Football is a beautiful but violent game. It's the most popular sport in America and some are not trying to just make it safer, but destroy it. Since I began my association with the NY Jets (my dad and uncle as team physicians) at age 12 it has evolved in so many ways. There were no offensive lineman over 300 lbs., LBers were 210-225 and hardly anyone lifted weights. There was form tackling, wrapping up another player to bring them to the ground, not hits to get on ESPN highlights. Helmets had single or double bar and were not used as weapons, because they didn't feel like weapons. Sometimes making things stronger made players feel indestructible and I believe may have actually led to more injuries on the field. Sports medicine has changed since the days when a torn ACL meant the end of a career. Now, an ACL tear means that you could lead the league in rushing the next year. The science of sports medicine has advanced significantly and the treatment improved. We now know more about brain science than ever before, and teams are making an effort to protect their players. Are you really worried about player safety, and them getting too big? A simple answer would be to do HGH (human growth hormone) testing. The size of the modern player, and their speed definitely increases the likelihood of injury.
Connie Carberg, the NFL’s first female scout, would often talk to Idzik as part of her duties with the Jets. “[He was] a quiet man who I remember just constantly watching films — all football but a friendly smile and willing to answer any football questions I had in my scouting,” Carberg said.
Talk about a team loss! Losing on Sunday to New England was a true example of that. The Jets played hard, with heart, and even came from 10 points behind to take a lead. Now all we needed was our defense, who had played well though with zero pass rush all day, to stop the Pats on the final drive and the Jets win. But Brady marched right down with ease and forced OT.
I watched the same Jet game yesterday that you all did and to give a detailed write-up would serve no purpose. When you get beat in every facet of the game, you lose. The only thing that really bothers me was the lack of emotion and intensity playing at home against the best team in football, the 49ers. There is zero excuse for that. So the one way to rectify things is to unify like we did the first week against being called a circus, come out with anger and something to show the world on Monday Night Football against the best AFC team the Texans!
