Like any Giants fan, I was ecstatic to see defensive tackle Chris Canty - a former Wahoo - knock Michael Vick off his feet last Sunday during the third quarter of a crucial NFC East matchup. Vick was slow to stand up and Canty's blow ultimately caused him to leave the game with a bruised right hand. Upon watching multiple replays and later reading recaps of the game, I conceded that Canty's helmet smashed into Vick's facemask after the pass already had been thrown, a big no-no for tackling a quarterback. Yet no penalty flag was thrown, and the lack of yellow during the game left the Philadelphia quarterback seeing red. Following the game, Vick called out officials for not penalizing opposing teams for hitting him hard, an expression of frustration at his leaving a second consecutive game early and getting no love from referees.
At first glance, you may think that everyone is against Vick. Opposing players want to hurt him, and refs want to turn a blind eye when the former convict is knocked down. But the slick Vick faced similar adversity during his first, pre-jail stint in the league, and he is hardly the only victim here. Scrambling quarterbacks around the league seem to be getting roughed up with hardly any calls. Refs evidently have this notion that scramblers should be able to evade everything opposing defenses throw at them, but this completely undermines the rationale behind the roughing the passer call. Officials must protect the quarterback on every play regardless of who is under center. Vick was absolutely right when he lamented that "something catastrophic is going to happen" following his broken hand scare. Whether this happens to Vick, Ben Roethlisberger or other scrambling quarterbacks, the fact that refs provide them with reduced protection rulings is absurd. Upon learning that his hand was bruised, not broken, Vick nobly withdrew his criticisms of the officiating, but his point reverberated around the football world nevertheless.
The NFL has instituted a plethora of new rules during the past few years, ostensibly to protect its players. The league has limited blows to the head, moved the kickoff up and emphasized roughing-the-passer calls to protect the most consistently vulnerable player on the gridiron. Yet somehow, in the words of George Orwell, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."\nFans also are at fault here, as they have begun to root for players to get hurt. No one wants his favorite team to face a vintage Michael Vick and the explosive Eagles offense, but hoping for the worst is just as appalling as the refs who have failed to properly protect Vick thus far this season. Football is not just a game to Vick - it is his life, and he puts his health on the line for his profession each week.
The same goes for Tony Romo and his broken rib. Many Washington fans may disagree with me here, but I lost some respect for Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall after he exclaimed he was going to hit whatever was hurt. Yes, the cornerback needs to do his best to put his team in a position to win, especially against the rival Cowboys, but I don't think that mission justifies targeting Romo's injured rib or telling the world you intend to do so.
Injuries in football are a serious matter which should command close attention. During the past few decades, an abundance of neurological data has exposed the severity of concussions, which occur in the NFL with dizzying frequency. The league is currently facing a lawsuit filed by 75 former players alleging neglect of dementia and other serious symptoms resulting from injuries on the field. The NFL certainly has improved the safety of playing conditions recently, but the lawsuit intends to compensate past players suffering later in life from problems caused by their time on the gridiron.
It is truly remarkable that players in general - and scrambling signal callers like Vick in particular - don't suffer serious injuries on every play in the NFL. Because of the extremely physical nature of the game, football players are bound to get hurt eventually no matter what sort of precautions are taken. That should not exonerate the league for failing to protect all of its players.
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