The NFL may no longer be a viable game

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by Daves not here, Aug 22, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Alex1939

    Alex1939 Space Invaders Champion

    21,253
    8,195
    1,189
    ^

    I understand its a balancing act and of course you are just venting/stating opinion in a message board. But if your message here translates to children in the same manner, "tough it out, don't complain or speak up when you are hurt/thirsty/etc, all you kids are weak" then that sets a dangerous precedent.

    Could that kid turn 16, be playing high school ball, feel dizzy and loss of balance and think "Coach Riverman would say to tough it out and not complain, so I'm not going to say anything." That's dangerous. My opinion is that we all know our own bodies hurts and pains best. Regardless how much a coach watches a player they can still easily miss symptoms and warning signs. So I think players should be encouraged to speak out, not silenced and ridiculed.

    It's unfortunate if a kid is on the verge of dehydration/heat stroke but doesn't want to ask for water because others will think he's a pssy.


    AND, after all, football is not war and Kellen Winslow is not a mother f'n soldier. It's a game. I'm all for safety. If that means an extra break in practice, so be it.
     
  2. JCBRAVE

    JCBRAVE goTitans 2019 Survivor Champion

    82,274
    26,649
    1,509
    You're right, it is all about common sense. The problem is, common sense aint so common. I have no issues with a player taking a knee when he gets the wind knocked out of him, or to be able to catch a drink every so often, but to baby these "football players" doesn't help them either. Playing football is a life lesson for most young people, it rarely leads to the pros. And by catering to their weaknesses, you're hampering the lesson that "was" football. I'm a better man today because I played football. The sport teaches you a plethora of good things you can apply to everyday life. Being able to selectively get injured is BS. Nowadays players get out of up-downs & wind sprints because they're "dizzy". I'm not coming from a time where putting ice on injuries makes you weak, but what I'm seeing happen during some of these training camps high school-pros is stupid. Albert Haynesworth doesn't want to practice, then he shouldn't play. He's becoming a real pain in the butt to hear about. Do the Skins a favor and cut that guy. No one in that locker room wants him there at this point. Man do I miss McNair, now that was a man among boys. He'd play with his arm hanging by the skin.
     
  3. Alex1939

    Alex1939 Space Invaders Champion

    21,253
    8,195
    1,189
    I can't say I learned anything from doing up-downs til I puked.
     
  4. JCBRAVE

    JCBRAVE goTitans 2019 Survivor Champion

    82,274
    26,649
    1,509
    ^Not sure I did either, but if I have to do them feeling like crap, so does the little twerp who got out of them smiling. In fact: if a player is skipping out on those drills and is smiling while I'm doing them, he's running hills til he catches fly with his teeth.


    Players who legitimately need a moment to regroup is acceptable, but it's those kids who take advantage of the situation that have me feeling this way. And it's a lot of them. Sitting out of drills should create a feeling that makes you feel as though you're missing out, not have you excited.
     
  5. World Peace

    World Peace Nephew Gunner

    14,892
    3,305
    799
    We are fortunate that Chris Johnson has never had serious injury. One could kill his career.
     
  6. nickmsmith

    nickmsmith Most poverty RB core.

    14,624
    6,441
    869
    It's important to be in shape. But some coaches just go overboard. I played for 2 High schools. The one that was God-Awful ran their kids into the ground with gassers and sprints constantly. Stressing conditioning more than football skills.

    Sophomore year, I moved to the other side of town, to a team that rarely lost, Recently won State titles in the 4A division 2 out of the 3 past years. This coach did it the right way. The conditioning was mostly done by the time 2 a days came around. When real practices started, it was mostly mental training and drills, with less pounding into the ground with conditioning, not saying it wasn't intense, it was. But it was you and the other players busting your butts, not the coaches.
    Mental conditioning and discipline are just as important, some coaches don't understand that.

    I'm not saying I didn't run until I puked at the better school, but when it was practice time, it was practice time, not fiddlefarting with windsprints for half of the practice.
     
    • High Five High Five x 2
  7. Riverman

    Riverman That may be.... Tip Jar Donor

    15,534
    6,204
    1,099
    Well, then get ready for more breaks than practice.

