Tasser’s Take: Keep out of Steelers’ rivalry

Jack Lambert once famously said, “You might as well put skirts on them.”

The National… Jack Lambert once famously said, “You might as well put skirts on them.”

The National Football League, in its ever-vigilant attempt to “protect” players, has officially tried to kill the best rivalry in the sport.

The Steelers-Ravens game had it all: defense, hits, defense, bigger hits and then a comeback drive at the end. In the Steel City, you have to respect that, even if the comeback was orchestrated by Joe Flacco and not Ben Roethlisberger. But then there came NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, throwing fines around in an effort to better “police” the game. And to think, there were questions of an 18-game regular season.

Three players are set to be fined: The Ravens’ Ray Lewis and the Steelers’ James Harrison and Ryan Clark — both of whom Goodell presumably has “Wanted” posters hanging in his office. What is the NFL coming to? None of the hits were fine-warranting — even the Clark hit, which was, in my opinion, unfairly flagged. These are the two hardest hitting teams in the NFL and every time they play, the entire game looks like the “Renegade” montage they play at Heinz Field in the fourth quarter.

Goodell claims that he doesn’t want to “take the toughness out of the game,” but he is doing exactly that. And what’s worse, the upsurge in offense this season has only played right into his hands. The NFL wants the games to move toward becoming exciting, high-flying affairs reminiscent of the USFL (You guys remember the New Jersey Generals, right?) and away from turning into the tooth-loosening and bone-rattling hits of the classic Pittsburgh-Baltimore affairs.

It was not that long ago (OK, maybe it was) when Dick “Night Train” Lane was clotheslining receivers (since made illegal) and Deacon “Secretary of Defense” Jones was using his “head slap” technique (also since made illegal) to get to quarterbacks before he coined the term “sack” (now borderline illegal). If Goodell had his way, QBs would be wearing red jerseys. Jack “The Assassin” Tatum used to say that many of his hits “bordered on felonious assault.” And to think, the old-school tough guys played both ways and without facemasks.

I understand that concussions are a big concern, and helmet-to-helmet hits are incredibly dangerous. But the message that the league is “keeping the players’ best interests in mind” was forever marred when the owners tried to add additional regular season games. You can put microphones in helmets, but you can’t make them safer?

Better yet, make the helmets smaller so they cannot be used as battering rams. Rugby players don’t wear helmets and there isn’t any uproar down in New Zealand. And rugby players are the same size as most football players, ranging between 5-foot-11 and 6-foot-8 and between 190 and 280 pounds.

Throughout its history, the NFL has continually tried to make the game safer. It has outlawed specific hit after specific hit to make the game safer, primarily for  offensive players. But it’s starting to cross a line. The players are big boys and get paid well enough to decide if they want to put their bodies through the rigors of an NFL game.

Mr. Goodell, we here in Pittsburgh (and Baltimore) love devastating defense. If you must continue to change the NFL to the National Flag Football League, do us a favor: Don’t watch the two or three games every year in which the Steelers and Ravens face off. Nobody will complain.