This week's Peter King MMQB

[PatsFanSince74]

I'm no shill for Peter King, but if you take ten minutes to read anything sports-related today, it ought to be his MMQB. Not only is there a great tribute to Junior Seau, but a long and really nice piece on Matt Light, including a segment that Matt wrote.

In addition, you should click on the imbedded link in the piece to Dr. Sanjay Gupta describing what happens during a concussion. The train has clearly left the station in the NFL on mitigating the impact of head injuries on players. I think we're going to see a lot more players who have a lot to live for in their retirement follow the lead of Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman, who retired at 34 and 35 respectively, and not extend HOF careers "for the record book," but rather choose to step out of the game while they can still look ahead to a long, enjoyable and prosperous retirement.

Junior Seau's death has fans looking differently at the player safety issue - Peter King - SI.com

 

[Fixit]

3. I think everyone needs to read what Seau said to SI's Jim Trotter two months ago, when Trotter asked him about some of the new Goodellian rules aimed at taking some of the vicious hitting out of pro football. "It has to happen," Seau said. "Those who are saying the game is changing for the worse, well, they don't have a father who can't remember his name because of the game. I'm pretty sure if everybody had to wake with their dad not knowing his name, not knowing his kids' name, not being able to function at a normal rate after football, they would understand that the game needs to change. If it doesn't there are going to be more players, more great players, being affected by the things that we know of and aren't changing. That's not right."

I'm going to flash this quote every time I see/hear some a-hole complain that it's turning into flag football.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

3. I think everyone needs to read what Seau said to SI's Jim Trotter two months ago, when Trotter asked him about some of the new Goodellian rules aimed at taking some of the vicious hitting out of pro football. "It has to happen," Seau said. "Those who are saying the game is changing for the worse, well, they don't have a father who can't remember his name because of the game. I'm pretty sure if everybody had to wake with their dad not knowing his name, not knowing his kids' name, not being able to function at a normal rate after football, they would understand that the game needs to change. If it doesn't there are going to be more players, more great players, being affected by the things that we know of and aren't changing. That's not right."

I'm going to flash this quote every time I see/hear some a-hole complain that it's turning into flag football.

Football would still be a great sport without the violent aspect. How you take it out of the game is a tough question, but I'm guessing that in 10-15 years, the league will be very, very different, but still very popular.

 

[Fixit]

Football would still be a great sport without the violent aspect. How you take it out of the game is a tough question, but I'm guessing that in 10-15 years, the league will be very, very different, but still very popular.

Here's my thing: players have gotten bigger, faster, stronger, and flat-out scarier. But what hasn't changed at all? The amount of punishment the human head can take. It's common sense ... or should be ... that new rules need to be in place.

 

[Steve102]

Here's my thing: players have gotten bigger, faster, stronger, and flat-out scarier. But what hasn't changed at all? The amount of punishment the human head can take. It's common sense ... or should be ... that new rules need to be in place.

...Or get serious about removing PED's from the game. Maybe you guy's will call me a cynic, but I believe it's rampant. IMHO, the size and speed of players doesn't equate to nutrition and better training.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

3. I think everyone needs to read what Seau said to SI's Jim Trotter two months ago, when Trotter asked him about some of the new Goodellian rules aimed at taking some of the vicious hitting out of pro football. "It has to happen," Seau said. "Those who are saying the game is changing for the worse, well, they don't have a father who can't remember his name because of the game. I'm pretty sure if everybody had to wake with their dad not knowing his name, not knowing his kids' name, not being able to function at a normal rate after football, they would understand that the game needs to change. If it doesn't there are going to be more players, more great players, being affected by the things that we know of and aren't changing. That's not right."

I'm going to flash this quote every time I see/hear some a-hole complain that it's turning into flag football.

I'm not too hard on those who complain about the new rules. It takes a while for this kind of change to take root. It wasn't all that long ago that people would defend the tobacco companies' claims that nicotine isn't addictive and that smoking tobacco doesn't cause cancer.

We're going through a period of awakening and adjustment now. People who have grown up with the idea that "getting your bell rung" is like a minor muscle strain need time to process what we're now just starting to understand.

Put it this way. If I were a personal friend of Tom Brady, I'd probably ask him why he was thinking of playing past the end of this contract when he has an amazing life ahead of him full of wealth and multiple personal and professional paths that he might take, not to mention with a beautiful, accomplished woman by his side. We really don't know the impact of the hits he's taken, week after week, season after season, since he was in High School.

