The NFL: From Tough To Thug

"This f--kin' game is over!"—Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik to Giants running back Frank Gifford.

When Bednarik, also known as Concrete Charlie, made this famous hit on Gifford and exclaimed those now infamous words, he unknowingly defined a generation.

When the papers read "Plaxico Burress to Face Gun Charge," Burress unknowingly defined another.

Years ago, when somebody said "football" or "NFL," the first images to come to mind was the above photo of Bednarik, the smile of Jack Lambert, Tom Landry's icy stare, Buddy Ryan's Gang Green defense, Mike Ditka in open space, or the bone crushing hits of Dick Butkus, Ronnie Lott, or Mike Singletary.

Now when "NFL" is mentioned, people think about the selfishness of Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, or any other wide receiver.

They think of Pacman Jones and all the trouble he has caused himself and others.

Or maybe they think about that new jersey that just came out of that over-priced rookie who will be lucky to play three years in the NFL.

A stark difference from the early years of professional football.

In generations past, the NFL was a modest living. Football players, or most of them rather, were not even among the top-tier. They made decent money, and they made it by playing what some called a child's game.

In the 1970's, the average salary of an NFL player was around $30,000. Depending on your lifestyle and living situation, this may or may not have been enough to support your family. Many of the lower-tier players were forced to have second jobs throughout the summer in order to maintain a decent lifestyle.

Today, the average salary is just under $1 million.

Football used to be a game that was played simply because you loved to play.

Being an NFL player meant long work days, Sundays away from your family (right along with the rest of the week most of the time) and very little compensation for it.

Today, players make their money and run.

Or stick around because they have the talent and can make an easy living.

Very few players are playing simply because they couldn't see themselves doing anything else.

For example, Napolean Kauffman was a running back for the Oakland Raiders in the early to mid '90s. He was a rising star for Oakland, a guy that could be consistently counted on to have good games and good years, which went a long way to help the Raiders win games.

Then, in 1997, at age 27, Kauffman retired.

No reason was given other than that he just did not want to play football any longer.

He is the epitome of a guy who had the talent to play, but obviously did not have a love for the game.

On the flip side, take a guy like J.R. Reed.

Reed was originally a fourth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004. He played well as a rookie, leading the league in yards per kick return for the season.

Then, he suffered a nerve injury to his knee while attempting to jump a fence on his property. The nerve was severed and he was told he would never be able run again, much less play football.

But after intense rehab and a device put in his leg that would do the job of the severed nerve (lifting the front of the foot into the air in order to run), he made his return to the NFL.

And after being cut by the Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants, Reed made his way back on the Eagles' roster.

Obviously, a man who just wanted nothing more than to play football. He's one of a small handful of players who carry this passion in today's NFL.

I'm not accusing Kauffman of being a bad guy, he just simply did not have the same passion for the game that other players did.

A guy like Robert Smith of the Minnesota Vikings could be put in that same boat. Neither of them were bad guys. Neither of them brought a negative light to the NFL, which is more than what can be said for certain players today.

Players like Pacman Jones, Plaxico Burress, Chris Henry, Terrell Owens, and Chad Johnson just to name a few. These are all players who have brought negative attention towards the NFL and have created a bad reputation of the league.

Johnson and Owens have done all of their damage on the field.

They have damaged the league by creating a stereotype that skill players are nothing more than greedy, self-absorbed, spoiled children. And to a certain degree, that may be correct with current players today.

But not to the extent that these two, in particular, have taken it.

Yes, they are both outstanding talents. Yes, they can both be good for a team. But the same question is always asked with these two—Are they worth it?

That's a question that is up for debate. Obviously, two teams in the league believe they are.

This is a question that never entered into the minds of coaches like Tom Landry, George Halas, or Hank Stram. You knew you could usually count on an NFL player to be a good person and role model.

While the "me" attitude is one thing, it pales in comparison to the off-the-field troubles of players like Jones, Burress, and Henry.

Henry was arrested a handful of times in 2006 before finally being suspended for the first eight games of 2007. He was then suspended for the first four games of this season, but since then has been quiet.

He has flown under the radar as of late. Perhaps he has changed his ways, or the Cincinnati Bengals have been so bad that his behavior has missed the spotlight. Either way, he has not been heard of.

Jones and Burress, however, are still making headlines.

Jones caught a second wind in his career when Jerry Jones decided he was a talent worth the risk. He traded for the troubled corner-back from Tennessee, and for a little while, it was looking like Pacman would stay out of trouble and appreciate his new opportunity.

But, as we've come to learn, things are not always as they seem.

Pacman was apparently so hell-bent on getting into trouble and sabotaging his career that he picked a fight with a man hired to protect him, his bodyguard. He got into a physical confrontation with his body guard while in a drunken stupor.

A sure-fire way to catch the attention of the no-nonsense commissioner Roger Goodell. Pacman will be seeing his first action in six weeks this week when the Cowboys face the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Burress, unlike Pacman, did not shoot another person. He shot himself.

His story says that he had a gun with him when he entered a nightclub. The gun was under the waistline of his sweatpants. When he went to go get a drink, the gun began to slide down hsis leg. When he attempted to grab the gun, it fired once into his thigh.

Now why would Burress have a loaded handgun with him in a nightclub? A handgun that is not legal. This shows the Burress had reason to fear someone. He had a reason to fear that something may happen to him at that club, something so drastic that he would have felt the need to resort to a handgun.

Something tells me that Burress has gotten himself into trouble before, but has found a way to keep it out of the spotlight.

How has the NFL gotten to this point?

With the eruption of the NFL's popularity, the money flow began to pick up. The money began attracting all sorts of athletes rich in talent, but morally bankrupt.

Individuals who do not care about the game we all love so much, but who care about themselves and seek only ways to further their own self-interests.

Players today, for the most part, are nothing but leaches. They feed off of the industry that players before them have built. Men who did not care about the paycheck they received and would have gladly played for free. Men who sculpted a league from nothing into the sports juggernaut known as the NFL today.

Again, this is not an attack on every player in the NFL today, as there are many good role models and overall good people who play and who play only for the love of the game.

Also, this is not to say that every player before this generation was a saint.

There were a couple bad apples, but more as an exception rather than participants in a growing trend. The bad were the outliers, while the opposite has taken effect today.

But overall, the game has gone from blue collar to no collar, from role models to simply models, from tough to thug.

Oh how the mighty hath fallen.