Is the NFL Taking the Game's Softening Too Far?

One of the biggest stories across the last few years was thought to have culminated this season.  Protection of players, while a noble endeavor, has appeared to near parody at times with calls against pass rushers reaching an all-time high.

The burst of concussions within close proximity, including last year’s Super Bowl contenders Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger, has given reason for commissioner Roger Goodell to continue to pursue additional rule changes to protect all players, but most notably big ticket signal callers.

Goodell spoke in a pre-Super Bowl interview that he has not ruled out the idea of banning the three-point stance for NFL lineman as a means to limit “the ferocity of collisions” occurring at or around the line of scrimmage.

“For many years the culture had been quite different—that concussions weren’t serious injuries,” he said. “I think we have changed that culture and made sure that people understand they are serious, and they can have serious consequences if they’re not treated properly.

Goodell has already begun meetings with competition committee co-chair Rich McKay.  While the sloth-like labor negotiations were the primary focus, evaluating safety related rule changes ran a near second.

Goodell’s reign atop the NFL looks as though it will continue a trend establishing a polar opposite methodology to his predecessor Paul Tagliabue.  Where Tabliabue’s era was considered relatively soft, Goodell has taken to hard lining his approach.

It began with a strong stance on crime within the player base.  Goodell began doling out stronger punishments early, a move that seems to have worked as the NFL encountered one of its lowest offseason crime rates in years before the 2009 season began.

With his approach to personal conduct nearing its culmination, commissioner Goodell has seemed to shift his focus to injuries, most notably concussions.  He has taken his hard line approach to the issue, acting in a swift and decisive manner.

It has resulted in an unprecedented spike in the passing game league wide.  Rules limiting what a cornerback can do started the trend that has now peaked with the expansion to the "roughing the passer" penalty.

That high-powered offense has met with mixed results thus far.  In any sport, high scoring and big plays are good for ratings.  The league has taken flak for treading over the line though, as the rule changes seemed to do little for preventing concussions while adding to the number of penalties that hamstring strong defensive fronts.

Should Goodell see the three-point stance ban through, it would take a sometimes-frustrating trend towards quarterback coddling to an indefensible level.