This is unwatchable
 

Finally have a chance to sit down and put my thoughts to paper.

I went last night and I am sickened by what I am watching. Last night's game was the most miserable experience I have ever even thought about having at a game. I can legitimately state that there isn't much more that gets me more excited than having tix in my hand and knowing I'm about to watch this beautiful game. I've loved it since I was a little kid, big games, I will shake leading up to kick off and feeling that energy that doesn't come from any other experience this side of sex.... I'm real close to just saying fuck it and finding something to replace it entirely.

This bullshit they are doing with these fucked up rules that cannot be applied at any reasonable level- it's fucking repulsive. I've watched some of the pre-season games and it's been a tough watch but being present in the seats when these damn form tackles, when these guys trying to jar the ball loose from a fucking 230 lb mass of muscle who has a head full of steam, having the game completely jammed up with these fucking idiots standing around debating this bullshit... fucking agonizing!

The NFL has ZERO fucking clue how many people are going to turn the dial off. If they keep this shit up, by the third game the ratings will be down 70% from last year. This is a disgrace. The fucking thing went on for over 3.5 hours last night...

STOP THIS BULLSHIT!

I will continue watching, but this new helmet rule is one of the dumbest fucking rules I have ever witnessed. Refs do screw up the game and the time it takes for them to finally make a decision is ridiculous.

One word-liability.

The owners care only about their money and getting sued like they have has pissed them off. They will make the game unwatchable before they lose another red cent. It’s sad but that’s what it is.

Yep, the players caused the problem with the lawsuits. This is the only thing the NFL can do to counter those.

The announcers keep saying that penalties will get toned down once the regular season starts. We'll see.

As with many penalities in the NFL, this one is SO subjective.

I saw probably 5 - 8 hits in the first half that I said to myself "there is a penalty for dropping the head" but no flag flew.

However, the 2 that were called on the Colts? Yeah, not even in my top ten of plays that should have been called but were not.

The guidelines are way too subjective; much like the defenseless receiver guidelines. Virtually any hit on a receiver within 1 sec of them catching the ball could be called under that rule but yet only the ones that "deserve" it are. The guidelines suck for defenseless receiver.

As do the guidelines for dropping the head. They pretty much want chest tackles only with the head straight up in the air and that is not happening.

Basically, as someone said, the NFL just gave themselves a tool that can be used to tilt the game in whichever direction they want it. My guess is that scoring is going to way up and Patriots scoring is going to go way, way, way up.

Walk Worthy,

The sooner the NFL realizes they can't make the game safer, the better off we'll all be. It's like if boxing outlawed hits to the head.

I’ve been saying this for a couple of years now.

Players should be educated and fully understand the inherent risks of the job at the professional level. Changing the pro game is not the correct path imo. Being honest about the risks and letting players make that decision for themselves is the path that needs to be taken.

If we are worried about children. Put them in equipment that will not allow them to be capable of getting hurt. Kids who are boxing at an amateur level have head gear and thick gloves that prevent any kid other than mike Tyson from being able to really hurt the other one.

I don't really watch NCAA ball - but I know they have a targeting penalty, which in the few games I've seen, is not called often, and didn't seem controversial. Though I've read a few articles about it being called unevenly and its a little controversial. But it seems to be working - why can't the NFL adopt a similar rule?

I was thinking about that last night. Maybe the NFL should adopt college rules for penalty enforcement. You get called for targeting and you get ejected. It seems like it might be an easy fix and the players coming in would already be used to it.

They don't have a choice. The players forced their hand by suing them. They were getting sued and called out for not taking player safety seriously by players, fans, the media, etc. They had no choice.

If a bunch of boxers got together and started suing the various promotions and sanctioning bodies, they would be in the same boat, and the sport would suffer.

Players can't have it both ways. They sue the NFL for their injuries and then complain when the NFL tries to make it safer to appease them and stop the lawsuits.