    The human body requires that it be stressed to grow stronger. Competitive athletics requires a person be willing to make more sacrifices than the person(s) they are wanting to beat. People use trainers/coaches because when left to use their own judgement, they simply can't push themselves hard enough to see maximal benefit/result.

    You suggest that a child that is told to tough it out until the appropriate break time will extrapolate that lesson into "it's not OK to speak up if I'm not able to function". That is a reach. Nobody is suggesting any such thing.

    I know that MANY times in life the lessons I learned in "old school" youth athletics helped me excel when others simply "gave up" because they didn't believe they could finish. I relied upon that "toughness" and faith that I'd be alright as long as I stayed focused and ignored the pain and distraction.

    Letting a child have a drink whenever they want in practice is a ridiculous precept not to mention it emphasizes SELF above TEAM and it interferes with team practice. It also denies those children of learning that valuable lesson down the road that they WERE able to tolerate more than they thought they could and are now stronger because of it.
     
  8. mcmojo

    mcmojo Starter

    325
    56
    144
    I’m not sure if this is entirely relevant to the topic, but I had a thought I would like to share.

    Young people playing sports now are probably a bit more pampered than they were 20 or 30 years ago. However, it's not as simple as kids being to wimpy or coaches not being able to enforce more aggressive training schedules. Kids today are just not able to thrive in the heat for as long as kids 30 years ago were. 86% of homes had central air in 2007. The number would be very similar in 2010. Only 1 out of 3 homes had central air in 1970. Schools are air conditioned today and they were not in the past. Everywhere you go, including your car, has air conditioning today. This is a serious change from what young athletes had to endure back in the day. They were used to the heat. Their bodies were accustomed to the heat on a daily basis. Kids today are not. At least not the majority of them. I don't think this is the only factor, but it has to be considered in this discussion.
     
    • High Five High Five x 2
  9. globelieves

    globelieves Starter

    592
    93
    144
    For the most part I agree w/ you. But common sense is lacking on both sides not just one. The entire game pays the price for the coach who refused to use common sense because his need to win was greater than his concern for his players AND for the parent who thinks a kid will bleed to death from a bloody nose. (Not to mention a society full of lawyers ready to sue.)

    I loved number nine. I loved his grit. I loved his heart. And had he lived he probably would have spent most of his life on pain meds.
    Haynesworth is and probably has always been lazy when it suited him. The Redskins had to have known that when they signed him.

    Probably each generation thinks the one that follows it is whimpy. (And the one proceeding it was stupid.) Grandpa walked 3 miles to school in the snow. My dad may have road his bike in that snow. My hubby took the bus. My son drove his car/ pick-up. Maybe my grandkids will fly. Or maybe the pendelum will swing the other way, and they'll be back to walking.
     
    • High Five High Five x 1
  10. Alex1939

    Alex1939 Space Invaders Champion

    21,253
    8,195
    1,189
    Yes whenever they want would be ridiculous. But sometimes a kid might NEED a drink before scheduled break. If putting SELF above the TEAM prevents that kid from injury or illness, that kid should be applauded, not told he was a selfish sissy.


    Read an article recently that a lot of Vikings thought Percy Harvin was basically whiny, selfish, and perhaps even lying when it came to his migraines. That all changed when he collapsed trembling in practice and took an ambulance ride to the hospital.

    Just because football is tough, and some are tougher than others, people should still have compassion and understanding for others conditions.


    It's inappropriate and a dangerous mindset to have a group of kids think "tough it out or I'm a sissy, tough it out or I'm a sissy" If something is wrong, it's terrible if a kid has grown up thinking they shouldn't say anything about it because it would make them look weak.


    Looking back at my personal high school experience I saw a lot of players overpushed/overworked, and told to tough it out, that (i think) helped lead to over a dozen injuries. I may be jaded/biased because of that, and I have to say your and JCs comments remind me of a mindset that I felt was more harmful than helpful or character building.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  • Welcome to goTitans.com

    Established in 2000, goTitans.com is the place for Tennessee Titans fans to talk Titans. Our roots go back to the Tennessee Oilers Fan Page in 1997 and we currently have 4,000 diehard members with 1.5 million messages. To find out about advertising opportunities, contact TitanJeff.
  • The Tip Jar

    For those of you interested in helping the cause, we offer The Tip Jar. For $2 a month, you can become a subscriber and enjoy goTitans.com without ads.

    Hit the Tip Jar