lupedafiasco wrote: ↑13 Dec 2023 11:03
Bull $%@# &%$@. You know why QBs are getting hurt so much?
They're protected so much by rules they have forgotten how to protect themselves. They are running down the sidelines to gain extra yards because defenders are scared to hit them. Theyre sliding late trying to bait defenders into hitting them.
Theyre holding the ball till the last second to make throws and stand there watching after the pass is made instead of trying to limit the impact of hits.
The NFL has pussified the game so much these players dont know how to take hits anymore so when it does happen its catastrophic.
Jesus, did I strike a nerve?
To your bolded hypothesis, only your last sentence has anything to do with what you proclaim as the problem: QBs have forgotten how to protect themselves.
Everything else has to do with what I view as a big part of the problem: QBs are self-aware of their special status and are exploiting it.
I say:
QBs lose their protected status as soon they leave the pocket...AND IT'S ENFORCED THAT WAY. If they want to skirt the sideline for a few extra yards, then they are open to get popped. If they want to stretch a scramble an additional yard before sliding, then they are open to get popped. If they are running around in the backfield extending a play, they are open to be popped.
The protected status is a good thing, but it should also come with the penalty of that lost yard or two in lieu of a timely slide/out-of-bounds move or a sack in the face of pressure. If they choose to extend the play, then they choose to become susceptible to a hit.
As [mention]lupedafiasco[/mention] alluded to, make players accountable for their own safety and I bet we see some of these injuries go away. Continue to protect certain players and it'll be exploited - and then they'll be targeted at every opportunity - which only exacerbates the problem.
While we're on the subject, I have grown so tired of the QBs who immediately look to the ref just as soon as a defensive player so much as breathes on them. Mahomes is terrible about it. So was Brady. So is Rodgers.
I'd also go so far as to penalize ANY player who, during or after a play, actively solicits the referee to throw a flag. Again, those same culprits I just mentioned are the worst with PI calls and whatever they can convince anybody of.
To be fair, it's not just the QBs. I've also grown tired of defensive players flopping, flailing, and/or making a complete production out of the fact they weren't able to make the play on the ball carrier because, in their mind, they're being held. You see it every week in DL players. It's sickening to see players give up on a play and instead start performing for a flag. Ridiculous.
We mock soccer players for being performative artists but, truth be told, the NFL is headed down the same path. And the QBs are some of the worst.
