This might not be the right thread to write this, but, after the hit on Gronk today, I thought it might be OK.
Here is a theory… Do you know who is responsible for the current state of the game???
You are.
And by “you,” I mean modern American society. I mean all the die-hard fantasy football owners. I mean all the Madden players. I mean all the money that changes hands (both legally and illegally) in Vegas and other locales.
Modern American society loves… LOVES and thrives on over-dramatizing and over-sensationalizing things. Football is no exception. The pyrotechnics and smoke at the beginning of games. The blaring music and light shows. The Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood intros to night games. The Super Bowl halftime shows and commercials. The over-inflated salaries.
Americans LOVE the glitz and glamor. They love watching millionaires running around the football field. And they love HIGH SCORING football games!!!!
Fantasy football owner love HIGH SCORING football games.
Madden players love HIGH SCORING football games.
And Las Vegas is Las Vegas. Money… LOTS of money, as it does to most things, has corrupted and ruined the game.
And how do you get high scoring football games? You change the rules to favor the modern passing game. You basically can’t hit the QB. You can’t lay a finger on a receiver before they catch a ball. And you can’t hit a receiver high. And if a defender tries to hit a receiver in his mid-section, and the receiver ducks, and the defender inadvertently goes helmet-to-helmet with the receiver… And now, with Gronk’s injury and the other injuries that are happening to receivers as a result of defenders “going low,” I expect more rules (i.e., limitations) being instituted that will further limit defenses to play football.
Long gone are the days of rock ‘em, sock ‘em, run the ball 60% of the time, defensive struggles (although they do sometimes still happen). Long gone are the days where the final scores are 14-10, 10-7, 7-6, 17-13. What fun is it for modern America to watch games like that? Do fantasy owners like to see outcomes like that? Would Madden be as popular as it is if games were still like that? Would Super Bowls be as glamorous with games like that?
Although I don’t like Goodell, he is just responding to what you and the American public wants.
Gone are the days of Ronnie Lott, Jack Lambert, Jack Tatum, Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White. As a matter of fact, with the current rules, all of those players would be drummed out of the league after paying some hefty fines.
While I don’t like the current state of the game, I still watch it. I still root for the Pats. But… I miss my “old” game.
I'm sending good thoughts to Gronk for a speedy recovery.
