Roger Goodell Haters Miss Point on What NFL Commish Has Done for Player Safety

Roger Goodell has done a better job with NFL player safety than given credit.

By no means will football be considered a safe game, especially in the pros, because these guys are colliding at world-class speed and only getting faster.

Injuries are simply part of the game, and it's the risk anyone undertakes when the helmet goes on. That said, the commissioner has made the game safer, and the integrity of tackling and big hits hasn't been as detrimental as some think.

For one, because of how the league has evolved into focusing on player safety, any illegal hit receives vehemently more attention than any big hit that's deemed legal. Not to mention every single one depends on the referees' judgment each game.

Per the Associated Press via NFL.com from January of 2011, injuries did increase during the 2010 season, but there was a decrease regarding those that forced players to miss games:

"

In a report released Friday called "Dangers of the Game of Football," the NFLPA says injuries increased from 3.2 to 3.7 per week per team and the share of players injured increased to 63 percent compared to a 2002-09 average of 59 percent.

The report shows that 37.7 percent of all injuries caused players to miss games, which was down 0.7 percent from the 2002-09 average.

"

Additionally, the severity of injuries has proven to decrease during the course of each of the past three seasons, even though the total number is roughly the same.

From an article by Kevin Meers of Harvard Sports Analysis Collective blog via David Hess of TeamRankings.com in January of 2012, the following graphs display the progression of injuries throughout recent years:

We also always have to keep in mind why it's important for the NFL to address safety concerns. And the biggest involves the trickle-down effect into the college and high school levels—even younger.

Pro football is by a wide margin the most popular sport in America, and every decision of any kind on any topic garners an immense amount of attention.

According to the Harris Interactive Poll via the Sports Business Daily just before Super Bowl XLVI, the NFL owned more than one-third of the popularity market and college football tied MLB for second in 2011:

"

Over one-third of U.S. adults (36%) who say they follow at least one sport say pro football is their favorite, while just 13% say baseball is their favorite. The gap between the two sports has widened. Last year, 31% chose pro football compared to 17% for baseball.

"

This is just another major reason why the NFL needs to continue with safety. Because along with the influence it has on the lower levels of the game, it can't afford to have any major injury issues. If that were the case, then the dangers of the sport would outweigh its popularity.

For Goodell, this is certainly one tough juggling act.

On one hand, the NFL is America's most popular sports league, and yet it's also one of the most dangerous. So, the balancing act to maintain popularity and keep the integrity of the game's violent nature—which is why it's so captivating in the first place—while trying to make it safer and have it positively influence the levels below are difficult.

After all, the contact that football provides is at the core of its appeal. And losing any form of tackling, hitting or contact basically makes it flag football.

So, football will remain a violent sport, but we can't get frustrated with the continued monitoring of improving safety.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter.