It got a lot worse after that contract in 2017. Dude was said to have been a problem in Pittsburgh since his early days and rubbed a lot of players the wrong way. I don’t doubt that he has CTE, but so do 90% of players and most don’t act anywhere near as erratic as he does.
This video gave me chills. I LOVE football and a part of me misses the intensity the sport had when I was a kid but this video reminds you of how many legends died in agony after the lights stopped shining on them. It’s a shame that people get so severely injured and die these horrific deaths, im glad that the NFL is “trying” to make the game “safer”
Yeah dude, I hate when people bash the newer type football calling it soft. It definitely is but if we want this game to last longer, we need take some precautions.
The issue with the new rules is that they don't make the game safer for the players at the most risk (linebackers, O-linemen, D-lineman, Running backs,) the rules are designed to create more offense which drives more interest in casual viewers boosting revenue under the facade of caring about players.
@@jacolbyxbx6762 this is super true, I whole heartedly agree! My main issue is the inconsistency from ref team to ref team. The better refs get the playoff games and those are always FAR more entertaining and physical than the regular season. I think if there’s more consistency in the calls It would help a lot. It’s hard to make Line play safer tho, it’s a trench war essentially so idk what could be done to make It safer but I’m sure someone smarter than me can come up with something. I want football to stick around, it’s my favorite sport and it’ll always hold a spot in my heart.
I played only one year of football in high school, 10th grade. I took some nasty hits to the head being a defensive end and a full back. The amount of respect I have for the guys who keep playing till college and then pros is A LOT. A part of me wants the old school hard hits. But then I look at how the lives of these players are once they have retired.
Even as a Steelers fan, Harrison frequently crossed the line on hits. Never had an issue with most of his fines, only the fact that when he made clean hits, that looked violent, he still got flagged. I believe it was against the Raiders, he hit a receiver who jumped for the ball, and his head basically hit him in the hip/ass area, and they called helmet to helmet contact. He brought it upon himself but they called plenty of BS penalties on him later because of it.
I remember getting rocked in a university football game and stumbling back to the huddle concussed and playing the rest of the game. This was around 2001-2002. The same hit I got berated for in team meetings the next day. Good times. I am glad the sport is evolving honestly.
Burfict was certifiably nuts on the football field. Funny how if he played in the 70s, 80s or 90s he’d probably be viewed by us today as one of the greatest linebackers of all time lol
The NFL lying about CTE is a large part of the reason their over compensation to big hits now. the game was always naturally going towards player safety but the way they ended up enforcing this last decade is mostly to avoid another lawsuit. I'm okay with situations like no bounty hunters (even though stuff like that dates back to decades in all forms of football) and no one being paralyzed like Darryl Stingely in the 70s but the way they go about it now where if a hit gets a reaction from the fans they flag it is too much. You can't take the physicality out of a contact physical sport. Some aspects about the game people are just gonna have to accept.
I quit football after a hard hit my junior year in high school . It was very scary and very painful. I never wanted to feel that again so I quit after 8 years of playing. I dont know how the pros do it
You did the smart thing, man. I had a buddy who got two nasty concussion in high school and he struggles with a lot of shit. His biggest regret is playing and feeling pressure from the coaches to continue
I tried out for football in middle school and realized I wasn’t that great at it but I was a lot smaller than everyone else. I made fun of one of the linebackers because he had big man boobs. We were outside in the circle warming up and I had my helmet on, suddenly everything feels fuzzy and I’m falling to the ground, I was only out for a second but I realized that guy came up behind me and hit me on the top of my head with his helmet. I can only imagine what it’s like to get hit full contact several times over the course of years
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Funny thing is that cte impacts the headhunters the most. It isn't the receivers and qbs that end up with problems. It's the guys hitting them over and over with thier head as a battering ram. The people that hated the rule changes are the ones who benefit most.
I refused to learn about this subject in school because I was a starting O-lineman for my Highschool. I was afraid I was going to play scared if I did learn about CTE…glad I came back to fully understand! Great vid man!!
Nice video I appreciate the fact you mentioned how the change in the rules have caused records to fall (showing respect to the offensive players that played during the “head hunting” years). And also recognize the defenses that still stood out during the rule changes.
