Review of Football

Review of Football: The Evolution of the Rules Austin A, Kevin L, Dan R College of Dupage Composition 1 Elizabeth Anderson 23 September 2013

Review of Football Review of Football: The Evolution of the Rules

Over the course of history many things have evolved. You name it; nothing is the same as it was ten, twenty, fifty, or even one hundred years ago. This is especially true for sports. Take, for instance, football: a sport of physicality, speed, power, endurance, and strategy. Over the course of its span, football has, at its core, remained essentially the same. However in recent years there have been more and more pushes for change, whether it is by the players or the league itself. Many athletes have been injured due to being targeted by other, or by reckless abandonment for others safety. This has caused the recent crackdown by the National Football League on illegal hits. During the matter of a few weeks of the new professional season there have been a few injuries and questionable hits made by some of the players. The consequences for these hits and plays have been far more costly that those of the past. Now you may ask yourself why these strict consequences were necessary. Simply put, there have been more and more recurring dangerous hits on players that dont have the chance to protect themselves from either head to head, or cheap hits below the waist. The Leagues crackdown should be commended on its effort to eliminate these hits for the game, for without these hits the game would be much safer. Now back when the league was first formed there was not much to be said about protection given that pads were merely made of felt and wool, while the helmets, if worn, were just a leather covering (NFL). However over the years, the league has been expanding and ever changing. That being said, helmets werent a mandatory piece of equipment until 1943, when the league made it an official rule (NFL). The sad fact of the matter was the league had already been around for twenty years before this was instated leading to many injuries. TO the Leagues credit, the rules kept on continually changing. By the 1960s facemask were fitted on all helmets,

Review of Football

which were now plastic with padding, too help protect the players (NFL). Now while all of these improvements were big steps forward in protecting the players that played the game so well as a whole, it did little to keep them all safe from the hits that they endured. It wasnt until 1979 when the league began to enforce the penalty of unnecessary roughness, where players could not use their helmet to spear or hit another player without reason. Violation of this rule did not result in ejection until the 1980s (NFL). Again the NFL has made a huge improvement to the game and the athletes that compete under its visage, but this is not everything that can be done, from the late 80s to the 90s the NFL worked to ensure the safety of its quarterbacks. It was now illegal to throw down a passer with all of the defenders weight or force after he threw a pass. Not only this, defensive players could not hit the passer below the knees (NFL). Throughout the rest of the 90s the league improved on and made an effort to keep up its enforcement of not hitting defenseless players. During the next ten years, illegal hits rules were again changed and revamped in order to protect the athletes because of the more frequent big hits. It has been during the past three years that some of the more impactful rule changes and improvements have been made. A defenseless player in now officially any player that has not in the act of completing a kick, throwing a pass or making a catch. Receivers are not considered defenseless however if they have had ample time to protect themselves or have established themselves as a runner. Now this is some fine ground work that has been laid in order to protect players across the league. That being said, not all of the rules have been followed by the players themselves. In recent years there have been more head to head hits on both offensive and defensive players (mostly on offensive receivers or players running with the ball). This is due to the fact that not all of the players recognize or care about what they are doing. When a player initiates contact by

Review of Football leading with their head, they put not only the other player, but also themselves at risk for severe injury. The league has been quick to fine players or serve them a suspension for their actions, should the league deem that it was intentional. However ever with all of these stipulations and stiff consequences not everyone has shown care or pause for their actions. The biggest fine that has been laid down this year alone was to cornerback Dashon Goldson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he hit a New Orleans Saints running back with head to head contact. He was fined one-hundred thousand dollars and was suspended for one game. The suspension was appealed however. It is sad to say that some of the players in the league show no regard for their own safety let alone the safety of others. Now in some case, these hits are accidental due to players attempting to protect themselves, but there are others that show repeated and blatant disregard for the rules like Goldson. The fact of the matter is that the actions of professional athletes

trickles down to the college and even high school levels, and these young players believe that its ok to make big hits above the shoulders in an attempt to look good out on the field. This is not the way to go about playing a sport that is already about toughness and physicality to begin with. The National Football League has done much over the years in order to protect its players. They enforce these rules and penalties immediately on the field and are reliable in their pursuit of punishing players for breaking this rules. This is respectable, but there is still much to be done starting with a more forceful consequence for those who do break these regulations.

Review of Football Works Cited

"2013 Player Health & Safety Report." 2013 Player Health & Safety Report. National Football League, 2012. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nflevolution.com/healthandsafetyreport/>.

Review of Football References Http://www.classtools.net/FB/1260-APRN2E