An old cockfighting trainer in Puerto Rico once shared a special piece of knowledge with me that has proven to be right.
“There is a battle going on in the world between testosterone and estrogen,” he said. “Estrogen is winning.
Some critics would say after the debate this week about the impact of hitting in the NFL, score one for the ladies.
I say the game may just need to step back in time to its caveman roots.
Following three devastating hits last Sunday that rang NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s bell and set off a week-long debate about what constitutes a good clean hit and what constitutes assault. The NFL sent a video Thursday to teams that attempted to clear up the damage a player can legitimately deliver on a defenseless opponent and the damage that will cost that defensive player money.
The video shows Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather’s helmet hit on Ravens tight end Todd Heap. Also on the video is James Harrison’s hit on Browns receiver Mohamed Massaguoi, and the collision between Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson and Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson that gave both players concussions. Harrison was fined $75,000, and Meriweather and Robinson were hit with $50,000 fines each.
“Illegal techniques must be removed from our game,” NFL executive vice president Ray Anderson said in the video.
The problem, though, is what has been removed from the game and therefore has put football in this dilemma — a real one, the fear of a player dying on the field on national television.
Ironically, it has been the emasculation of defense in the NFL that has made the game so brutal.
Changes in rules over the years, mostly centering on the extent of down field contact a defender could have with a receiver and far stricter pass interference calls, has opened up the passing game in the NFL to the point you see today — a pass-first league, with quarterbacks throwing 40, sometimes 50 times a game.
You look at the records for average pass attempts per game, and in the top 15 in league history, eight quarterbacks are still active. Joe Namath averaged 26.9 pass attempts per game, which puts him 52nd on the all-time list. Johnny Unitas averaged 24.6 attempts per game, and he is 82nd on the all-time list.
Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are tied for third all-time, averaging 34.3 pass attempts per game.
Notice all the hits in question from Sunday were pass plays involving receivers, and, for the most part, the sort of plays that result in such violent hits are often pass plays — hits on receivers crossing the field.
It’s a simple equation: more pass attempts, more brutal hits.
To further connect the dots, there are more pass attempts because of the limits on the ability of defensive players to defend on pass plays. In fact, one of the only tools they have left is the flying cannon shot to try to separate the ball from the player, or in some cases the player from his head. It’s really all the NFL has left them.
So if you want to reduce these scary shots, go back to the old school defense that at least gave a defender options beside near homicide to compete, that gave balance to the offensive side of the ball and not the aerial circuses of today.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN 980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected]
