Is football too dangerous to play. Joe's suggestion

JoePa didn't wear a facemask. He doesn't think today's players should, either.By Matt Hinton

The NFL is upping the ante yet again on helmet-to-helmet hits and other vicious collisions, promising even more aggressive fines and suspensions in the wake of a particularly violent weekend. The NCAA has been concerned with the same problem lately, led by the Big Ten.

And if it's really serious about it, Joe Paterno has an idea from his own playing days at Brown, right after the war (Second World, that is, not Civil). If you want players to stop leading with their heads, Paterno told reporters during Tuesday's Big Ten conference call, lose the facemasks already:

"I've been saying for years, we should get rid of the facemask. ... It's a weapon, guys are fearless."

Predictably, the whippersnappers in the ranks – namely 35-year-old Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, who opted for maximum coverage as an All-American linebacker in the mid-'90s – aren't so enthusiastic about the idea. But more than a few people who actually study head injuries aren't so dismissive: As the Wall Street Journal reported last year, the growing research on the long-term effects of repeated head shots, even when helmets are involved, have led some experts to conclude that the protection does more harm than good by making head-cracking too routine. Troy Aikman is down with that, and he knows from head injuries.

Of course, helmets were introduced largely to combat the "boy-killing, man-mutilating" violence that nearly got the game banned outright at the turn of the 20th Century. The facemask wasn't standard until the mid-'50s, well after the end of JoePa's career at Brown and into his tenure as a young assistant at Penn State. You can play football without a facemask.

While we're at it, Paterno would also like to know whatever happened to those canary dishes, the Andrews Sisters? Used to be a Joe could always get togged to the bricks for a jolly up in this town, even if he was a cement mixer. But these days, every night's in the cave with a platter and a glass of dog soup, patting his alderman like some wheat lunger.


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with the increase in longterm effects from head injuries from hard hits for the NFL players and Amateurs should football be banned adjusted to mitigate longterm effects from the injuries ? If we lighten up then you would miss this ....
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:smt028This is a man's sport. No other sport compares. If you can't handle the 'violence', play baseball, soccer, or golf.

The gridiron is for grown ass men. The NFL is trying to sissify the sport.

 

so you are ok with dudes leading with their heads and going at the heads and paralyzing dudes

 

The 'no-spearing' rule has been in effect for a long time now. No one wants a player to put his head down when trying to tackle.

However, I'm a Browns fan and I had no problem with James Harrison's tackles on Josh Cribbs and Massoquoi or T.J. Ward's devastating hit on Jordan Shipley (COMPLETELY CLEAN). The NFL is getting way to damn particular.

Look, this is a violent sport. This whole 'Lead-with-the-head' description is misleading. They're trying to change the mechanics of tackling...that's what I have a problem with.

I'm tired of the NFL trying to pussify the sport.

 

Im with Joe pat. take off the face mask and the tackling would be more textbook. they would be screaming

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:smt080
...valid point!

 

LOL.

 

Truth be told, the game has changed over the decades. It's spread out much more now offensively, predicated more on speed, which is contributing to more injuries suffered by the lead-up to the hits. It used to be a much more compact, tighter game, and as such the injuries were less devastating.

 

To Aussie Rules football and Rugby players, American Grid Iron is always looked on as a weaker form of football. US footballers can't outlast Aussie Rulers who never get to stop and start, nor wear any form of protective gear (een Hockey players get masks and pads and carry sticks).

Aussie rules football is the most violent team sport on earth.

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and they don't break up or flag fights, either....

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:smt120I always respect people's opinion and perspectives. I also enjoy Rugby, I think it's a great sport -better than baseball or soccer. I love all contact sports.

However, the COLD-HARD-REALITY is that 'Aussie Rulers' would not even make it in the NFL. Period.

'American Grid Iron' is far more brutal than Rugby. I find it amazing that one might use the fact that American football 'uses pads' to justify their thought that its 'weaker'.

The fact that pads are used provides that hits/contact is FAR more devastating than Rugby or any other sport. Hence the fact the NFL is so inclined to try and regulate tackling because athletes get hurt so often in American Football.

The reality is, athletes in American football are faster, more skilled, more athletic, and bigger than in Rugby.

I guarantee you most NFL athletes would make and excel on a Rugby roster.

I can assure you very few Rugby players would make an NFL roster, let alone be a starter.

It is what it is.

 

tell you what

football is the only sport that damn-near made me pass out

and that was just the tryouts



think about it tho....these guys in the NFL hit way harder with their body (all jokes aside, hitting with serious power and knocking people senseless is a trained skill in football, unlike other sports), than any other athletes in similar sports. This is exactly why they still get broken bones, concussions, and career-ending injuries, while wearing enough padding and protection to survive a few IED blasts.


that's REAL TALK


enough of that rugby BS, with guys getting boo'boos and bloody noses. If anyone hits someone wearing no protection, it's going to hurt and maybe cause some bleeding. That's common sense and not that big of a deal. Knock a guy out wearing all that football equipment you buy from EastBay, and come holla at me

 

No way in hell I would play in football. Knowing that I could losing those precious memories that I holds so dear in my heart.

So I've played baseball, soccer, basketball before. I enjoyed a lot. Oh, well, this is a man's sport, after all.

 

that's why u wear the padding

(oh wait, that doesnt help because people are drilling to make that shit damn near break)

 

That doesn't protect you! :smt108

 

^^^THAT'S MY MUHFUCKA!! YOU BETTA PREACH!!

All due respect, but I'd love to see a Rugby play earn a spot on even a D-1AA college squad. It aint likely.

How many rugby teams have 6'7" 335lb men running a 4.6/40??

Like Petty said, these cats are knocking each other out cold wearing STATE-OF-THE-ART helmets!

It's trully a MAN'S sport.

 

Cuz, even to this day, I still play football (believing I shold be in the pro's).

I love basketball with all my heart....man, but the gridiron is just special.

Below is me- #9

 

Then why they still get brain injuries despite of the helmets?! None of the helmets are created to be perfect to protect brain, let alone brain injuries!

 

You're right - it's a violent sport.

What we're saying is don't compare Rugby to Football. Football is more dangerous, but more rewarding.

 

seriously

some positions are just training and training to smoke right through that shock-absorption, and put you in some hurt.

dont come with that weak shit either...they want to hear the sound that happens when two mothafuckas collide.

then they'll clap after-wards and say good job, lol