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I’ve watched the game since I was six years old. My heroes included Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Boyd Dowler, Roman Gabriel, Jack Snow, John Hadl, Lance Alworth, John Brodie, Gene Washington, etc., etc. The games may have been pre-determined in those days but I was too young to realize. Clearly, the scripted game today is influenced by the machine. The changes to the rules have left us with a shell of the game from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Some may champion this with a nod to safety but it is no longer football. The continued tweaking of NFL rules is insane and the game is a shell of its former self. I may be an old curmudgeon, but I relish the days of Dick Butkus, Deacon Jones, Jack Lambert, Lyle Alzado and the physical game. They were true heroes. I am repulsed by the flag fest determining the outcome of every Sunday/Monday/Thursday/Saturday game. It is financial. It is not football. Perhaps the fantasy generation does not care. I guess I’ve become a fossil. It happens to all of us. I’ll use the time to play my guitar or go fishing. Peace out.......

curmudgeon wrote:I’ve watched the game since I was six years old. My heroes included Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Boyd Dowler, Roman Gabriel, Jack Snow, John Hadl, Lance Alworth, John Brodie, Gene Washington, etc., etc. The games may have been pre-determined in those days but I was too young to realize. Clearly, the scripted game today is influenced by the machine. The changes to the rules have left us with a shell of the game from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Some may champion this with a nod to safety but it is no longer football. The continued tweaking of NFL rules is insane and the game is a shell of its former self. I may be an old curmudgeon, but I relish the days of Dick Butkus, Deacon Jones, Jack Lambert, Lyle Alzado and the physical game. They were true heroes. I am repulsed by the flag fest determining the outcome of every Sunday/Monday/Thursday/Saturday game. It is financial. It is not football. Perhaps the fantasy generation does not care. I guess I’ve become a fossil. It happens to all of us. I’ll use the time to play my guitar or go fishing. Peace out.......

Going to miss you Crummy, I really am! I kinda agree with you. Middle ground to be had between Tatum and Cupcake, we have become cupcake. John Brodie to Gene Washington, loved that era! You take care!!

Right obiken, don't forget Fran Tarkington, Phil Vilipiano and Jim Kelly. So much gone between Jim Thorpe and Mahomes.

It ain't like the olden days anymore ya know. I miss it.

Johnny U was my hero growing up.

Not only is the blizzard of flags ruining the game but the plethora of rules that have purposefully tilted the game toward more passing and higher scores. There's an imbalance now. The game has been engineered to put the pass over the run, put offense over defense and to protect the quarterback. It's tough to be a defensive player these days. Everytime you turn around you have done something to draw a flag.

And the refs really penalized our ground and pound offense with a blizzard of hankies for holding . Too boring .

trents wrote:Not only is the blizzard of flags ruining the game but the plethora of rules that have purposefully tilted the game toward more passing and higher scores. There's an imbalance now. The game has been engineered to put the pass over the run, put offense over defense and to protect the quarterback. It's tough to be a defensive player these days. Everytime you turn around you have done something to draw a flag.

I agree, but guys like us are a vanishing breed. Millennials want scoring. Defense is nothing but a set of speed bumps to them. More scoring makes for more commercial breaks and more revenue. Don't expect the league to correct this imbalance anytime soon.

I heard Joe Montana on some radio show a week ago saying he could really do some business with today's rules protecting the receivers..

Uppercut wrote:I heard Joe Montana on some radio show a week ago saying he could really do some business with today's rules protecting the receivers..

That's it! How much does it mean for all these modern quarterbacks setting passing records? They've had a lot of help doing it because of the rule changes which even extend their careers because they are protected. Anymore, the guys who play the longest are the ones who break all the records.

And River, you have an excellent point about the money from commercials driving the rule changes that up the scoring. Along that same line, notice haw long halftimes have gotten to be!

Remember, these guys today are way better athletes; they are bigger, stronger, faster. Kam Chancellor could hit with the best of them till they changed the rules.

obiken wrote:Remember, these guys today are way better athletes; they are bigger, stronger, faster. Kam Chancellor could hit with the best of them till they changed the rules.

And they have better equipment. I remember Kenny Easley talking about the high tech gloves that all receivers wear today, saying that if Steve Largent had access to those gloves that he'd be catching footballs with one finger.