Sports Guys Universe: Players Face Suspension For Hard Hits: Are You Kidding Me?!

By: Tyler Ward

Everybody, the NFL just got a lot less entertaining. Why do I say that?

The NFL will announce on Wednesday that players will face suspension for hard hits, helmet-to-helmet hits, and head shots. The NFL's executive vice president of football operations, Ray Anderson, said the rule will go into effect immediately, starting with this weekend's games.

"We can't and won't tolerate what we saw Sunday. We've got to get the message to players that these devastating hits and head shots will be met with a very necessary higher standard of accountability," Anderson said. "We have to dispel the notion that you get one free pass in these egregious or flagrant shots."

Apparently, it doesn't matter if it's a player's first-time offense. They will be suspended. It's utterly ridiculous.

Rodney Harrison, you retired at the right time. Be glad you got out when you did.

Sorry, Ed Reed. Sorry, Ray Lewis. Sorry, Patrick Willis. Sorry, James Harrison. Sorry, Shaun Phillips. Sorry, Brian Dawkins. Sorry, Ryan Clark. Sorry, LaRon Landry. Sorry, Antoine Bethea. I wish I could give ya'll some good news, but I can't. The NFL has completely shut ya'll down. Now, ya'll will have to have "clean" hits or you will get suspended and your teammates will be mad at you. Not only will ya'll get suspended, but ya'll will also lose money out of your pocket.

So, start enjoying the UFL. I can tell you right now that if the league actually follows through with this cruel act, at least one player will be banned from the NFL. The NFL just can't take hard hits out of the league with the waving of a magic wand. It's going to take time. Since it goes into effect immediately, there will be at least one player suspended this week. And that's just me being nice. There may be a couple. Sometimes, they can't even help it. It's hard to slow down once you have so much momentum on the field. They can't just swerve out of the way and miss hitting a player. I wouldn't even doubt that a hard-hitting safety or linebacker completely leaves the game because they can't do what they love. The "rule" or whatever you want to call it is unjust and unfair.

This weekend's games were filled with big hits. Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson and Atlanta's Dunta Robinson were knocked out of the game after a big collision - Robinson launched himself into Jackson, injuring both. Jackson laid on the field for a few minutes before he eventually made it to the sideline. Both players were diagnosed with concussions and Jackson isn't expected to play this week.

Steelers linebacker James Harrison knocked two players out in the Steelers' victory against the Browns. Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi were the victims. According to the NFL, the hit on Cribbs was legal, but not the hit on Massaquoi. The NFL is currently reviewing the hit on the second-year pro, so depending on the result, a fine or suspension could be headed his way.

New England's Brandon Meriweather laid out Ravens tight end Todd Heap. Heap said after the game that "it was one of those hit that shouldn't have happened." After the game was over, the Ravens immediately contacted the league's front office about the hit, so like Harrison, there could be a fine or suspension handed down to Meriweather.

Jets safety Jim Leonhard was penalized 15 yards for his hit on Broncos wide receiver Brandon Lloyd. The hit was helmet-to-helmet.

My favorite hit of the year, though, was Ray Lewis' hit on Jets tight end Dustin Keller in the opening Monday night game. Lewis, known for his tough hits and aggressiveness, just rocked Keller. It was truly an amazing hit and it was clean, too, which made it even better. I can never get tired of watching the video, it was just an awesome hit. (Video posted at the end, along with Harrison's hits and the Robinson/Jackson collision).

I also have a news alert for the NFL. Last time I checked, this is not a pansy league. This is a league filled with grown men who want to take each other's heads off. They live and breathe to completely hit the opponent as hard as they can. And now, it's taken away from them.

Personally, I believe that this rule comes into effect because of two instances: The NFL is trying to protect the quarterbacks and they are trying to reduce the number of concussions. Right now, the NFL is a quarterback-protected league. The quarterback is the most prized position in the league and without players like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees, where would the league be? Fans of those teams would stop watching, simply because they are missing the best player on their team. That hurts the league and they can't afford to have that happen. They're doing anything they can to make sure they don't get injured, no matter if it's a concussion or a torn ACL.

Concussions have become a large part of the game, on and off the field. On October 28, 2009, before a House Judiciary Committee, the league's approach to science was compared to that of the tobacco industry. The NFL accepted the resignations of the co-chairmen of it's concussion committee and overhauled it's policies toward concussion management. When a player suffers a concussion, they must be approved by brain-injury experts. If they show signs of concussion, they cannot return to the game or participate in practice. But, if they do show signs of improvement, they are welcome to return to the game.

Researchers found that from 2002-07, there were fewer concussions overall and there was a significant decrease in concussions among quarterbacks and wide receivers. However, there was an increase among tight ends.

Ted Johnson, a former New England Patriots linebacker, expressed his displeasure with the NFL over the concussion fiasco. Johnson suffered many concussions throughout his NFL career, which has caused many emotional and memory problems for him. The former linebacker said in a statement last year, "I shouldn’t have to prove to anybody that there’s something wrong with me. I’m not being vindictive. I’m not trying to reach up from the grave and get the NFL. But any doctor who doesn’t connect concussions with long-term effects should be ashamed of themselves."

Concussions should not affect the way the game is played. It's football. If a player doesn't want to get hit occasionally, then they shouldn't play the game. It's that simple. Football is fun to watch because of the hard hits. One of my favorite parts about football is watching players get leveled. I can't explain how much I love seeing a replay of a player getting hit and yelling, "Dang, you just got knocked the &*$% out!" Who doesn't love that? Well, apparently, the people in the league office don't - some of them have never even stepped on a field while playing in the NFL. So, why should they be the ones to judge and make rules that makes the game less interesting? In my opinion, they don't. If players come up to commissioner Roger Goodell and complain, then there should be enough ammo to make a rule change. But, I don't see players whining and moaning about getting hit. Shouldn't the NFL be more worried about performance-enhancing drugs and drug abuse more than players getting leveled? I think so. The rule takes away so much from players like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Patrick Willis, and so on. I am literally dumbfounded by the league's decision to come up with this rule. Words can't describe.

The people in the front office should sit down and second-guess their decision. Point, blank, period.

The DeSean Jackson - Dunta Robinson Collision