Football Rants

So Ohio State looked pretty good on Saturday. As did Notre Dame. Michigan, not so much. The win over Central Michigan was so impressive that they fell out of the top ten. I really hope we can get things going for the game against Notre Dame this week. I am sure the Irish will be ready.

The Lions played alright. We even had a chance to win late in the game until Shawn Bryson decided to take a stroll all by himself down the sideline on 3rd down, never looking back for the football until it nearly hit him in the head. Then of course Nick Harris did his best John Jett impersonation and booted the ball to the back of the end zone instead of pinning the Seahawks deep.

Big Baby controlled the line of scrimmage all day long, becoming Ernie Sims' best friend in a hurry as Sims became Boss Bailey's best friend in a hurry. Most people seem to think Boss played well even though he had zero tackles and 4 assists. At least he's shown he can take down someone who has already stopped moving because they have been wrapped up by someone else.

So is Roy WIlliams a prophet or an idiot? Guess we'll have to file this under 'wait and see'. I am certainly tempted to bet Chicago this week, but the 8 points won't let me do it. Chicago's offense might not score 8.

My beloved Redskins really jobbed themselves last night. With such a tough division schedule, every game in September will have a huge impact on January. That being said, they tanked it yesterday against Minnesota and their hokey offense. Run, run, run, launch it deep. Rinse, repeat.

Is it just me, or are the refs way too flag happy so far? There were at least a dozen cheap calls on crucial plays during week one. Many extending drives that would have ended with a punt on the next play. I also noticed that the refs are acting like appellate judges. Don't like the fact that you didn't catch the ball? Yell at the ref....50/50 chance he'll penalize the defense.

My personal pet peeve with the officiating this year is not the refs themselves, but what they are instructed to call as spearing, or use of the helmet as a weapon on normal, textbook tackles. This year the NFL has decided that the facemask is to be included in the spearing rule. You can no longer lead with your helmet or face mask when coming in for a tackle. If you do, and it makes contact with someone....that's illegal. Essentially you can't lead with your head at all, which is what is completely natural when you are running forward. So if you want to make a legal tackle, you have to make sure that you get your head completely out of the way just before impact. Doing that will leave defenders wide open for severe neck injuries.

If this rule is strictly enforced, I believe it will lead to a huge increase in serious neck injuries. And I'm not even talking about the NFL so much as I am talking about High Schoolers and younger. If this becomes an issue in the NFL it will trickle down to the lower levels of play because they will all want to protect their players as much as they can, like the NFL. This means different coaching when it comes to tackling, with an emphasis on turning your head away from the play. I'd be a little uneasy about having my son(s) taught to tackle that way.

Another thing about this rule is that offensive players can get a flag thrown on the defense by lowering their helmet into the defender's helmet just before impact on a play where the defender's helmet wouldn't have been a factor. Shouldn't the "you can't lead with your head if you are running forward (or any direction for that matter)" rule apply to both the offense and defense? I guess not since I've seen at least three plays like this result in a flag for the defense since the Hall of Fame game. This is a rule that could truly add insult to injury.