THE POP EXPOSE ‘NFL The Changing Game’ By Mitchell Smith!

The NFL has been under the gun the last 2 years mostly due to the players kneeling to the National Anthem. If you take this aspect away nothing has really changed all that much. Football is still football, there are a handful of trouble makers and a few that create drama and public scrutiny, but most of the players get up every day go to work, have families to support, and do a lot of good for their communities. So if you were able to overlook the drama the past couple of years you may have caught some good football. The game has changed some in recent years with penalties and suspensions dealt out for “Dirty hits” the game has become safer and perhaps softer. Hey I love seeing those big hits and the drive crushing blow that knocks a player out of the game, but let’s face it most of these players once they are in the league for 5-10 years will be retiring and will have a family to support just like you and I have, so I like the rules that have been put in place to protect the players. Yes they make a lot of money but I don’t want to see anyone with mental or physical impairment. 

This looks to be a changing year and Quarterbacks will be more protected which will lead to longer drives and more scoring. In the long run this should keep the games exciting for the most part, I love defense and it can pump you up just as much as scoring, but times are changing and the focus is on offense and player protection. We may see some of the bottom dwelling teams rise to the top and teams will focus on offensive players. Heck the Browns got a win last week this is definitely a year for changing teams. Now I know its still early and there always a chance we will see Brady and the Patriots in another Super Bowl, but I’m ready to see someone different in there, the Jags, the Raiders, at this point I would even take the Cowboys(LOL just a jab at all you Cowboy fans out there). I can remember the first game I saw on TV, my family wasn’t much of a football family, we didn’t watch the Super Bowl or any games really, but somewhere in the mid 80’s I went to one of my friends house to play and he had the game on, It was the Green Bay Packers against the Bears or Lions. I kind of watched a little of it not much, I was busy playing because my friend had a telephone pole that went from his living room up to his bedroom, that was really cool. The image of that game though is stuck in the back of my brain. It was the moment I fell in love with the game. I do remember Joe Montana and Jerry Rice winning a Super Bowl, but I only saw some highlights. It probably wasn’t till the Buffalo Bill’s first lose in the Super Bowl that I started following the NFL, I was washing dishes and cooking in a local restaurant when the bar erupted, I went out to catch the final moments of the game when the Bills lost on the infamous Scott Norwood missed kick. It was around that time that Madden Video games were very popular, and Sports Center had some of the greatest broadcasters ever like Chris Berman, Keith Olbermann, and Dan Patrick.

Football was more than a sport, it was everywhere. I knew the best players and the worst players mostly from playing so much Madden with my brothers and our friends. As a teenager we would play in my yard 3 man football for hours on end, rain, snow, or shine we were out there. Growing up in the sticks we didn’t have a football team so I never had a chance to play organized ball. Since then I have watched most Super Bowls. Some at work, some at home, and there have been a lot of great players who have come and gone over the years. There are still a lot of great players don’t get me wrong, but frankly I have changed, I don’t have any modern football video games to play, I catch as much of a game on TV as I can, but I don’t know half these guys names today. I have a couple favorites I still like to catch but not like then, there were countless stars, players, and coaches I loved including the only jersey I own and one of the few autographs I have Drew Bledsoe. I probably don’t have the interest or the time to really follow the game these days, but I haven’t lost my love for the game, I try and catch as much as I can and I watch every Super Bowl. I think some of the new rules will help keep games closer and keep teams battling right up till the end of the season looking for that last playoff spot. Things are changing, but I don’t think it will be all bad. The games are still exciting and the offenses are explosive, lets hope all these changes are for the better.

What do you think about the Current state of the NFL? Sound off with your thoughts AFTER THE JUMP!