Roger Goodell: The NFL QB's Performance-Enhancing Drug

In our society, opposing opinions are often labeled hate. But opposing opinions are valuable. They ensure that we are not embarking upon familiar paths of destruction.

Some "hate" is perspective. In a culture where you must defend against statements such as "Kobe is the greatest basketball player ever" and, "Lil' Wayne is the greatest rapper of all time," perspective is desperately lacking. Without perspective, we're lost.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is lost.

Here's what the top 10 list of single-season all-time passing yardage leaders looked like pre-2011:

1. Dan Marino 5,084 (1984)

2. Drew Brees 5,069 (2008)

3. Kurt Warner 4,830 (2001)

4. Tom Brady 4,806 (2007)

5. Dan Fouts 4,802 (1981)

6. Matt Schaub 4,770 (2009)

7. Dan Marino 4,746 (1986)

8. Daunte Culpepper 4,717 (2004)

9. Dan Fouts 4,715 (1980)

10. Philip Rivers 4.710 (2010)

This is a projection of the new standings (with 15-game season averages added to totals to simulate final game) post-2011:

1. Drew Brees 5,426 (2011)

2. Tom Brady 5,223 (2011)

3. Dan Marino 5,084 (1984)

4. Drew Brees 5,069 (2008)

5. Aaron Rodgers 4,953 (2011)

6. Eli Manning 4,893 (2011)

7. Kurt Warner 4,830 (2001)

8. Matt Stafford 4,819 (2011)

9. Tom Brady 4,806 (2007)

10. Dan Fouts 4,802 (1981)

Five of the top 10 all-time single-season passing performances were seen this season. Really? With no offseason, no OTAs and no minicamps is it possible Matthew Stafford and Eli Manning have surpassed Dan Fouts and can set their sights on overtaking Marino next year?

In MLB's "Steroid Era," HR numbers shot through the roof. It took MLB between the years of 1998 and 2001 to replace six of the top 10 single-season HR leaders. Economically, baseball thrived during this time. Watching a ball fly out of the ballpark is the single most exhilarating thing about the sport. Bud Selig turned a blind eye and reaped the "now" benefits of his sport being played on "Rookie."

These spikes in performance raised red flags. Speculation grew. People began to ask questions. Journalists poked and prodded.

Suddenly, the ugly truth came out: cheating. An entire era of baseball now has an asterisk. HR records and their owners incite intense opinions about their validity.

The NFL is heading down the very same dangerous path, only quicker. NFL record books will be rewritten this season alone, not the four it took MLB to realize their problem. If this were baseball we'd call George Mitchell, we'd speculate on helmet size and petition Congress. We'd ask, "What kind of performance-enhancers are leading to such gaudy numbers?" and the answer would be: Goodells.

There is no blood test for Goodells, it can't be tracked or traced and, if questioned, it could result in a fine and/or suspension.

Goodells are cheat codes: They don't enhance your performance; they handicap your opposition. Goodells make sure that playing defense is the type of Mission: Impossible that even Ethan Hunt would walk away from. Goodells make touching a quarterback a fineable offense. Perspective: In most states you and I would incur lesser punishment by walking next door and punching our neighbor.

This is not a condemnation of Drew Brees; he's a very good quarterback who certainly has my respect. The players and coaches in this case are innocent. They're maximizing the rule changes to their utmost gain and I commend them for that. It is the responsibility of those in charge to preserve the game and allow the natural progression of the sport to endure. It is not their duty to turn a blind eye nor be the direct cause of radical and unnecessary change. They, above all others, must ensure perspective.

Bud Selig's legacy is blissful ignorance; Roger Goodell's legacy is quickly becoming selfish premeditated ruin of the past. Canton will burn.

In a game where hitting the quarterback is frowned upon, teams are rewarded for throwing 30 to 40 times per game: more yards. Pass interference and "defenseless" receiver penalties extend drives and give offenses a way to move the ball without completing a pass: more opportunity. Moving kickoffs up 10 yards allows for a record number of touchbacks: more yards plus more opportunity.

Records are indeed made to be broken, but by natural progression, not rule changes. Perspective only survives if the reflection of prior achievements remain untainted. Goodell has failed at this. He is to the NFL as Auto-Tune is to music: a flashy cover-up which dilutes talent, alters its meaning and forces us to accept it.

I won't.

The NFL is Goodell's arena; everything is done by his rules and with no regard for the past or future. The only thing that matters is the "now." Fans get to cheer their inflated team's stats and ability to put 35-plus points on the board any given Sunday. Defense used to win championships; now the two best teams in the league are also the leagues two worst defenses. The key to success in the NFL should not be Arena Football.

The NFL needs to recapture perspective. Too many players have given too much to see their names so quickly erased from history. Enjoying the now is important, but doing so without any clear sense of where you've been and no clear direction of where you're headed leads to guest appearances on A&E's Intervention.

If perspective is still lost on you, bookmark this column and be sure to re-read it in five years when Cam Newton breaks Drew Brees' record.