aust42]

I can't believe what I read in the USAToday regarding Roger Goodell's most recent proposed rule changes in the name of "safety". Just wow. How long will it be before the NFL becomes a flag football league?

So what might be next?

While it's not in the works, Goodell said the league is at least considering taking linemen out of their three-point (head-to-head) stances and putting them in stand-up, two-point positions when the ball is snapped.

"It's been discussed a fair amount within our committees. … And they'll continue to evaluate it," said Goodell.

"They haven't formulated an opinion if that's a necessary step at this point. … They just haven't felt that … was going to really change the game from a health and safety standpoint."

But it is not totally off the table. "We're going to consider everything. It's been discussed and will continue to be discussed,'' said Goodell.

[Reign of Terrier]

Wow. Some of the stuff that was put in place I understand, but this has no rational or reason to it IMO

[aust42]

Wow. Some of the stuff that was put in place I understand, but this has no rational or reason to it IMO

I'm 43 and have watched Goodell completely change the NFL game during his tenure.

There are entirely too many defensive flags thrown for touching the QB and good tackles on wide receivers in the name of "safety". These flags completely change the outcome of football games. These anti defense rules have taken encouraged teams to pass the ball the vast majority of the time. The FB has become extinct.

The clock rules have changed to the point where even when a runner clearly goes out of bounds the ref's keep the clock running I guess because once a defender touches a ball carrier it's considered forward progress. One long drive can run 10 minutes off the clock. The number of plays in today's game is drastically less than 5-10 years ago.

Now every team has to play one of their home games in London? That is outrageous and a disservice to the home fans and economy of the home city.

Now he proposes not allowing lineman to be in a three point stance?

He needs to go!

[Franks Tanks]

I fail to see how this will prevent head injuries. Linemen can hit head to head no matter what stance they choose to be in.

I support taking dangerous plays out of the game, like a horse collar tackle, but football players understand they are performing an activity that can put them at risk. The game should not be significantly changed because the sport is dangerous, as the players can freely choose not to participate if the feel that is in their best interest. Race car drivers, skateboarders, moto-cross riders, and many other participants take equal or greater risks. Using a racing anology, we should certainly make the cars as safe as possible, and penalize drivers who are being reckless. However it would be stupid to limit the speed of cars to say 120 mph. It fundamentally changes the game.

[aust42]

I fail to see how this will prevent head injuries. Linemen can hit head to head no matter what stance they choose to be in.

I support taking dangerous plays out of the game, like a horse collar tackle, but football players understand they are performing an activity that can put them at risk. The game should not be significantly changed because the sport is dangerous, as the players can freely choose not to participate if the feel that is in their best interest. Race car drivers, skateboarders, moto-cross riders, and many other participants take equal or greater risks. Using a racing anology, we should certainly make the cars as safe as possible, and penalize drivers who are being reckless. However it would be stupid to limit the speed of cars to say 120 mph. It fundamentally changes the game.

Good analogy with the racing. That's exactly what Roger Goodell has done to the NFL game. It has fundamentally changed under his tenure. Everytime I watch a college game with my girlfriend (avid football fan), we constantly say to each other, "that would have been a penalty in the NFL."

If I may beotch even more: I haven't even mentioned Goodell limitiing kickoff returns and considering eliminating kickoff's all together God forbid. Under Goodell it has become unbearable to watch a game on TV with the number of commercials and breaks during a game. I can't imagine being a player and trying to get any kind of rythmn with all the breaks during a game. They have whored themselves out to the Networks to maximize profits and allowed the networks to have 85 commercials per game. It's just a crying shame.

[alvinkayak6]

Eliminating kickoffs? How dumb. Soon there won't even be a kicking game. It'll just be throw the ball until somebody falls over.

[dgtw]

The London games really get my goat. A team loses a home game (I wonder if that team's season tickets are 10% cheaper than normal) and both teams are inconvenienced. There was a proposal a few years ago of going to a 17 game schedule, with each team playing one game at an international site.

The eliminating kickoffs idea was seriously mentioned by the coach at Rutgers, partially because one of his players was paralyzed on a kickoff.

