N/S B. Pollard comments on NFL future (1 Viewer)

It depends on if the government decides to make the players decision for them. If personal choice wins out football will never die. If the government decides it's too dangerous then who knows.
 
I think it'll still exist but it will be:

(a) Not as popular. Like anything, what goes up must come down. Right now the NFL depends too much on public dollars and those dollars are getting thinner and thinner.

(b) Very different physically. When you have the POTUS saying he wouldnt let his son play football, it's not looking good. Lawsuits and the overall sensitivity of the public to violence will cause drastic changes in the way the game is played. How those changes will look I can not say. Full body armor? Flag football? Touch football? I dont know.

(c) The way we watch TV is changing: Football is one of the few things I watch "Live" today. We are getting closer and closer to an "On Demand" era of TV watching. NFL's bread and butter is from tv commercials and people dont want to watch that. Maybe we will see players with ad stickers all over their jersey like formula 1 racing.
 
one possible "compromise" i see is that youth football only teaches "skills"
then they start teaching contact in HS (maybe not even til 10th grade)
avoids a lot of the "youth concussion" thing and also avoids a lot of bad practice
 
It depends on if the government decides to make the players decision for them. If personal choice wins out football will never die. If the government decides it's too dangerous then who knows.

The problem is the lack of informed consent. These lawsuits would end. Of course there is not much you can do about the ones that are already out there.
 
For me it's definitely circling the drain and has been ever since spin doctor goodell's PR machine took the reins. I think in as little as 10 years it will be unwatchable for those of us who remember "how it used to be". The younger generations may still gobble it up though, I don't pretend to know.
 
For me it's definitely circling the drain and has been ever since spin doctor goodell's PR machine took the reins. I think in as little as 10 years it will be unwatchable for those of us who remember "how it used to be". The younger generations may still gobble it up though, I don't pretend to know.

I don't get it.. Everyone always points to the past and says the game used to be better, the players used to be better, EVERYTHING was better. and yet, it's those same players that are beating up the NFL with lawsuits that are directly related to the same qualities (harder hitting, less penalties, etc.) that people use as evidence of a better product on the field.

The lawsuits won't stop.. they will only get bigger and include more players as the years go on. What choice does the NFL have? I agree that the game is hard to watch with all of the personal foul penalties and fines, but what other defense does the NFL have against these guys?

Take Dunta Robinson.. This guy tackles almost exclusively with his helmet, and judging by his post-game and D-Block comments, things aren't exactly rapid firing inside that helmet to begin with. In 15 years, he'll be part of some class-action lawsuit against the NFL because of years of brain damage he suffered as a result of being encouraged by the NFL to hit hard.
 
IMHO, when the NFL starts losing money in droves due to the lack of intensity in the game, you will see a lax on safety and things will slowly be go back to business as usual.

They will start PR'ing breakthrough equipment and such and then behind closed doors tell the players you want to make the money....these are the risks...and none of them will turn it down.
 
I don't get it.. Everyone always points to the past and says the game used to be better, the players used to be better, EVERYTHING was better. and yet, it's those same players that are beating up the NFL with lawsuits that are directly related to the same qualities (harder hitting, less penalties, etc.) that people use as evidence of a better product on the field.

The lawsuits won't stop.. they will only get bigger and include more players as the years go on. What choice does the NFL have? I agree that the game is hard to watch with all of the personal foul penalties and fines, but what other defense does the NFL have against these guys?

Take Dunta Robinson.. This guy tackles almost exclusively with his helmet, and judging by his post-game and D-Block comments, things aren't exactly rapid firing inside that helmet to begin with. In 15 years, he'll be part of some class-action lawsuit against the NFL because of years of brain damage he suffered as a result of being encouraged by the NFL to hit hard.

Informed consent and making all players that come into the NFL sign release waivers is one way to put an end to these silly lawsuits. Its common sense that football is a violent sport and carries inherent risks, I cant believe these players are coming back suing the league because of that, they learned it was a violent sport when they started playing peewee football, why do they act shocked now and want to come with all these lawsuits. Noone takes responsibility for themselves these days, its always someone else's fault.

Makes me sick.
 
In 1963 a player for the Chiefs actually did die from hard hits. After an injury he died 10 days later in the hospital.


The NFL is already watered down enough. I know it's the Ravens and niners in the big dance, the two hardest hitting defenses in the league but there isn't anymore Jack Tatum's or Jack Lambert, Ronnie Lott, Reggie White, or Lawrence Taylor type defensive players that made sure they caused a lot of pain when putting you on the ground.

While everyone looks at the past and claims the game is better today, you can't really change a league. They've watered it down enough to the point we have QB's throwing for 5,000 yards easily, but it's not the same. There is still hard hits, and you're never going to eliminate that. Pollard should know, he does a fine job laying guys out. It's football, you're going to get hit and it's a brutal game. All part of the personal responsibility when you sign up for it. You are risking yourself out there, and these guys know it. I think in 20 years we will be playing flag football in the name of "player safety".
 
And yet UFC championship fights are now shown on network television during prime time. What a joke of a society we live in.
 
IMHO, when the NFL starts losing money in droves due to the lack of intensity in the game, you will see a lax on safety and things will slowly be go back to business as usual.

unless big hits become part of Fantasy Football, that's not going to have much sway
when it becomes predominately driven by FF stats and that fickle money/attention goes someplace else - that's when the change comes
 
I think there's too much money involved at the college and pro level for it to go away completely, but at some point in our lifetimes it will be unrecognizable compared to what we have today. The groundwork is already being laid for eventual government intervention. Might not be soon, but it will come eventually. Enjoy it while you can.
 

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