Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Askew | (Left to right) Antonio Freeman, former Green Bay Packers wide receiver, LaVar...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — During their tour of Joint Base Balad, Iraq, former National Football League players shared their own opinions on the current questions about the rise in hard hits and tackles in the NFL this season.
The players were invited to JBB by the United Services Organization and Tostitos to take part in a “Salute the Troops” bowl, during which both former NFL players and coaches would participate along with service members in a flag football game.
“To me, that has been my issue since the game started,” said Andre Reed, former NFL wide receiver who played for 16 years in the NFL (15 for the Buffalo Bills, and one season with the Washington Redskins), while talking about hard hits during his career.
“I took a lot of rough kinds of hits,” he said, then pointed to Zach Thomas, “This guy got me a few times.”
Zach Thomas, a former NFL linebacker for 12 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and another player to participate in the Tostitos Bowl, recorded more than 1,000 tackles at the linebacker position during his career.
Another defensive player, who is part of the “Salute the Troops,” bowl, is LaVar Arrington.
“The mentality of when you go out to play football is—most certainly as a defensive individual or an offensive lineman—is to be physical,” said Arrington, former NFL linebacker who played for the Washington Redskins for six seasons, and one season for the New York Giants.
“I do come from a military background, and when my father introduced the game to us, it was basically if you are going to go out there to play, you play every play like it is your last,” said Arrington. “And you are not going to quit.”
It was this hard-working spirit that awarded Arrington with three selections to the NFL Pro Bowl over his career.
The problem in making a rule based on hitting is the implications between an intentional act to take another player out of the game, and one that is unintentional.
“I do not think that I’ve ever played against a guy who was deliberately trying to take out or mess up [my] career,” said Reed.
Reed is known for his durability and speed as a wide receiver, while Arrington is known more for his hard hitting abilities.
“I think that when you take a look at the injuries that are taking place, I think that some of the guys who are making the hits have lost their way in terms of how the game is played,” said Arrington. “And I think what is being lost is the fundamentals of the game.”
It’s the loss of these fundamentals that have the NFL looking for ways to further protect players by discouraging dangerous and potentially career-ending hits. The result is an increase in player fines for flagrant or malicious hits.
“Some people feel like they are being fined too much, but [the fines] are just out there to protect people,” said Reed.
Most players agreed that there is a fine line to be drawn in order to regulate hard hits and tackles while still maintaining the integrity of professional football.
“You have to be very careful in how you regulate how a game that is a full-contact sport is played, otherwise you will lose the essence of what the game is all about,” said Arrington.
The end result is that the NFL must be on constant check to make sure that players are being protected, without changing the game that players like Reed, and Arrington made great.
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.26.2010 07:23 |
| Story ID: | 62615 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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