NFL considering widening the field by 35 feet

[dwid]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...widening-not-on-competition-committees-agenda

What do you guys think of this? I personally think it is a terrible idea to widen it by 35 feet, it takes away from the north/south aspect of the game and allows for more of the scat back east/west type runners to do well. It also seems to favor black qbs being that the CFL seems to have a ton with a similar width, the only thing is they have 12 players on each side of the ball.

I read an interesting comment on one of the links about reducing concussions. Put a restraint on how long a player can play special teams. Most of the guys with severe problems were career special teamers. Maybe there should be a snap count, like how many times you can line up on kick returns and punt returns. I think gunners should be allowed the fewest.

In the NFL right now the width of the field being kind of tight, makes it to where most qbs in most systems routinely have to fit the ball into tight windows. This might make it easier if they widen the field, which means more black quarterbacks. The guys on ESPN talked about it like "a different type of athlete, not bulking up 10 pounds to absorb hits and focusing on speed" "yeah the game is going to require a faster player", you know what that is code word for. The dbs in the league can hardly cover with the tight space they have, you are going to widen it even more so they have to run around more? By the way Bill Polian who introduced this, said something like 4 yards on each side to make it 8 yards, which would be pretty close to the equivalent of what the CFL does with 12 men.

 

[Riddlewire]

All part of the long term strategy.

In fact, widening the field would make concussions and other serious injuries more likely. With crossing patterns so common in the passing game, players would have more room to get up to higher speeds moving laterally.

If they truly wanted to address dangerous contact, they would make the field 5 yards narrower. As one prominent high school coach points out, linemen bang into each other all game long every game and they rarely go down with concussions or other "high" injuries. It's not the contact that's the problem, it's the speed. The NFL wants to reduce concussions? They need to slow the players down, not speed them up.

Additionally, I have my own theory (based on limited evidence) about concussions. The brain dehydrates just like the rest of the body. When brain fluids are lower, it's possible that the cushioning effect is reduced inside the skull. That "rebound hit" that doctors talk about is likely much more dangerous in a dehydrated body. Therefore, I submit that the spread offenses that have become common in college and are now entering the NFL are a serious threat to the health of the players and should be curtailed in some fashion. After all, the entire point of the spread offenses in the first place (just ask Chip Kelly) was to exhaust your opponent throughout the game so that you could pick him apart play after play.

 

[white is right]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...widening-not-on-competition-committees-agenda

What do you guys think of this? I personally think it is a terrible idea to widen it by 35 feet, it takes away from the north/south aspect of the game and allows for more of the scat back east/west type runners to do well. It also seems to favor black qbs being that the CFL seems to have a ton with a similar width, the only thing is they have 12 players on each side of the ball.

I read an interesting comment on one of the links about reducing concussions. Put a restraint on how long a player can play special teams. Most of the guys with severe problems were career special teamers. Maybe there should be a snap count, like how many times you can line up on kick returns and punt returns. I think gunners should be allowed the fewest.

In the NFL right now the width of the field being kind of tight, makes it to where most qbs in most systems routinely have to fit the ball into tight windows. This might make it easier if they widen the field, which means more black quarterbacks. The guys on ESPN talked about it like "a different type of athlete, not bulking up 10 pounds to absorb hits and focusing on speed" "yeah the game is going to require a faster player", you know what that is code word for. The dbs in the league can hardly cover with the tight space they have, you are going to widen it even more so they have to run around more? By the way Bill Polian who introduced this, said something like 4 yards on each side to make it 8 yards, which would be pretty close to the equivalent of what the CFL does with 12 men.

Yes many CFL qb's are terrible passers but the receivers are so wide open that the obvious glaring weakness can be camouflaged. But even with these terrible passers the accurate passers have been largely White or in the case of Calvillo Mestizo. I do think with the larger field lineman may slim down to 80's sizes which could possibly help White players as the morbidly obese linemen have tended to be Black.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Riddlewire brings up some interesting points, although I'd be curious to see what the injury rates are in the CFL compared to the NFL. If the CFL rate is higher, I'd be against a bigger field. On the other hand, comparing Arena League numbers to the NFL would also tell you a lot.

 

[Riddlewire]

I doubt you'd gain any significant insights from those comparisons.
Different rules mean different offenses. I don't watch Canadian football, but I'm guessing that they don't have many short-dump style offenses with wideouts running at full speed laterally and only five yards deep, trying to "pick" linebackers and corners. With fewer downs, they can't just waste plays as often as the NFL can on short pickups.
I know even less about Arena football. But, from what I've seen, those offenses are based primarily on sprint-and-leap tactics. They have nothing like the plays in the NFL or CFL.

The whole issue of injuries, however, is a smokescreen, imo. I consider it a given that reducing the speed of play on the field (and, therefore, narrowing it) would aid in minimizing injurious collisions. The truth, as I see it, is that the NFL believes they have found another way to further reduce the number of white football players at all levels. A wider field, combined with american football rules would result in the universal enshrinement of the spread offense. Offenses could not be stopped if the quarterback is permitted to run the ball with even more lateral space available. And what kinds of players will all those spread offenses in the NFL, college, and high schools seek to put on the field? It sure ain't gonna be ol' stiff-hipped whitey.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Riddlewire, after thinking about it a bit more, you are probably right. The comparisons would not be accurate. Rules have a lot to do with it. Then again, I've been saying for years that we need to remove some of the equipment that emboldens players to make such vicious head first hits. Take them back to minimal pads and leather helmets and they would largely quit treating their bodies like missiles.