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You might be sick of seeing, hearing and reading people talk about the NFL's new efforts to crack down on helmet-to-helmet hits.
I'm getting close to that point myself.
But I've got one more entry on that topic in me, and even if you're getting tired of the helmet-to-helmet discussion, there were a few interesting points that came out of the Ravens' locker room yesterday that I think are important to discuss.
There are some fans, and even some players (like Terrell Suggs, for example), who feel that the league is starting to get too soft with all the new rules outlawing hits to certain areas of the body.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that he feels that there are times when flags are thrown unnecessarily for borderline penalties, but that most of the time, the penalties for illegal hits are warranted.
"I have issues sometimes with the ones [such as] the touch thing to the head, the brush on the knee. You can have a fair conversation about those things," Harbaugh said. "But, you're talking about a blatant helmet-to-helmet shot - it's dangerous. Concussions are an issue, and the league is right in what they're doing."
Harbaugh said that the Ravens' coaching staff "work[s] really hard" spending time teaching its players the proper way to make a hit without delivering an illegal shot, and he believes that the Ravens have a good track record with avoiding illegal helmet-to-helmet hits.
Beyond extra coaching on how to avoid punishable hits, however, is the issue of whether the players have a desire to change the way they play.
Ray Lewis has played in the league for 15 years, and he knows the difference between what the league considers a legal hit and what they now think is an illegal hit. But Lewis says that legality often doesn't concern players as long as they're doing their job and preventing a receiver from making a catch.
"You look at all these hits, the bottom line is those are hits that [when] you go into your defensive room, you're getting praised for because that's the way the game of football is supposed to be played," Lewis said.
The Ravens' star linebacker is right. You think about all the highlights of huge hits, the segments that networks would devote to players getting "Jacked Up", and you realize that these crushing shots are celebrated and are what turn many people on to the game. On top of that, many defensive players feel these hits are necessary for them to properly do their job.
Lewis said he won't change the way he plays the game because of the new enforcement policies, and said that if he did, it might do more harm than good.
"You can't think about it. I don't care if it's a fine, if it's a suspension, if it's whatever, because if you do, you get yourself in trouble," Lewis said. "If you're worrying about all these different things, then a couple of things are going to happen: You're going to get hurt, and you're not going to play the best way you know how to play football."
As a wide receiver, it's not a surprise that Derrick Mason is in favor of the league's new stance on helmet-to-helmet hits. But Mason made the point that the NFL's effort to stop these hits won't just benefit offensive players, but the defensive players who are delivering the hits as well.
"Nine times out of 10 it's not the guy that's getting hit, it's the guy that's doing the hitting that's getting injured," Mason said. "If you want to duck your head and go in there with your helmet, then you're opening up yourself for something terrible. You know, they want it to stop. They want to make sure that the person that's being hit doesn't get hurt and then the person that's doing the hitting doesn't get hurt.
"I hope that the fines don't get too excessive, but [the hits] were excessive this week. The last thing you want is people sprawled out in the middle of the field and they can't move."
Mason's point is well-taken and even timely. Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson wasn't the only player who suffered a concussion after getting hit by Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson on Sunday; Robinson suffered a concussion of his own on the play.
Like Lewis, Mason said he doesn't think the increased fines and suspensions will change how most defenders play.
"Does the threat of throwing somebody in jail stop people from robbing people?" Mason said. "OK then. Football is football. They're going to continue to play."
Finally, I'd like to pass along an interesting quote from third-year linebacker Tavares Gooden, who sees the league's new emphasis on helmet-to-helmet hits affecting the game at its very core with how teams scout players and the qualities which are celebrated by coaches and front office personnel.
"That's what gets certain people drafted is their big hitting ability," Gooden said. "I think all of us have been in the league enough where we can adjust to a certain situation. But are you mad? Yeah, because that's how you got here. You got here playing a certain way, and now you've got to switch.
"I think it can happen, but it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks."