Funny thing about all this. People call the new generation of players soft. But its because of all the “old school “ players why the league had to make all these changes. Since they all wanted to sue the league the NFL had to do something.
I watched the game between the Colts and Raiders and as soon as Jack Doyle got the hit head to head, I immediately thought of Burfect. I didn't even know he was on the Raiders roster then, so imagine my surprise when I was right to think of him.
As someone who’s been blindsided and knocked out before, and have dished out hits as well. I feel like it’s just part of the game. It’s what you signed up for.
the question is… should we be letting kids grow up dreaming of being in the league, even tho 99.9% won’t make it, but many will play throughout their adolescence?
I remember as kid thinking the afc north was the most brutal division to play in with the Steelers James Harrison and all those guys and ray Lewis Ed reed terrell suggs etc I was like if I was in the nfl I would not wanna play in that division idk how they survive
The best games tho, even that Hines on Ed Reed hit happened when the Steelers were blowing their doors off 35-0, those teams didn't let up on intensity regardless of score
I'd also recommend 'blood equity' by former NFLer Roman Phifer and 'play now, pay later', an article by sports illustrated on the permanent injuries some players have suffered. I think GQ also had a short video series about players dealing with injuries. It had former QB Ray Lucas as a central character.
These comments prove that most nfl fans don’t really care about player safety and mental health. And big hits are still legal as long as you don’t use your head as a weapon why is that so hard to get through to people
I wish people understood that as football players WE UNDERSTAND the risk ! We don’t care ! As a college LB I wish they would stop adding so many rules to soften the game and understand that the game comes with risks that can’t be prevented, I swear one day we’re gonna play just 7on7 😭
I will never forget the look on his face, as he was being carted off the field. In tears, because he knew his career was over. That was really tough to watch. I think we got supremely lucky to have both Bobby Wagner and Luke Kuechly, playing at the same time. You could string together the entirety of both players career tackles, and have the perfect tackling form instructional video. Those 2 guys did it right.
I've always had an issue with the hit on a defenseless receiver rule.Now obviously if they're head hunting or cheap shotting that's one thing,but hitting a guy legally when he catches the ball.....are they supposed to let the guys catch the ball?
Great video but was surprised to not see Brandon Meriweather mentioned at all in here. He was pretty much the first player the NFL targeted to get rid of with the head hunting rule when they decided to change the rules in the middle of the 2010 season amid the controversies at the time off the field dealing with the former players lawsuit against the league over the CTE scandal.
I always liked the hard hits when I was growing up (late 80s early 90s) and that was kind of what drew me to the game in the beginning. It was a gladiator sport and part of why the NFL became so popular; it was because of the physicality. Don't get me wrong, the game still has physicality but it's different. I was never a fan of cheap shots and that part definitely had to be removed from the game. Today, I'm glad safety is a priority, I'm just not a fan of the ticky tack stuff.
When I was in high school in Texas it was the era where big hits were being phased out of the nfl ie late 2010s but it was still actively being coached to lead with the crown of the helmet and people consistently played with concussions
Because the nfl will never care if offensive players succeed in the way that they dont like defensive success. They want 40 points a game on both sides cause it makes more money go around, if offenses play dirty to do that the nfl doesn't mind. I've always hated that different players are able to be hit in only certain parts of their body, but only at certain subjective times, but other players can pretty much be hit wherever. It's all bs.
I saw the Jevon sneed hit and it’s crazy to think that one hard hit can make your mental ability decline slowly over the next couple years. He never really took off in the NFL and eventually fell victim to suicide because of psychotic symptoms and depression The NFL can greatly reduce the number of players with long term affects if they just allow the players to use weed. Mike Tyson used to smoke weed all the time and he’s still good upstairs.
Okay this has nothing to do with CTE but Legion of Boom was crazy looking back man! Sherman locking the DBs in, Cam & Earl keeping the QBs eyes In check all with Bennett absolutely bullying OL?!? Dude I’m surprised they didn’t win more
But related to CTE, Earl Thomas had some erratic behavior in Baltimore and recently Richard Sherman had an episode where he got arrested. Sherman owned up to his mistakes and is hopefully getting counseling...but it's a little scary to think those dudes may be suffering as they get older.
