Welcome back, Lunatics.
The NFL is at it again, forcing unnecessary rule changes in the name of player safety that don't make a lasting impact on player safety. In case you missed it, the NFL made a number of rule changes yesterday, the most prominent of which was to move kickoffs from the 30 to the 35 yard line. The NFL Competition Committee explained that the move was made to protect coverage units, which have the highest incidence of injuries of any unit on the field at 7 injuries per 100 plays. Now taken by itself, that all sounds well and good. Moving the kickoff up five yards will increase the number of touchbacks which lessens the number of returns and exposes the coverage units to injury less frequently. That is, unless you simultaneously agree to continue the practice of allowing two man wedges on kickoffs. For those that don't know, a wedge on a kickoff is when two players link arms to essentially become a single unit that a coverage person then has to run into at full speed. The NFL voted to eliminate three man wedges a few years ago, but continues to allow the two-man variety. Former player Matt Bowen said all that really needs to be said on the topic: "You have a 50-yard head start and you run into your garage door -- that's what it feels like."
Make no mistake, the NFL has a list of very rigid priorities that looks something like this: 1) Money, 2) Money, 3) More Money, 4) Maintenance of Jerry Jones Secret Volcano Lair, 5) Keeping money coming in, 6) Player Safety, 7) Global Warming, 8) the Possible Existence of Alien Life on Other Planets, 9) the Fans. NFL owners could give a fuck about player safety or the fans unless they threaten to impact their bottom line. Instead, what they most often do is make it appear as if they're addressing player safety without really changing anything. This is no exception. They push the kickoff line up, but leave two-man wedge in place. They argue for new concussion rules, but push for an 18 game season. What's worse is that these festering anal warts try to use the fans as excuses for every profit-building scheme they come up with. Never forget that this is the same bunch of fan-raping, money-grubbing robber barons that charge fans regular season prices for pre-season games, try to make a TV deal that pays them even if they lock-out the players, and agree to black out local TV markets, depriving millions of fans of the games because the Owner's stadium (which holds less than 100,000 people) isn't sold out.
But just so it doesn't seem that the Football Ranter is singling the owners out, let's be clear. The players don't give a shit about the fans either. Their priority list is 1) money, 2) safety, 3) plowing cheerleaders. But that's a priority scale that I think any male can get behind. Plus, the players provide entertainment by openly flaunting this priority scale for fans. The owners, on the other hand, stuff a chloroform soaked rag in the fans' faces, rob them and pin a note on their unconscious body that reads, "Took your wallet and car, but it was for your own good and you wanted us to do it...trust us."
No Lunatics, neither the owners or players care even an iota about you. They worship at the altar of the almighty dollar and forsake all else in pursuit of it. Neither could care any less about the working man's plight. Both are more than happy to shove their entire fist deep into the collective fan asshole if they believe there is more money to be found up there, which sadly, there usually is. So until someone dies on the football field, safety will continue to take a backseat to bludgeoning fans with a 20lb dildo and robbing them blind while they're out cold on the pavement. So we got that going for us...which is nice?
Until next time, Lunatics.
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