Writer Submission: Number 8

This submission is brought to us today by J.L.

Let me begin by stating the obvious, that I am not an NFL historian. Instead, like you, I’m a fan. With that said, there is one series of rules that I feel calls out for me to voice my opinion.

Growing up in Kendall, I had the great fortune of my father owning season tickets for the Dolphins. They weren’t great seats, but they were still seats. I saw some great players, play real football. Football you could hear. If the quarterback held the ball too long he got hit. If he released the ball a little late, he got hit. If he bought his reciever some time, with an extra pump fake, and took three  steps to the left, you guessed it, he got hit.

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand the argument that the NFL needs to protect it’s star players, and quarterbacks rule that catagory of star power, but enough already. Between the Tom Brady rule and theIndianapolis Colts rule, the teeth of a defense have been ripped out with a simple pair if needle nose pliers.

I now live in Massachussetts, and it kills me when I hear about Tom Brady breaking Marino’s touchdown record, and Manning did the same only two years before that. So I now ask, does anyone else view these new records the same way as I do? If the rules are going to change so much, that you can’t touch a quarterback, you can’t hit a reciever, why even have corners and safetys on the field.

Marino’s record stood for 20 years. In a span of three years the record was broken twice. This is no different than Major League Baseball deciding that the outfield walls are too far, and deciding to put up a fence no more than 200 feet from the plate. I would bet you’d get quite a few more runs that way.

Now I know this is an old issue, but it still burns me up to no
end. When I hear how Miami needs to really improve it’s secondary I just cringe. I want to yell at the top of my lungs “Let them play!”

Well I’m sure my cries will fall on deaf ears, but maybe if everyone who values defense, history and players without skirts, would rise up, and tell the NFL to stop watering down our beloved league, it may just end here. If we don’t, Losman will be the new record holder with 78 touchdowns and 6,367 yards. So chant with me…

“LET THEM PLAY!”