Head-To-Head Hits

My listeners know where I stand on head-to-head hits in the NFL. The NFL needs to do something to improve the safety of their players. I know I am beating a dead horse when I talk about this, but as I sit here tonight watching Football Night in America, another great player has been knocked out of a game due to a concussion. For all you fans who say “I don’t want big hits taken out of the game.” You are able to light a guy up without putting your helmet through the side of your opponents head.

According to the Los Angeles Times, over 55 players have been sidelined with head injuries this year in the NFL. I realize that not all of those injuries are due to so called “vicious hits,” but if the NFL doesn’t start suspending players for head-to-head hits the numbers will only go up. For the people who say that cracking down on these hits will change the game, I ask you this. Did the game change for the worse when the NFL put an end to chop blocks, the four man wedge, and when they introduced the fair catch? NO!! And all those rules were put in place to protect players. The game won’t change if the NFL eliminates head-to-head hits. Players will learn to make big hits by focusing on the body.

In a earlier interview with the Chicago Tribune Jim McMahon said, "My memory's pretty much gone. There are a lot of times when I walk into a room and forget why I walked in there. It's unfortunate what the game does to you.” I leave you with this philosophical question. If Franco Harris doesn’t remember the “Immaculate Reception,” if Jerry Rice doesn’t remember his record breaking career, and if Erik Howard, Pepper Johnson, and Everson Walls don’t remember their spectacular win in Super Bowl 25, Did it ever truly happen?

-Matt "The Closer"