What in the NFL Is Going On: The Tightening Policies and the Apparent Favoritism

Few things in the NFL make a man like me very, very angry. But the last couple of weeks have been the kind that do make me mad.

I never would have believed that in a league so tough, with so much heart, and such a desire to win, there would be officials in the NFL headquarters that seem to want to remove it. But it seems so.

I felt the urge to write this about two weeks ago but never had the time to do so. But now that the time has come around, so here it is.

Two weeks ago, in a matchup between the Bears and the Vikings, there were some some very questionable decisions made by the referees.

I started research on the topic of fines on players after Adewale Ogunleye hit Gus Frerotte extremely late and didn't draw a penalty. I then received a news update telling me that Jared Allen had been fined $10,000 for faking CPR on the football after he thought he had a touchdown.

He had also been fined for jumping on a pile late. Then I researched and found that Ogunleye had not even received a fine for his hit on Frerotte. I was disgusted. Yes, Frerotte did do some acting on the play, but so all punters and kickers so they will draw a penalty. 

But there was no excuse for what Ogunleye did.

Secondly, one of the best, most physical and dirty players in the NFL: Hines Ward. And just ask anyone I know and they will tell you that I love some hitting. Which is why I love Hines Ward.

But some of the things he does are questionable, at least. If the NFL and its refs want to complain and call penalties on everything and anyone that practically touches another player, then they should be fair in doing so.

He has had numerous hits on players, causing injuries to Ed Reed and Keith Rivers, and hasn't received fines anywhere close to Allen's, nor has he been suspended.

Lastly, in July, Jaguars receiver Matt Jones was caught with possession of cocaine, yet was never fined nor suspended. Until today, when he was suspended for a mere three games.

On the other hand, there are six players, including Kevin and Pat Williams, Deuce McAllister, and Will Smith who each received four-game suspensions for testing positive for water pills.

Water pills are weight loss pills, but are also used as masking agents for steroids. Now, I was asking myself and trying as hard as I possibly could, how is taking water pills to make weight a worse crime than possession of cocaine. I came to one answer: favoritism.

Why would the commissioner wait until now to suspend Matt Jones? Simple: Because they are officially out of the playoffs. And the water pills incident? They were suspended almost immediately because they were in playoff contention.

Now, no, I am not into conspiracies, 'cause for the most part, they're just crap. But this one makes me think just a little deeper...and I think, "What in the NFL is going on??"