Qbs are candy asses. Make the most money cry if you fart near them. Everytime I see one get wrecked. I'm like there you go. Take up a higher percent of the salary cap. It goes up they want it all.
now its up to coaches to teach players how to tackle both effectively and safely. what ppl don't realize is hitting someone up high hurts the defender just as much as it hurts the ball carrier, especially if the ball carrier is a larger player. The problem is most defenders, especially smaller guys like DB's aren't properly taught how to cut tackle and go low effectively, a lot of guys have to learn how to tackle on their own bc even their coaches don't know how to teach them the new way to tackle. This leads to targeting knees and more and more injuries to the lower body of offensive players, especially due to the fact that major structures like the ACL, LCL and MCL are all so vulnerable.
I will say that getting hit chest level by a defender, especially when they tackle you with their shoulder instead of leading with their helmet, doesn't really hurt bad and as long as you control your head with your neck when you hit the ground you should be fine from a concussion standpoint. The problems started when players realized that the hardest part of their gear was their helmet, and they could essentially headbutt guys to knock em down, and as much as you don't want this to happen with the decreasing size and reduced use of other forms of padding its inevitable, whether on purpose or pure accident.
Football is not football. Any record broken should not count. If Brady played back in Montana's day, he wouldn't be playing into his 40s or have all his rings.
I loved football and wished I had played it more but I’m glad stopped. I played O line and D line but I received all my head injuries from blindside blocks on defense. I got caught off guard many times by these blocks and it was hard to prevent myself from hitting my head on the ground. In September of this year two high school football players lost their life to traumatic brain injuries caused by playing football. It’s simply not worth playing such a violent sport. Nobody should have to suffer from brain injuries because they love the game.
Yes I agree. High school footballl in particular is getting more intense every year with more and more focus on athletic training than in years past. These kids are getting absolutely big and built and playing so rough, not fully grasping how it might affect them in the future, and how could they when coach is talking in their ear and maybe college scholarships are on the line? Not to mention how much money schools make off a "great" football program alone
Being a Seahawks fan i really miss the Legion of Boom, but this video remembers me why it was stopped, and to be honest, the game for the players started being more fun, maybe the NFL could look up to a different kind of helmet, to minimize concussions and CTE.
Makes you miss watching Steelers vs Ravens early 2000s- two gigantic power backs and olines built to maul, two hard hitting safeties flying all over, Harrison and ray Lewis taking souls and Hines ward blocking like a gd tight end out there Remember one game the kickers even got into a fight when the Steelers were up huge😂 those were the first games I'd ever seen benches warned for too many personal fouls on both sides
I would bet those nasty hits on A.B are what caused the horrible changes in his personality and career. I know its his own choices that led him to where he is, but those hits he took certainly didn`t help any. I would be shocked if his mental health wasn`t severely impacted from those hits.
I agree with trying to make the game safer, and I understand general audiences want to see shootouts and not defensive struggles, but I loved playing D and wish they would find a way to let defenses have a better chance. Like in HS or college a play ends when the ball carrier is down regardless if there was contact or not.
Every man that ever played football knew what they were getting into when you put that helmet on to play. As a former player myself most head injuries come from leading with your head when going for a tackle or ducking your head when the ball carrier is coming to you. Leading with the shoulder or wrapping up for a tackle is alot safer than leading with your head. Also as a defensive back low hits happen even when you're in mid stride or mid air sometimes certain hits are just reactions without considering because of the moment of trying to make a play.
You’ll never see another Sean Taylor In the NFL .. And thats a crying shame imo .. that level of intensity has been outlawed ☠️.. for defensive players ..
As much as the game has changed you can't really stop these. It's the game. So unless it turns to flag football. Still gonna happen. Concussions go down. Careers cut short leg injuries. Always gonna find a way to be a dangerous sport but that's why it's number 1.
I appreciate protecting players. The unfortunate truth is that the game happens so fast that avoiding these collisions is impossible. Offensive players instinctively lower their heads and even if the defender goes low, there will be contact to the head. I hate that defensive players get all the punishment.