And, BTW, most of those making the "flag football" comments have never played any more than Two Hand Touch themselves.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I'm not too hard on those who complain about the new rules. It takes a while for this kind of change to take root. It wasn't all that long ago that people would defend the tobacco companies' claims that nicotine isn't addictive and that smoking tobacco doesn't cause cancer.

We're going through a period of awakening and adjustment now. People who have grown up with the idea that "getting your bell rung" is like a minor muscle strain need time to process what we're now just starting to understand.

Put it this way. If I were a personal friend of Tom Brady, I'd probably ask him why he was thinking of playing past the end of this contract when he has an amazing life ahead of him full of wealth and multiple personal and professional paths that he might take, not to mention with a beautiful, accomplished woman by his side. We really don't know the impact of the hits he's taken, week after week, season after season, since he was in High School.

And, BTW, most of those making the "flag football" comments have never played any more than Two Hand Touch themselves.

I don't recall Brady ever suffering from a concussion with the Patriots, although I could be wrong about that of course. Having a quick release, great pocket presence, and a good line in front of you seems like it may be even more of an advantage than first thought, both during and after the career. I worry more about guys like Rodgers and Roethlisberger, but in general I agree largely with your post. As we learn more, we have a responsibility to use that knowledge, and what we're learning is that head injuries are far more debilitating than we ever thought.

It's easy to be a fan, since we--whatever our intentions are--pretty much forget about players the day they leave the field. As much as we'd like to protest that, how many people honestly spend time thinking about Ted Johnson's quality of life with any regularity? We don't, because we have a whole new group of healthy, undamaged Patriots who are taking the field every Sunday. But when you consider a guy like Wayne Chrebet, who is commonly pointed to as an example of a successful post-NFL guy even while stories like this one document how thoroughly his many concussions have impacted his life.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I don't recall Brady ever suffering from a concussion with the Patriots, although I could be wrong about that of course. Having a quick release, great pocket presence, and a good line in front of you seems like it may be even more of an advantage than first thought, both during and after the career. I worry more about guys like Rodgers and Roethlisberger, but in general I agree largely with your post. As we learn more, we have a responsibility to use that knowledge, and what we're learning is that head injuries are far more debilitating than we ever thought.

It's easy to be a fan, since we--whatever our intentions are--pretty much forget about players the day they leave the field. As much as we'd like to protest that, how many people honestly spend time thinking about Ted Johnson's quality of life with any regularity? We don't, because we have a whole new group of healthy, undamaged Patriots who are taking the field every Sunday. But when you consider a guy like Wayne Chrebet, who is commonly pointed to as an example of a successful post-NFL guy even while stories like this one document how thoroughly his many concussions have impacted his life.

Good comments. I too don't recall specific stories about Tom Brady and concussion, but I think the sad truth is that we are just beginning to understand the relationship between head trauma and mental function in middle age and beyond. That's why I made my comment from the perspective of a "personal friend" of his. I think a friend would say something like, "Tom, look at all you've accomplished. I know you love the game and your teammates, but there's just too much we don't know and it's time to start looking towards the rest of your life."

 

[BradyFTW!]

Good comments. I too don't recall specific stories about Tom Brady and concussion, but I think the sad truth is that we are just beginning to understand the relationship between head trauma and mental function in middle age and beyond. That's why I made my comment from the perspective of a "personal friend" of his. I think a friend would say something like, "Tom, look at all you've accomplished. I know you love the game and your teammates, but there's just too much we don't know and it's time to start looking towards the rest of your life."

Fair enough- I think that the more we learn, the more valid questions like that become. I also can't help but wonder what kind of impact this is going to have on hockey, boxing, MMA, etc. Football is the one that everyone's talking about, since it's the big moneymaker, but there are a lot of sports that are just as brutal as football, many even moreso.

 

[Deus Irae]

3. I think everyone needs to read what Seau said to SI's Jim Trotter two months ago, when Trotter asked him about some of the new Goodellian rules aimed at taking some of the vicious hitting out of pro football. "It has to happen," Seau said. "Those who are saying the game is changing for the worse, well, they don't have a father who can't remember his name because of the game. I'm pretty sure if everybody had to wake with their dad not knowing his name, not knowing his kids' name, not being able to function at a normal rate after football, they would understand that the game needs to change. If it doesn't there are going to be more players, more great players, being affected by the things that we know of and aren't changing. That's not right."

