If they truly cared about player safety, they would ban people for repeatedly leading with their head. It's truly that simple. How many times did I see a certain player do that last night with no penalties... and the one flag they did throw inexplicably got picked up? Please. It's dangerous, it's unsafe, and it's unprofessional. Things like this going on without being addressed is why it is time for a Brand New Shield.
This is another player safety rant. On top of the nonsense I saw last night, another genius team decided to let their starting quarterback play with blood clots. Blood clots can potentially be a fatal issue and are nothing to play around with and worst of all, let the guy fly back on the team plane! So, if they care so much about player safety, why did they play around with a blood clot issue and why is the league refusing to punish the team? If you're going to talk about player safety being a priority, act like it! Sheesh! Again, this is why it is time for a Brand New Shield.
If you don't have players, you don't have a game. If you don't have a game, you don't have fans. If you don't have fans, what do you actually have? Nothing! Player safety for any sports organization should be a primary concern, especially for a sport like football. If you have a group of people with competing interests chasing the almighty dollar, the last thing that group of people is going to care about is player safety. This is where a single ownership model comes in.
What does a single ownership model have to do with player safety? Well, everything. If you have one entity with a common goal that has a positive relationship with the players, there is no limit to what can be accomplished. The players should be treated well to the point that a player's union isn't even necessary. Unfortunately, as it pertains to the player safety crisis that exists in a certain league, the players are responsible for some of it as well.
The practice and training camp rules the players are responsible for putting in place have contributed to more serious injuries during games. The issue now is that the practices are easy which makes the games hard. If the games are hard and the body is not properly ramped up for that degree of physical activity, the body will get injured and injured severely. We are seeing that happen more and more with all these major injuries taking place.
So there is a balance to be had... Practice enough so the body gets ramped up for the game but also not overdo it to prevent other situations. One of the reasons I have long suggested the indoor game for this kind of venture is to eliminate the elements from the equation. Even if you did an entire 11 on 11 league in domed stadiums, you'd take the elements out of the equation and prevent injuries related to heat and/or cold. You also have 2 bye weeks per season instead of one during the season per team. The bye weeks could be staggered or universal depending on the situation.
I could go on and on about player safety and how it is a whole league thing from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top. However, I will stop this entry here. If we protect the players, we will protect the game.