Nov. 17

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/emmanuel-sanders-taken-out-with-violent-hit--but-was-it-illegal--195130313.html


As you can see from the URL, today I'll be discussing what happened to Emmanuel Sanders in yesterday's game against the Rams.

Sanders runs a typical fade route when the ball is thrown his direction. As he stretches out to attempt the grab, he gets ransacked by Rams safety Rodney McLeod. Immediately, a flag was thrown and the penalty was on McLeod, a 15 yard penalty for unnecessary roughness, a helmet to helmet hit on a defenseless receiver. However, after review (the penalty was not overturned or anything) it was clear the McLeod lead with his shoulder and delivered, under NFL rules, a "legal" hit.

Remember my blog post a while back about spear tackling. Well, I said that even if a player does not lead with the helmet spear tackling should be illegal anyway because it is extremely dangerous (hint hint NFL maybe that's why rugby and other sports have banned it). I believe the same should be done with hits on defenseless receivers even if the helmets never collide. McLeod could have easily just got in the way of the pass and even possibly intercepted it, but instead he decides to apply a tremendous amount of force to a player who can do nothing about it. You tell me how that's fair, because it isn't.


I also looked into Mississippi's youth concussion law bill (link here for reference).

My general reaction: shocking and worrisome.

This bill is literally 3 pages long. One of my college essays is of the same length. Actual scratch that, the font used and spacing in the bill probably makes it the same length of a supplement in Common App. This is honestly appalling. This was my biggest concern: that legislation is weak and, most likely, ineffective.

I do not think I linked this in one of my recent blog posts, but I found (but at the moment can't find the link) an actual pamphlet that schools give to football players and their parents about concussions. I'm also thinking about going to Highland Park High School and just asking if I could have the one they give out. This is because they are under a different school district and it would be interesting to see what they put on their pamphlets. While I'm at it, I might also go down to the middle school and see if I can retrieve their concussions pamphlet as well, that way I can compare the too.

I will also check out this Saturday Night Live skit that Adrian told me about that parodies the new rule changes in tackling in football.