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Originally Posted by anticipation
That's easy; they haven't. American football is far from the most barbaric sport on earth, and the game has only been getting more and more benign as time has passed. It's funny that a game that is only played by a few select countries is regarded as one of the world's most influential and important sports. For example, rugby features harder hits, faster plays, and no padding and receives no scrutiny from the mainstream media. Hockey has had players die, paralyzed, and put into a vegetative state for over 100 years, and they're just now making incredibly feeble attempts at retributive punishments for those who head hunt.
Saying football is the most barbaric sport in the world is a little far-fetched, and in my opinion any movement away from physicality in sports is a bastardization of competitive play.
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I agree that Rugby and Hockey are both equally if not more barbaric sports, perhaps my statement there was a bit over the top. But alas, you missed the entire point of my post. Allow me to rephrase and say "one of the most barbaric sports". You can even limit that to the US if you'd like.
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Originally Posted by Dirty
One of the dumber things I've ever heard. Instead of the rules...get tougher players? Lol, I can't tell if you are serious or just being sarcastic. Where exactly do you get these tougher players?
The game today is different in a million ways than it was back in the day. Players are bigger and faster. It doesnt matter how tough you are, if you don't see it coming and get crushed by a 250 pound linebacker running at full speed, its like the equivalent of a car wreck. It has nothing to do with being tough, nobody can take hits like that and be expected to just walk it off.
"There would be no such thing as a defenseless receiver if the receiver was equally as big and strong as the person hitting them."
Again, are you trolling? For one it wouldn't matter how big the WR is, they'd still be defenseless. If you are running a route and looking for the ball and somebody maims you, there's really nothing you can do. Even if you weighed the same and everything, the momentum and force are way different. Not to mention it is ridiculous to think receivers could be as big as the people hitting them. Hahaha, I don't know what world you are living in where it is realistic for all receivers to be like 250 pounds.
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As my football coach always said, "Be the hammer, not the nail". A lesson to live by.
There are ways to train yourself to take hits, this is football we are talking about. I'm just saying why change the rules of a game thats steeped in tradition? If anything, make helmets better. Look at guys like Hines Ward or Donald Driver, small receivers who are giving big hits more often than taking them. It's about toughness and alertness most of the time. Yeah, there are dirty players out there who will intentionally try to hurt you, and they should be punished accordingly. But 2 of the three hits in question over the last week were legal hits. Outside of Merriwether (who's a dirty ****ing Patriot anyway), those guys weren't doing anything but playing good old fashioned football. If you want to see glorified track stars running up and down the field all day without getting hit, try soccer. But don't ruin football for everyone else.
If these guys don't have the toughness to take the hits, or the alertness to feel them coming and give up on the play, then don't play. Period. I don't see why we have to cater to these 175 pound speedsters who think they can come crossing over the middle for the big play without getting hit.