The State Of Football Impacts Every NFL Fan

Concussions have become an issue that have transcended from sports talk shows into the mainstream audience. From a mother’s reservations about letting her child play football, to successful pro players like Chris Borland retiring early, concussions have put their imprint on the game.

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We love football. We live for Baltimore Ravens football. So the pressing thought on our minds is the state of the NFL. Is football headed in a good direction; and can the booming business of professional football be sustained as lawsuits and public outcry continue to swing at the NFL?

The NFL fan has seen many changes due to the CTE crazed media. Rule changes intended to protect players have made penalties and fines as abundant as the fans in M&T Bank Stadium on NFL Sundays. This has led to the frustration of the fans. Unrelenting penalties damage the product on the field.

The problem with new rules is enforcing these new rules. The words defenseless player should never be uttered on a football field. Football players get hit, that’s part of the game. Taking opinion out of the mix and looking at fact the question becomes what is a defenseless player? The rule is vague and therefore the rule is enforced inconsistently and often incorrectly.

Dec 13, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Kamar Aiken (11) loses his helmet during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /

A perfect example of this was when Kamar Aiken got his helmet knocked off by an aerial assault, he remained on the ground for a moment yet there was no flag. This obviously was the kind of play the NFL tried to eliminate and it was deemed a clean hit. Then later in the game a much less obvious infraction drew a penalty against the Ravens.

Inconsistent officiating is a problem that isn’t solved by adding rules. It also is a problem when the commentators need to call on an officiating expert in the game. When the fan feels like he is enduring a trigonometry lecture the product on the field isn’t living up to expectations.

The biggest problem the NFL has is that its biggest problem has no solution. The NFL has tried to enforce “player safety rules” but the number of concussions went up in the 2015 season. Football is a gladiator sport, where the biggest, strongest and fastest athletes collide on every single play. Football is a contact sport. Danger comes with it.

Instead of focusing on player safety and the dangers of a concussion, the NFL should focus on the quality of the game. Football fans should not be more frustrated with how the game is managed than how their team manages to perform. Somewhere along the line the NFL forgot that they were an entertainment based business.

By focusing on concussions and player safety the NFL is fighting a losing battle. By embracing the fact that football is inevitably going to lead to a random allotment of injuries to the brains and bodies of football players, they can focus on the quality of the game. Taking the fun out of football is more damaging than lawsuits can be. The lawsuits are inevitable, the public backlash is inevitable, the sad stories of retired players are inevitable.

As long as the masses spend their money to go to games, wear NFL merchandise and watch the NFL on television, the bottom line of the NFL will be filled with plenty of cash. Fans are fed up with the NFL right now but are so emotionally invested in their team. They’re not going anywhere for now.

Eventually the NFL will start to lose fans. If they lose the casual fans, the NFL loses a lot of marketability.

This doesn’t mean the NFL shouldn’t educate players on the risks involved in playing football. They should still support and fund research into CTE, concussions and brain trauma in contact sports. They should still take care of retired players with serious medical needs due to their football careers. The point isn’t that the NFL should stop battling problems in the player safety department. The point is that they cannot regulate contact out of a contact sport.

With that in mind it is time to let football players play football. Let the game be tough and physical. Take out the unnecessary violence out of the game but don’t make the officials’ jobs impossible. Instead of going overboard on a problem without a solution, focus on more attainable progress.

The NFL needs to simplify the rule book, make it easier to officiate an NFL game consistently and reduce the flags called on the field. This will lead to a more enjoyable game which leads to even more money for the NFL.

Here are 5 changes the NFL can make that will lead to a better game:

The NFL must simplify the rulebook. The definition of a catch is a good place to start.
I understand that the new rules aren’t going anywhere. That said the league needs to make it more fair for defensive players. They are running out of places to hit the opponent. Defense is about reacting, not thinking. They have to fly on the field. When a helmet to helmet hit occurs, ask whether the defender had any control in preventing that hit. If the answer is no, don’t throw the flag.
Points of emphasis and referees should never mix. A rule is a rule. This promotes inconsistent officiating.
Pass interference rules have become unrealistic and hinder cornerbacks. Allow minimal contact without a flag. Even the rule to be fair for both sides of the ball.
Every fine for personal fouls should go to research on concussions and or a retired players fund. The NFL should give much more than they do. This will also ease some of the tension in the media.

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The NFL keeps making change after change to make the game safe to play. Risk will always be a part of the game no matter what they do. The league has implemented enough new rules. It’s time to focus on making the games a better product for fans. That is something they can actually control.

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