A Plea for No More Forward Progress in the NFL

I think that there should be no forward progress in the NFL, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions are for kickers, quarterbacks, and players that are picked up and carried backwards. Kickers and quarterbacks should be protected, and when a runner is picked up and carried backwards, they can't really do anything about it. Other than those exceptions, I think we should let the players fight it out for extra precious yardage.

Forward progress eliminates the ability for players to fight for more yardage too many times. If a powerful running back is trying to break free from two tacklers that are trying to bring him down, and neither is really giving an inch, then I think they should be able to battle it out and see if that running back can break free, or if the tacklers can end up bringing him down.

I don't really have to tell anyone, but football is a physical game. Players train all their lives to play in this contact sport, so why not let a runner battle a tackler for better field position? Why blow the whistle and stop the play? Why would you stop them from seeing who is the stronger and more determined man?

Football is also a mental game just as much as it is physical. So when you break free from a defender or two, you gain that mental edge. Likewise, when a defender can stop the ball-carrier dead in their tracks and not give anything, the defender will have the mental advantage over that runner. Because, if a runner is stopped hard enough, they are less likely to want to run to that side again.

One might argue the running back has already earned those yards, but shouldn't a defender still be allowed to take them back from him? That would be a really good way to test a running back's strength and willpower.

It's like not letting Chad Johnson or T.O. talk smack to the press, or telling John Madden he can't announce Sunday night games anymore. When you call forward progress, you aren't letting players do their jobs.

Most of the time, when you call forward progress you are taking away a big part of football for the players. They want to fight it out to see who is the toughest. They want to prove they are stronger.

So let the players battle it out, and may the best man win.