I'm glad the NFL cracked down on socks

[CaliforniaCheez]

http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/getty/2008/09000d5d808527bd_gallery_600.jpg

Fines for not having your socks right help preserve the NFL image.

See more at

http://www.nfl.com/photo/photo-gallery?chronicleId=09000d5d808529b5

[gbgary]

lol

[gbgary]

http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/getty/2008/09000d5d80852598_gallery_600.jpg

dang...did the great Don Hutson play into his sixties? looks older than me. :D

[oregonpackfan]

You would look older than your age if you played football with just a soft-shelled helmet with no face mask! :)

Dang, I wonder how many broken noses, teeth, etc. those guys suffered in the old days...

[Zool]

Dude looks like Heston in that pick.

You can take this football from my cold dead hands.

[CaliforniaCheez]

The game was tougher then . They didn't have rules against pass interference, forearms to the head, head slaps, down by contact etc.

It is now a more feminine game with illegal contact, illegal touching, illegal use of the hands.

[oregonpackfan]

T

It is now a more feminine game with illegal contact, illegal touching, illegal use of the hands.

Pro football is more "feminine?" Would you be willing to approach a group of NFL players and state that? :)

[twoseven]

The game was tougher then . They didn't have rules against pass interference, forearms to the head, head slaps, down by contact etc.

It is now a more feminine game with illegal contact, illegal touching, illegal use of the hands.
The game was also smaller and slower, and less likely to yield the kinds of injuries today's game can.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

The game was tougher then . They didn't have rules against pass interference, forearms to the head, head slaps, down by contact etc.

It is now a more feminine game with illegal contact, illegal touching, illegal use of the hands.
The game was also smaller and slower, and less likely to yield the kinds of injuries today's game can.

Exactly.

Everyone should try and check out what i saw on Fox sports. They were comparing rugby to football..i use rugby, cause that is close to what football use to be like back in the day.

Football players get hit much harder than a rugby tackle...i think it was two or 3 times harder.

However, they said that a player doesnt' tackle as much in football...so while the force is greater..the overall impact is about the same. Your choice...smaller but bigger hits..or more hits with less sustained impact.

[CaliforniaCheez]

It is now a more feminine game with illegal contact, illegal touching, illegal use of the hands.

Let's try it in slow motion. The goal is comprehension.


illegal contact,

illegal touching,

illegal use of the hands

[the_idle_threat]

It is now a more feminine game with illegal contact, illegal touching, illegal use of the hands.

Let's try it in slow motion. The goal is comprehension.


illegal contact,

illegal touching,

illegal use of the hands

:lol:

[VegasPackFan]

You guys have to admit that the rules now favor offense instead of defense. Therefore, you have many instances of these BS ticky tack fouls that get called all the time that in reality make the game kind of wimpy.

By comparison, look at hockey. These guys have gotten bigger and faster and yet the hits just keep on comin'. Not too many of thes guys end up injured, so what is the NFL's friggin problem? They want more offense, and therefore they have pussified the game.

[Tarlam!]

They were comparing rugby to football..i use rugby, cause that is close to what football use to be like back in the day.


Never played American Football, but I captained my rugby teams in the 5th, 6th 7th 8th and 9th grades. Also captained my cricket teams in those grades. Changed schools in my 10th grade because we moved towns.

Rugby tackles are no big deal What really kills you in Rugby is the ruck. You do not want to be at the bottom of a ruck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_rugby_union#Ruck

KY can sing a song about this...

[twoseven]

It is now a more feminine game with illegal contact, illegal touching, illegal use of the hands.

Let's try it in slow motion. The goal is comprehension.


illegal contact,

illegal touching,

illegal use of the hands

Maybe you should quote your entire post, otherwise I'd say your advice might be just as useful if self-applied.

The game was tougher then . They didn't have rules against pass interference, forearms to the head, head slaps, down by contact etc.My comment was in regards to the rest of what you typed, and your eluding to today's game not being as tough. If being tough means needless injuries, you can have your good old days. There's nothing tough about an injury that permanently cripples a player, or worse, paralyzes them for life. If any of the current rules helps the players to avoid serious injury I would call that smart, not feminine. It is nothing but fact that today's players are much bigger, stronger, and faster than your dad's NFL. Anyone that has had basic physics understands that these differences equal much more violent collisions and hits, regardless of whether these hits are legal or not and regardless of what it looks like when you watch it on TV. I'd rather be hit by a 180-200 lb LB that runs a 4.8 40 from your good old days than by a 230-250 lb LB that runs a 4.5. How about you? Today's LBs are bigger than your good old days offensive lineman and some are as fast as your good old days wideouts. I'll give those old guys credit for playing less protection, but to claim they were more masculine than today's players is a tired argument. If todays much larger, stronger, and faster players went with the olde style of protection and rules I would wager you'd end up seeing someone killed annualy. But at least it would be tough, right?

