Atrocity of the Refs Changing the Nature of Football

This article is written at the start of the second quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs game against the New York Giants.  

On an Eli Manning pass attempt to Steve Smith across the middle, Jarrad Page laid a textbook hit on the unsuspecting receiver.

Two players going opposite directions at full speed collide and the Kansas City Chiefs were flagged for an unsafe play on a defenseless receiver.  

Replays showed that the hit was legal, as the collision involved no helmet to helmet contact.  

Within a couple of plays, Smith caught a similar pass over the middle for a touchdown.  

What's frustrating here is not simply that the league will issue an essentially meaningless letter of apology to the Chiefs, but that the very nature of football has been manipulated.  

Ronnie Lott, considered by many the greatest safety to play the game, was known as a ferocious hitter.  

One of the primary jobs of a good safety is to provide intimidation to receivers that dare come across the middle of the field.  

If players are flagged for playing legal ball, there is undoubtedly a psychological effect that causes players to alter their game.

Even if marginal, this change in player style and attitude totally undermines the nature of football itself.  

So much for the team that wants it more.  

It's understandable that owners want their million dollar investments protected.  However, maybe we should examine what these athletes are being paid millions of dollars for.  

It is part of a receiver's job to risk the perils of going across the middle.  

This is not to say that the Chiefs were ever likely to win this game, but for a league that prides itself on parity and being a fan of a winless team it's hard not to feel betrayed by the officials as they perpetuate a sense of hopelessness sure to drive fans away from the game.