With every game delayed by replay officials due to helmet to helmet or defenseless calls; do fans still want and enjoy kill shots in this era of football? Do you still admire a receiver that will cross the middle of the field without fear? Do you still love defenders that send the message to offenses that there is a price to pay for attempting to gain a yard? Basically, are there any Manly Men left in this era that love this aspect of the game?
Houston Texans rookie safety D.J. Swearinger had drilled Keller (Miami) in the legs, just after the 6-foot-2, 255-pound tight end caught a short pass. The hit tore three of the four main ligaments in Keller's right knee and partially shredded a fourth. It also fractured his kneecap and damaged cartilage. In the locker room, a few minutes after one of the Dolphins' doctors had popped his kneecap back into place, Keller asked himself that question:
"Why did that guy come right at my knees?"
After the game, Swearinger, then 21, had an answer at the ready:
"I'm sorry that this happened," he told reporters, "but, you know, with the rules, I had to go low. And that's something that I'm going to start doing now, you know, just to play within the rules."
The play brought to life an issue that had been largely theoretical to that point: With the NFL and NCAA's aggressive crackdown against hits to the head and neck -- a response to the ongoing concussion crisis -- some players expressed concerns that defensive players would simply start to go low to avoid drawing penalties, fines and suspensions.
Houston Texans rookie safety D.J. Swearinger had drilled Keller (Miami) in the legs, just after the 6-foot-2, 255-pound tight end caught a short pass. The hit tore three of the four main ligaments in Keller's right knee and partially shredded a fourth. It also fractured his kneecap and damaged cartilage. In the locker room, a few minutes after one of the Dolphins' doctors had popped his kneecap back into place, Keller asked himself that question:
"Why did that guy come right at my knees?"
After the game, Swearinger, then 21, had an answer at the ready:
"I'm sorry that this happened," he told reporters, "but, you know, with the rules, I had to go low. And that's something that I'm going to start doing now, you know, just to play within the rules."
The play brought to life an issue that had been largely theoretical to that point: With the NFL and NCAA's aggressive crackdown against hits to the head and neck -- a response to the ongoing concussion crisis -- some players expressed concerns that defensive players would simply start to go low to avoid drawing penalties, fines and suspensions.
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