The future of football

Everyone who knows me knows I love football.  But I am worried about the future of the game.  The NFL is going to face a slew of lawsuits involving concussions over the years.  The best defense the league will have is something along the lines of "we were working with the knowledge and equipment of that time."  Seems true enough but it appears commissoner Roger Goodell, not that well liked by anyone apparently, appears to be hoping the issue disapears. 

It won't.

The wholesale change in the rules in the middle of the 2010 season indicates that the NFL knows something more about concussions and helmets that it says it does but that is another matter, perhaps involving a judge and jury.

The real problem is steriods and performance enhancing drugs.

Human beings are not supposed to be 350+ pounds.

This is what is causing injuries so catastrophic that many players won't let their sons play the game.

The answer is to not only ban steroids but actually enforce the ban.

Declare an amnesty for this year.  Have the players declare, freely and without penalty, what they have been taking and give them a year to clean themselves up.  Next year, enforce the rules with weekly drug tests and start handing out suspensions without pay and watch what happens.

Is this painful?  Certainly but it is better that what is coming down the pike.  If Roger Goodell and the NFL wants to stick its head in the sand, they are going to get hit by a truck.  It does not have to be that way.

Meanwhile, there might be more rule changes coming and I predict the NFL is going to look a lot like the CFL in a few years.  Would that be such a bad thing?

At least the players in those games are going to be able to remember their names the next day...