I'm going to flash this quote every time I see/hear some a-hole complain that it's turning into flag football.

The league has taken normal hits, not just extraordinarily dangerous hits, and made them illegal. The league has minimized the kickoff and there is now talk about eliminating it entirely. The league has made tackling the QB a matter of hitting a small bullseye and makes hitting that QB a split second after he releases the ball a borderline play which can draw a penalty and large fine.

You can insult those who don't like that all you want, but they've got a point.

 

[Fixit]

The league has taken normal hits, not just extraordinarily dangerous hits, and made them illegal. The league has minimized the kickoff and there is now talk about eliminating it entirely. The league has made tackling the QB a matter of hitting a small bullseye and makes hitting that QB a split second after he releases the ball a borderline play which can draw a penalty and large fine.

You can insult those who don't like that all you want, but they've got a point.

No, they would have a point if the said something reasonable like, "I disagree with Rule X because blahblahblah..." As soon as they make the flag football comments, I tune them out, because there's always going to be a lot of big hits in football. It makes me think they root for injuries, kind of like a lot of NASCAR fans think a race is boring if there isn't a big wreck.

What normal hits have they made illegal? If they eliminate kickoffs ... which I doubt, but let's say if ... so what? There wasn't always a forward pass, either; I bet the purists hated that. And QBs should be protected, because they're the only players on the field who are a) looking away from the contact, and b) standing still while they're doing it.

Those are all matters of opinion, but it all plays to my point that the amount of punishment that players can dish out has increased, whereas the amount of punishment they can take hasn't. Rules need to evolve to reflect that.

 

[upstater1]

...Or get serious about removing PED's from the game. Maybe you guy's will call me a cynic, but I believe it's rampant. IMHO, the size and speed of players doesn't equate to nutrition and better training.

I think it harms the mental stability of players as well.

 

[mgcolby]

Every player currently in the league, and in coming rookies know the risk. Its simple IMO, if you don't accept the risk don't sign the contract. No one is forcing them to play.

Retired players are a different conversation.

 

[captain stone]

I'm no shill for Peter King, but if you take ten minutes to read anything sports-related today, it ought to be his MMQB.

I'll give Peter the Queen of All Media a click as soon as she apologizes for blowing Cameragate way, way out of proportion the entire 2007 season, including SB week.

 

[Fixit]

Every player currently in the league, and in coming rookies know the risk. Its simple IMO, if you don't accept the risk don't sign the contract. No one is forcing them to play.

Let's just get rid of the protective gear altogether, then. We could boil it down to the hardest of the hardcore.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

The league has taken normal hits, not just extraordinarily dangerous hits, and made them illegal. The league has minimized the kickoff and there is now talk about eliminating it entirely. The league has made tackling the QB a matter of hitting a small bullseye and makes hitting that QB a split second after he releases the ball a borderline play which can draw a penalty and large fine.

You can insult those who don't like that all you want, but they've got a point.

We just disagree. Sorry.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

...

Those are all matters of opinion, but it all plays to my point that the amount of punishment that players can dish out has increased, whereas the amount of punishment they can take hasn't. Rules need to evolve to reflect that.

That's a pretty reasonable statement on a complex and difficult topic. Thank you.

 

[Deus Irae]

We just disagree. Sorry.

There's really nothing to disagree about. What I said is pretty basic. They've clearly done what I pointed to.

 

[Hazy]

Probably deserves its own thread but i cant start one:

Light's decade-long battle with Crohn's - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Matt Light battled Crohn's disease for his entire pro career including the Patriots giving him a 6year contract 30 days after coming close to dieing and dropping nearly 50lbs to 260lbs...insane stuff

 

[mgcolby]

Let's just get rid of the protective gear altogether, then. We could boil it down to the hardest of the hardcore.

You clearly have a ridiculous stance on this. The game is based on violent collisions, you can only take so much of that out of the game before it is no longer the same game. That is not debatable. They are getting close to that point. The focus needs to significantly shift to more technologically advanced head gear and early diagnosis.

But none of that changes the fact that every player knows the risk, again no one forces them to play.