Football: A Game of Changes

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Brandon Tino Smith

Professor Jo Chapman
English 180 Section 18
16 April 2015
Football: A Game of Changes
The game of football was officially made into a sport in the year 1920. This was a great
accomplishment for the country. This was a great accomplishment for the country. Not only was
it the beginning of the sport, it was the countrys first professional football league. From the day
the sport became official until now it has done nothing but gain popularity and tremendous
support from America. It has went from a backyard sport to a multi-million dollar industry called
the National Football League. So many things have changed in the sport over the years. The
biggest changes can be seen in the safety rules of the game and the way the game is conducted
and it is clearly shown throughout the different eras of football.
At the beginning, football was a very gruesome sport. This time period was called the
Stone Age and lasted from the year 1920 to 1940. This period was marked by the absence of
structure and rule that it contained, which many people did not particularly care for. It was a very
tough gridiron sport. Many people believed that this is when boys were made into men, but
making these men was not an easy job, nor was it safe. The fear of injury and the fear of losing
fans and players was a great influence on why so many rules in this game had to be changed. It
was simply not safe.

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In the 2013-2014 season alone, a reported number of 157 concussions happened in the
NFL. This is a number that is on the rise despite the safety changes that have been made. But, at
least they are being reported. Up until the year 1943 wearing your helmet was not a necessary
part of equipment. At one point in NFL history it was not a requirement for a play to stop when a
players helmet came off. This can lead to a very serious situation if a players bare head is hit
with hard helmet. Now a play must stop immediately once a helmet comes off.
The need for helmet rules was sparked by the number of former NFL football players that
after retirement ended up with mental illnesses. Also the past players who ended up with
concussions and were forced into early retirement due to brain injuries. These brain injuries
caused a lot of players to almost go insane and destroy relationships with their families because
their families did not know or understand what was going on or even how to work with them.
Many lawsuits were filed against the NFL on behalf of former players both deceased and alive
prompting the NFL to pay more attention to players with concussions.
Now fast forwarding to the current times of safety of the Golden Age. The Golden Age
started in the year 2004 and is marked by progress and technological advances. Concussion
testing is now mandatory league wide and players are no longer allowed to return to gameplay
after being concussed. The NFL Injury Surveillance System was created in order to help assess
players injuries and help them better diagnose things such as concussions. Now instead of
keeping a play going, the play must be stop immediately once a helmet comes off. Players are
now also required to wear pads to protect bones and major organs. Even to this day with the
technology we have many players are still getting head injuries. Many wonder why, the reason
that most people believe is that it is still constantly happening because opposing players are
hurting intentionally. We can only hope that is not the case because many of our players are role

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models. Also one of other the major rules changes were also for players not being able to Chop
Block, diving at the knees of the player with the helmet to make them fall over/block them, in
almost any situation. Chop blocking has caused many players to haves serious leg injuries and
sometimes career ending ones.
Many former and current players would like for the chop blocking rule to stay in full
affect because they believe if you see the person coming and going low then you could just
simply avoid the block. Even though that is very much frowned on it is allowed when a
Defensive Lineman is coming down the field and if the Guard on Offense was pulling down
the line to go out and block another defender, then the both Defensive Lineman and the Guard
can be both either block each other or chop block each other. Now the athletes of the Golden Age
are taught to out maneuver this when they see someone possibly trying to chop block them. Even
though the chop block is illegal move in the game many people still are doing it.
When players get caught chop blocking illegally the referee throws them a 15 yard
penalty. If the players gets caught again or found constantly doing it by officials then that player
will receive a un-sportsman like conduct penalty first then if repeated then will be ejected out of
the game. The reaction of the officials becoming more likely to eject a player from the game
because of chop blocking has been both a negative and a positive thing. It is mostly a positive
reaction because fans of the game believe that it is keeping the players more safe. There are also
people though that seem to have negative views of the rule. The fans and even some players who
view it negatively believe that the referees are becoming in their words soft. That is because
they believe half of the times when they do call a chop blocking penalty it can make or break a
team winning or losing a chance of the massive gain or loss of fielding. Referees nowadays

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strive to make sure they get the right calls in games. They ensure this by reviewing live game
film before making such serious calls.
Nowadays there are even more different calls from the past that you would not think
would ever change. One of those many changes was the denial of players running with the ball
leading with their helmet. Many NFL fans and greats like Hall of Fame Running Back Jerome
Bettis hates this rule. Bettis thinks that while you are running the ball and you tuck down to
protect yourself and the ball, your head naturally comes down too. Many argue that leading with
the helmet is not only helping but may be the main cause of major head and neck injuries.
Almost in every other case that is true; leading with your head with the lack of proper protection
greatly increases your chances of having a serious and if not career ending brain injury.
This is where most people begin to argue because many also say that it is the proper way
for you to lead with your helmet. The proper way that people say is just simply getting your
shoulders lower than the defender trying to tackle you. Even though the leading with the head is
illegal most coaches all the way from youth football to the professional football still teach getting
lower than your opponent. If it is illegal then why is it still taught you may wonder? That is
because, believe it or not, that is the best way to teach someone to tackle and truck people. The
term truck means to literally run a player over who is trying to tackle you. The person who is
lower than the other is usually the victor. In reality and what is most recommended in society is
to be the person who trucks the other player. That is because getting trucked over can be viewed
the same as being crossed over in basketball or getting stacked in wrestling. All in all it is an
embarrassing thing to have happen to you, but it is a part of the game. That is one of the most
beloved thing by fans to see happen in football.

