NFL's money players: big babies, or prized possessions?

Being a bit of a historian, it's amazing how much this game has changed in the years.

We've gone from guys like Dick Butkus, Lyle Alzado, and Ted Hendricks, to guys like Antonio Cromartie, DeAngelo Hall, and James Harrison.

And it's not just on the defensive side of the ball. In place of guys like Steve Grogan, Jim Plunkett, or Ottis Anderson, you get guys like Tom Brady(now injured), JaMarcus Russell, and LaMont Jordan.

The old days of football, things were really different. I was reading about a 5 time All-pro named Gene Brito, who was a teacher in the offseason, but also played as a Back, and a Defensive End.

In today's game, you probably wouldn't find DeAngelo Hall in a classroom, let alone teaching in it.

You had some players, like Ben Davidson, who would go on long trips, up and down the coast, sometimes the players would hang out, until it was time to report in the late summer. Nowadays, the players have 3-4 people to converse with, to make sure no protocols, no rules, and no contract violations are done.

What's really odd, is injuries. It's not as bad as in Baseball, when you can put yourself on the DL by trimming your fingernails, but if you put your fist through TV, you might miss a game. Back in the old days, as long as you could run, and catch halfway decent, you still made the game.

One story that stood out in my mind, was of Marv Hubbard, a diehard of a player who didn't seem to know when to quit. In one particular year, he proceeded to injure one shoulder, 3 different times during the year. He'd get hurt, wait to get better, go in, get hurt again, then wait again....and get back in...something in this guy wouldn't let him sit on the sidelines.

Nowadays, guys like DeAngelo Hall would fuss about a broken finger, and want three doctors to look it over, get two opinions, and then play half-heartedly. And Hall probably made as much in one season, that Hubbard did, throughout his career.

Last factor, is probably the most obvious. Money. Lots of money. And I can point fingers at the Raiders....take the salary of Tommy Kelly. If you looked the books over, how many teams could you buy, say, during the 1960 football season? Several. How about the Raiders entire spending ticket in the off-season? Don't go there.

I know the old days are long gone, with it, a game we truly enjoyed. A rougher, stronger, and to a degree, a more fun sport, has gone by the wayside.

Maybe Goodell should give it back.