[BlueHen86]

I say make them wear the old style leather helmets. Players will be less likely to lead with their heads and head injuries might decline.

When the NHL mandated that players wear helmets, the hitting became more vicious. When the NHL mandated that players wear visors, players were more likely to raise their sticks.

The problem with "protective" gear is that players have learned to use it like a weapon.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Who watches the NFL anymore?

Not me

[813Jag]

The London games really get my goat. A team loses a home game (I wonder if that team's season tickets are 10% cheaper than normal) and both teams are inconvenienced. There was a proposal a few years ago of going to a 17 game schedule, with each team playing one game at an international site.

The eliminating kickoffs idea was seriously mentioned by the coach at Rutgers, partially because one of his players was paralyzed on a kickoff.
Nope! you just pay for 7 games instead of 8.

[bluehenbillk]

If the NFL is soooooo worried about head injuries, consider this. Mike Vick gets a concussion earlier this season & the give him a Kevlar(sp) helmet to wear after that - that is specifically designed to minimize concussion risk. If there is a better or more safe helmet out there then why isn't it mandated by the league to wear???

[NHwildEcat]

Nope! you just pay for 7 games instead of 8.

What's the difference? It's not like the teams are making STH pay for 8 regular season games and 2 preseason games. Instead they have them pay 7 regular season and 2 preseason games. So technically it would be 10% less.

[NHwildEcat]

If the NFL is soooooo worried about head injuries, consider this. Mike Vick gets a concussion earlier this season & the give him a Kevlar(sp) helmet to wear after that - that is specifically designed to minimize concussion risk. If there is a better or more safe helmet out there then why isn't it mandated by the league to wear???

Amen.

[NHwildEcat]

I have mixed feelings on the change in kickoffs...while there are a **** ton of touchbacks now, there have also been some amzaing returns this year which can be directly atrributed to the rule change. So I am not sure how I feel on that.

I would personally like to dump the PAT crap. Make the offenses line up for a 2 point conversion instead.

[Franks Tanks]

The new least favorite rule is that every TD must be reviewed. Even a TD where the player clearly scores now requires a look from the replay officials, and it delays the PAT by at least 20 seconds or so. Just line up and kick the stupid PAT.

[NHwildEcat]

The new least favorite rule is that every TD must be reviewed. Even a TD where the player clearly scores now requires a look from the replay officials, and it delays the PAT by at least 20 seconds or so. Just line up and kick the stupid PAT.

However, that has led to less coaches challenges which really slowed the game down.

[dgtw]

So do teams playing a "home" game in London charge the same for season tickets as they did the year before?

[NHwildEcat]

So do teams playing a "home" game in London charge the same for season tickets as they did the year before?

I don't know for sure, but I would venture to guess no.

If you pay $100 a ticket per game...you would normally pay $1,000 for the season. If your team plays a home game in London then you would only be paying $900 for the season. While it's season tickets, the prices are still based on individual games.

[Hammerhead]

What about defensive linemen in a recent game (might be Baltimore) who took a 4-point stance?

[alvinkayak6]

The player mentioned was eric legrand from rutgers. he is now recovering and will soon be walking. You cannot let the rules of the game be dictated by exceptions. Heck, you can probably be concussed just by being hit in the head with a punt or pass from the right angle.

[superman7515]

Just curious why this is coming up now? The rule change to prevent players from the three point stance was looked at prior to the 2010 season (2 seasons ago) and they decided not to implement it and it hasn't been brought up since.

Three-Point Stance Could Get The Boot - ProFootballTalk February 2010 (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/02/07/three-point-stance-could-get-the-boot/)

NFL Could Ban 3-Point Stance - Fox Sports February 2010 (http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/roger-goodell-3-point-stance-020710)

Could Three Point Stance Be Outlawed - USA Today February 2010 (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2010/02/could-three-point-stance-be-outlawed-to-further-protect-players/1)

[alvinkayak6]

it's probably coming up now because of the recent lock-out worries. we are now aware of hypocrisy by the league office. people think that roger goodell is some kind of saint, like he actually cares about player welfare. let's see him step up to the plate and offer all players COMPREHENSIVE lifetime injury coverage from hits in the NFL. good luck with that.