[twoseven]

By comparison, look at hockey. These guys have gotten bigger and faster and yet the hits just keep on comin'. Not too many of thes guys end up injured, so what is the NFL's friggin problem? They want more offense, and therefore they have pussified the game.To compare the hitting that occurs occasionally in hockey to the hitting that happens on every snap in football is a worthless argument. Apples to oranges. The hits in hockey are a walk in the park compared to what a NFL player's body receives on every play. Scott Stevens laying waste to a forward at the blue line a few years back is hardly on pace with what is doled out in the NFL with regularity. Physics. When a 220 lb defensiveman knocks a 170lber off his skates, it's no comparison to a pair of 230lbers slamming into each other and going straight to the ground in what looks like a meaningless collision by way of forces generated. Compare the zero friction ice to turf or grass that defintely adds friction to the collision and you have much greater potential for an injury with every hit. Are the current NHL hits and injuries more frequent or violent than the NHL of yore? I think so. That's where the debate should be.

[KYPack]

Tarlem knows my MO.

I played Rugby for a long time, 15 seasons or so.

I played junior and high school football and then played 3 years of semi-pro football. I'd rate myself an average player at both sports. I tried to focus on the mental aspects of the game, but stuck my nose in there and got very physical when that was what was needed.

Both sports are very physical and the contact can be devastating at times. In general, there is more hitting in football because football allows contact away from the ball. In rugby, blocking is illegal and is a penalty called obstruction. In football, some of the hardest hits I sustained occurred while "forcing" a running play to the inside by hitting the blocker early and turning the play back to your defensive support.

Tackling and forcing plays in football are a different technique than tackling in rugby. In fact, it took me a couple seasons to learn how to make sound rugby tackles. You truly feel naked without those shoulder pads and a helmet. In rugger, you must learn how to make a form tackle by leading with your chest and being very conscious of where you place your head. Ruby uses a wrap and roll technique, while football tackles tend to be more violent. Sometimes.

In my years in both sports, I've been carried off the field, out cold due to the effects of a violent collision. Cold-cocked is cold-cocked, no matter how you get there. In general, rugby is a more mental game. If you study the sport, the times when you have to sell out and clean somebody out is less in a rugger match than a football game. Football has more contact because of the blocking.

That said, when I would come up from fullback to tackle some young outside center running free with 10 - 15 yards of steam, there were times I wished I had a helmet and shoulder pads to help me deliver the blow.

There is a funny thing about both sports is the attitude of the players regarding the toughness of their respective sports. Football players tend to give the ruggers props for playing without all the protective gear. Many ruggers are disdainful of American football players, deriding the footballers use of their equipment.

When asked to comment on either sport I'd have to say that both of them are very violent and have their moments of impending doom. Sometimes you find yourself in a jackpot in either sport and you are very happy if you can get up and walk around the next day.

[Zool]

I'd still rather get hit out in the open. Getting hit full speed against the boards is an unpleasant experience and the only time I've ever thrown up after getting hit.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Physics. When a 220 lb defensiveman knocks a 170lber off his skates, it's no comparison to a pair of 230lbers slamming into each other and going straight to the ground in what looks like a meaningless collision by way of forces generated.

To be fair, there aren't very many 170lb players in hockey any more. Just like football, hockey has become a big man's game. Also, hockey players are moving faster, so the force generated is probably pretty comparable. I've seen hockey hits that are every bit as good as football hits.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I'd still rather get hit out in the open. Getting hit full speed against the boards is an unpleasant experience and the only time I've ever thrown up after getting hit.

You might take a stick to the mouth and/or smash your head on the ice or boards during this big hit also.

[Deputy Nutz]

Physics. When a 220 lb defensiveman knocks a 170lber off his skates, it's no comparison to a pair of 230lbers slamming into each other and going straight to the ground in what looks like a meaningless collision by way of forces generated.

To be fair, there aren't very many 170lb players in hockey any more. Just like football, hockey has become a big man's game. Also, hockey players are moving faster, so the force generated is probably pretty comparable. I've seen hockey hits that are every bit as good as football hits.

Grass is softer than ice.

[twoseven]

Physics. When a 220 lb defensiveman knocks a 170lber off his skates, it's no comparison to a pair of 230lbers slamming into each other and going straight to the ground in what looks like a meaningless collision by way of forces generated.

To be fair, there aren't very many 170lb players in hockey any more. Just like football, hockey has become a big man's game. Also, hockey players are moving faster, so the force generated is probably pretty comparable. I've seen hockey hits that are every bit as good as football hits.Sure. But to suggest that hockey players spend a whole lot of time lining each other up and running into each other at full steam is also a stretch. In football it happens every single play. Hell, I think they're all tough, I just have little time for today's athletes being called pussies because they wear pads and helmets and have rules to keep them from seriously injuring each other.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Hell, I think they're all tough, I just have little time for today's athletes being called pussies because they wear pads and helmets and have rules to keep them from seriously injuring each other.

I'd agree with you there--although I think the rules have been overly slanted to the offensive side of the ball (pass interference rules especially) and they probably overly protect the QB. Then again, if you were paying your franchise's most important player upwards of $10,000,000/season, you'd probably want those rules in place too.