{"id":6071,"date":"2010-11-19T07:47:10","date_gmt":"2010-11-19T12:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/?p=6071"},"modified":"2013-04-21T18:20:20","modified_gmt":"2013-04-21T22:20:20","slug":"recognizing-culture-of-violence-nfl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/sports-editor\/11\/19\/recognizing-culture-of-violence-nfl\/","title":{"rendered":"Recognizing The Culture Of Violence In The NFL"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Red Queen<\/strong><\/p>\n

In evolutionary biology, there\u2019s a concept called the Red Queen Hypothesis. Simply put, it states that groups in a system have to evolve just to keep up with the other components of the system. If not, they irrevocably fall behind. Taken from Lewis Carroll\u2019s Through the Looking Glass<\/a><\/em>, one of the Red Queen\u2019s speeches mentions \u201cit takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NFL finds itself in a similar evolutionary situation: players are getting bigger, faster, and stronger at a blistering pace, while rules, player mentalities, and equipment all lag, in some cases, decades behind. All the while, players continue to take injuries which are career and life-threatening that often go untreated and undiagnosed simply because of the culture that exists in the NFL. With an incontrovertible pile of evidence mounting — from decreased NFL player lifespan to irreversible head injuries — will we see the NFL as a tragically barbaric testament to disregard for player safety in the pursuit of profit? <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Size Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Time<\/a>, the average weight of the professional NFL player has increased by 10% since 1985. This is not an accident. The monumental teams of years past were fueled by cigarettes, whiskey, and mountains of food. Not anymore. Teams now hire gobs of doctors and nutritionists to ensure their players are performing at peak ability, gaining the right kind of weight and building muscle.<\/p>\n

\"Dick<\/p>\n

The game is faster, too. Walter Payton, perhaps the greatest running back of all time ran a 40-yard-dash in 4.4 seconds in the early 1970s. Comparatively, at the 2010 NFL Combine, six players matched or beat a 4.4, with an additional thirty players running it faster than 4.6 seconds. Furthermore, not only are the individual plays faster, but there are more plays per game than ever<\/a>. In 2007, the average length of a game was 3:02\u201959\u2019\u2019, with an average of 153.1 plays per game. Compare this to a season like 1985<\/a>, with an average of 131 plays per game, or 1960<\/a>, just a hair over 120 plays per game. <\/p>\n

Finally, the players are stronger than ever. That 10% increase in body mass isn\u2019t due to NFL players just getting chunky. Again, we look to the Combine for some interesting statistics. There, bench press is measured by how many reps an athlete can do of 225 pounds. In 2010, offensive and defensive linemen consistently put up more than 30 reps, and Mitch Petrus and Jeff Owens put up 45 and 44 reps, respectively. Let\u2019s make it extremely clear: I can\u2019t do 45 reps of walking from my refrigerator to my couch without stopping for a break, much less lifting my bodyweight over me that many times.<\/p>\n

Oh, James<\/strong><\/p>\n

So players are bigger, faster, and stronger, which are all independent issues when taking into account the relative lack of progress in safety equipment. When players are playing within the rules, though, the threat to player safety is generally mitigated. Catastrophic accidents notwithstanding, the rules the NFL has in place do a good job of protecting the players. When individuals try to skirt the rules, though, is what magnifies and multiplies the danger inherent to what is at the most base level, a violent sport. Speaking of James Harrison…<\/p>\n

\"\"

You get that punter. He\u2019s a real threat.<\/p><\/div>\n

This is, of course, James Harrison. The same James Harrison who can be attributed to quotes like: “I thought Cribbs was asleep. A hit like that geeks you up, especially when you find out the guy is not really hurt, he’s just sleeping. He’s knocked out but he’s going to be OK.” And, in reference to a later hit on Mohamed Massaquoi, a wide receiver on the Browns: “That was a good, clean, legal hit. I put my head across the bow. To be honest, I laid off him a little bit. I could have put a lot more into him\u201d.<\/p>\n

The hits on Cribbs and Massaquoi happened in the same game<\/em>. Both players were diagnosed with concussions, which in spite of the NFL\u2019s \u201crub some dirt on it and get back out there\u201d mantra, are dangerous in the short-term. Further, recent research has shown that even one concussion is proven to have a long-term detrimental effect on not only the athlete\u2019s ability to play, but on the rest of their life. Harrison was fined $75,000 for the hit on Massaquoi, and in a display that epitomized his petulant tendencies, Harrison threatened to retire because he claimed he was no longer able to play the way he was taught. What this actually meant was he was no longer allowed to use his helmet as a weapon during head-to-head collisions.<\/p>\n

Now, lets not make the mistake of turning football into two-hand touch. Contact is a part of the game, and you can hit a player very<\/em> hard, cleanly. However, the idea that is burrowed into players\u2019 heads from pop warner to the pros is that when you tackle, you start low, head looking up and forward, lead with your chest, wrap around the hips, and push through. This is a safe tackle. You\u2019ll note that in the hit on Massaquoi, Harrison has his head straight down, makes no attempt to wrap up, leaves his feet, and leads with his helmet. There is no intent to \u201ctackle\u201d as defined in the rules \u2013 there is only intent to hit<\/em>…<\/p>\n