[Note From Adam:  Every now and then I address a topic that is not Vikings related.  This is one of those times.  To those of you that think I should stick to talking only about the Vikes, I apologize.]

Football players of the past are suffering greatly for the hits they took way back when.  The NFL’s Commissioner Roger Goodell has recently announced that they will be going to great lengths to better understand and try to fix the chronic job hazards known as concussions. 

Basically there are seven steps to the league’s new take on concussions, which I’ve dumbed down as the following:

  1. Increase the size and quality of the NFL’s concussion committee.
  2. Before a player who’s had a concussion can return to play or practice, a second opinion must be made by an independent specialist.
  3. Rule changes will be considered to minimize the potential for concussions.
  4. John Madden and some current coaches will research how to prevent concussions from occurring during practice.  This may include banning helmets in practice.
  5. Public Service Announcements will debut on December 10th to raise awareness of the problem.
  6. In June 2010, the NFL will conduct a conference on the matter in Washington D.C.
  7. The NFL will further research options for safer equipment and educate players on their choices of equipment.

It seems like a fairly comprehensive and well-meaning plan, and I applaud the league for taking these steps to protect the long term safety and health of players.  While most people feel that praise is due to the league, some are not so enthusiastic about the measures.

The first problem is the timing of the announcement.  The NFL announced this plan less than one month after the United States Congress took aim at the NFL for the lingering issue. 

Hall-of-Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw was very emotional when he spoke to this issue.  He spoke about his former center, the late Mike Webster, having many head problems from his playing days.  According to Bradshaw, Webster was having trouble making ends meet, having to live in his car and under bridges.  Bradshaw scolded the NFL for not addressing this issue until Congress forced them to address it.

Bradshaw said, “[Did the] NFL take care of him?  No, not at all.  And that’s why this bothers me.  I’m not so sure they really care that much about these players.”

Whether or not the NFL really cares about players or are simply pretending to care about their players is a topic open to debate.  However, despite Bradshaw’s scorn, the NFL will simply get the “better late than never” response from the general public.

Concussions are a difficult thing to monitor, as players are often times going to lie or be in denial about their current state.  Players want to appear tough so that they can be respected by other players and by the fans.  The current system endeavors to take the players’ wishes completely out of the process.

Shortly after making the announcement, Roger Goodell made teams aware that any player suspected of having endured a head injury cannot return to the game without going through a set of very specific measures.  In other words, if a player takes a big blow to the head then they are done for the game.

This presents a simple problem to me.  Are you now making defenders more likely to take a 15 yard penalty, and play harder and dirtier, if it means the opposing teams star player will be forced to exit the game?  Think about it.  On Sunday, what if Jevon Kearse has an open shot at Peyton Manning?  Kearse could try for the sack, resulting in say a 6 yard loss and a loss of down.  Or he could try to force his helmet into Manning’s earhole, taking a 15 yard penalty, but potentially putting his team in a position to face Sorgi for the remainder of the game.  Now I’m not saying that Kearse, or any other player, would do that… but the option does exist… and could have a big affect on a playoff game’s outcome.

Other rules, such as the “Adrian Peterson Rule” could come into play sometime soon.  The rule I am referring to is one that prevents the ball carrier from lowering their head into an opponent.  It is thought that ball carriers driving forward with their helmets are putting their brains and the brains of defenders into a position to be injured.

The interesting point about the “Adrian Peterson Rule” is that it is one of the few rules aimed at protecting players that are not quarterbacks.  It is often thought that the NFL creates so many rules to protect quarterbacks that it completely changes the game of football.  Trends show the NFL becoming more of a passing league each and every year, while the days of “smash mouth” football are almost completely in the past.

Lions defensive coordinator, Gunther Cunningham, recently discussed these changes and did not hide his hatred of what football has become.

“The sad thing is the NFL’s going towards the college game, and I hate it,” Cunningham told the Detroit Free Press. “I don’t care what people say about me for making a comment like that. But it’s taken five years for the NFL to change to this five wide receivers and Wildcat stuff. I remember when Jim Brown was running the ball. That’s what football is to me.”

Cunningham not only thinks that the new breed of football formations are taking the NFL away from it’s roots, but he thinks that they are putting players in more danger, especially the NFL’s beloved quarterbacks.

“Do I like it? No,” Cunningham said. “Somewhere along the line the quarterbacks are going to start going down. Then I’ll be able to say I told you so, because when the Run and Shoot came in, I said that. I said I’ll give it four years, and it’ll be over. And it was – dead, in the water. All the quarterbacks were laying down on the ground.”

I tend to agree with Cunningham (despite his defense ranking dead last in the league) and long for the days of smash mouth football where everyone was treated equally and everyone was able to get hit.

With that being said, these new concussion measures are the future.  They are not going away.  The swift decisiveness of Roger Goodell will send the NFL down a path that will change this game forever.

I think Troy Aikman, who retired partially because of concussion issue, summed it up best when he talked about the dangers of football.

“At some point I think players have to understand that there are certain risks that are involved and if you decide that you want to go out and play football then you’ve got to understand that part of that means you’re going to break some bones and you may have some head injuries,” Aikman said. “But if you try to eliminate all of those things then we’re no longer playing football.”

I agree whole-heartedly.

If the NFL continues down this path, which it will, then the possibilities of how this could affect things.  Imagine that three years from now teams are only running the ball 20% of the time because quarterbacks are untouchable and running backs are getting flagged for bulldozing the opponent.  If that’s the case, then Adrian Peterson couldn’t be traded for a pack of peanuts.  Any old running back could take the ball and run until they meet a defender and then just fall down.  Any old running back.

It’ll be a sad day in the NFL when players like Adrian Peterson, Hines Ward, and Troy Polomalu are cast aside and forgotten about so that the future versions of Brett Favre and Peyton Manning can be assured a nice long and profitable (for the NFL) career of making football exciting with their impressive aerial displays.

The NFL is currently a quarterback’s league.  They’re about to become a league of nothing but quarterbacks.