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The NFL Commission is always having the debate of how to properly go about handling
the coaching technique. They want to tell coaches to not teach that; they have the power to but
the NFL does not want to lose their entire fan base and even player commitment. The out ruling
of lower helmet move will cause a nationwide negative reaction. Many believe doing that will
cause players to go on strike and not play. That would not just hurt the pockets of the NFL, but
they would lose their whole national reputation and popularity many believe in. The NFL has
helped out with the problem of debate. They have included nationwide and free debates on their
websites. The website has public blogs that fans and even players can comment on how they feel
about the topic that is brought up to that certain blog.
That has brought down a lot of tension off the NFL commission for the most recent bad
rule changes. The fans base are able to freely express how they feel about the topics and the NFL
could even take in consideration of what the fans are asking for or dont want while discussing
rule changes. Many people wonder now what will be the next move for the NFL. As of now the
rules and regulations are pretty good and are evenly agreeable to most fans and players.
The NFL started from a back yard pickup game and turned into a nationally played
professional game. It has become the most watch game on television. It has not just increased
revenue in the economy it has become a major economic contributor to the country. It started in
the United States but it is now a professional sport in other countries such as Canada, China,
Germany, Russia, and many other places. This game has become more than a game to most
people. It has become a lifestyle. Football will be forever be a sport that is always loved. From
the beginning, football was a great past time for people and also a way for people and families to
get together and become closer. It has created bonds, friendships and brotherhoods that will last

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forever. This game teaches the meaning of brotherly love and true team chemistry. Football will
go down in history as the best game of the past and future.

Middle of the Stone

Age-Mid 1920s

Beginning of the Stone

Age -1920

Present Golden
Age-2015

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Brandon Tino Smith

Professor Jo Chapman
English 180 Section 18
15 April 2015
Annotated Bibliography
Thesis:

The National Football League from its start of in 1920 has had many changes. It

started from a backyard pickup game and has turned into a multi-million dollar industry with
mixed views from fans and players but all in all the same love for the sport.
NFL.com. Evolution of the rules: from hashmarks to crackback blocks. 2 August 2013. Web.
14 April. 2015.
The game of football was made into a sport in the year of 1920. It was the countrys first
organized professional football league ever. From the very start football became a very popular
sport. Many people would not believe how basic the game started out to how advanced it is now.
This article details how the rules of the National Football League has changed over the
span of the years. From the early twenties to the late two-thousands the game of football has
progressed from rarely being heard of to one of the most talk about sports of all time. This article
has a Logos appeal. The reasoning of that because it is citing information about the past and
current facts about the Nation Football League.
ColdHardFootballFacts.com. A brief, fact-filled history of the NFL passing game. 31 May 2013.
Web. 14 April. 2015.

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The game of football has changed in many ways over the years. Football has been broken
up into many different eras. Starting from the first era, which was called the Stone Age. During
that time which was from 1920-1940 all teams rarely passed the ball. It was straight hard mouth
run football. A lot of people believe this was the period that made the boys were made into men.
Most people didnt like this period because it has very little to no structure of rules. Now lets
fast forward to the era of the present which is called the The Golden Age.
Plays are conducted more efficiently and the field is more utilized in different ways. This
era started from the year 2004 and has hasnt changed that much. Now a days there are more
passing teams than there are running. Some teams make a balance between the two but there are
more passing teams than anything. This article has a Logos type of appeal. That is because this
article cites information about the different eras of the National Football League and how they
were carried out.
Web.ebschost.com. Sports Illustrated Vol.118 Issue 14, p27. 1p. 1 April 2013. Web.
14 April. 2015.
Former NFL running back Jerome Bettis ripped the NFL commission for banning the rule
of running backs leading with their helmets. A lot of people agree with Jerome about the new
rule. The NFL changed the rule because they believe that running into defenders with the crown
of your head then you will be able to get a concussion. Most fans and players do not like this rule
because it is pretty much all natural for your head to go down once you are tucking. So many
people wish the rule could get ruled out because in their eyes its just a natural reaction. Many
still argue about this issue to this day. This article has appeal of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. The
reasoning is because it show a very emotional part of the reactions of the players about the rule.
Its appeal to Ethos shows how the change of a rule could change the whole fan base viewing on

Football: A Game of Changes

the game. The Logos part of this shows that this source was a credible cite because of its
historical facts of the source.

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