Everyone seems to have an opinion about players getting concussed. Roger Goodell believes the players need change the way they hit, James Harrison wants to incapacitate every body, and Deshawn Jackson still doesn't know his own name. There is no denying that concussions are a problem. The violent nature of the game makes it an inevitable, and unfortunate, side effect. Just ask Troy Aikman, he may remember. Maybe.But what people don't seem to realize is that they aren't getting to the root of the problem. Players are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before. The technology and training of a pro-athletes body has surpassed well beyond the bodies ability to stabilize the brain upon impact. Albeit, concussions have been an issue well before some of these freak athletes tossed around the 'ol pigskin, but it is apparent that in recent years, it has become much more of a problem.
So how do you solve it? How do you stop players from hurling their bodies at each other, head first, and literally knocking themselves out? Personally, I think we're all looking at the wrong ailment. The injury that should be under scrutiny right now isn't to the head, but to the triceps, biceps, and pectoral muscles. I'm talking about muscle tears.
To most, muscle tears seem like an obvious injury to guys who are working out with heavy weights and exerting an extreme amount of stress on their bodies during game play. What people don't see, or choose to ignore, is that a muscle tear is the biggest red flag for steroid use. Honestly, who rips their pectoral muscle? Their bicep? Their tricep? I'm not a strong guy, but I've worked out before and I couldn't imagine lifting enough weights where I could literally rip my muscle. I wouldn't even be able to get a weight capable of that off of the rack.
According to Muscle and Strength (muscleandstrength.com) , muscle tears, among many others, is a major side effect of steroids:
The use of steroids can make a person feel stronger than they actually are, resulting in trying to lift heavier weights than their body is actually capable of, which can lead to muscle tears. The muscle can get stronger more rapidly than the strength of the tendons then a greater possibility of tendon rupture is likely to occur.
C'mon, who are we kidding here. Elvis Dumervil is a great example. A stud defensive end for the Broncos, Dumervil tore his pectoral muscle and is now sidelined for the season. Dumervil was the leader in sacks last seasons and is a physical specimen. Besides his natural ability, I wonder what gave him that edge? Dozens of other players have been put on the PUP this year because of similar tears and ruptures.
Is this just a common injury like a hamstring pull or an ankle sprain? Unfortunate but unavoidable externalities of football? I have a hard time believing that. What other sport has as many muscle tears as football and steroid-ridden baseball? If you read between the lines, it's clear that concussions are only the effect, but steroids are the cause. Players are 'roid raging monsters who's job it is to kill the opposing team. We've got a bunch of Bosworth's running around.
People like Troy Polamalu are furious about the fines dished out in football for dangerous hits because its "changing the game" and making it more like "soccer instead of football". This may all be true, but what guys like Polamalu, Goodell, and others don't seem to mention is its not the hitting thats necessarily an issue, but the steroids fueling the hits.
In baseball for the past decade, players past and present are being vilified for the performance-enhancing drugs they took. The witch hunt turned Mark McGwire into Sally Field on live television in front of the whole country. Right or wrong, effective or pointless, the MLB went after steroid users. You won't see that in the NFL. Like James Harrison alluded to in his rambling, insane diatribe, changing the physical aspect of the game will change football. Polamalu said the same. The reason why football is the number one sport in America is because of the violence. People like to watch the big hits, the loud impacts, and the overall physicality. What drew throngs of people to the Coliseum in ancient Rome is the same thing that draws people to the stadiums. Human beings haven't changed. They want the action and football provides it.
How else do you explain guys like Shawn Merriman getting caught with steroids and only getting suspended for a few games? The NFL needs monsters like Merriman out there playing and getting the league huge ratings. The problem isn't concussions, its the physical nature of the game that makes football, football. Its the reason why every Saturday and Sunday in the fall, every man cave from the Atlantic to the Pacific centers their whole day around the game.
The physicality puts people in the seats. Teams make money by putting people in the seats, so they get good players who can hit. These players get paid to do it. To get an edge that could lead to a lucrative contract, players take steroids to deliver those big hits. As a result, more hits, more muscle tears, and more concussions.They're positively related. Violence begets more violence. Goodell thinks fines are the answer. Harrison and Polamalu thinks it should be left alone. The fact is, they're both ignoring the root of the problem. Football is violent. That's the nature of the game and there is nothing you can do to change that, other than changing the game itself. The real issue is the steroid use that is taking football from the realm of physical to the realm of dangerous.
Unless someone addresses this issue, the concussions will only get worse. The incentive is for players to kill each other so that they get that big contract, and so steroids will always be a means to an end. As Steve Latimer said, it's all about the "place at the table". Steroids are a fact of life in sports. Unless people wake up and realize that steroids is just as much of a problem in football it is in baseball, or biking for that matter (thanks a lot, Lance), the concussion problem won't go away.
People like Troy Polamalu are furious about the fines dished out in football for dangerous hits because its "changing the game" and making it more like "soccer instead of football". This may all be true, but what guys like Polamalu, Goodell, and others don't seem to mention is its not the hitting thats necessarily an issue, but the steroids fueling the hits. 
How else do you explain guys like Shawn Merriman getting caught with steroids and only getting suspended for a few games? The NFL needs monsters like Merriman out there playing and getting the league huge ratings. The problem isn't concussions, its the physical nature of the game that makes football, football. Its the reason why every Saturday and Sunday in the fall, every man cave from the Atlantic to the Pacific centers their whole day around the game.
The physicality puts people in the seats. Teams make money by putting people in the seats, so they get good players who can hit. These players get paid to do it. To get an edge that could lead to a lucrative contract, players take steroids to deliver those big hits. As a result, more hits, more muscle tears, and more concussions.They're positively related. Violence begets more violence. Goodell thinks fines are the answer. Harrison and Polamalu thinks it should be left alone. The fact is, they're both ignoring the root of the problem. Football is violent. That's the nature of the game and there is nothing you can do to change that, other than changing the game itself. The real issue is the steroid use that is taking football from the realm of physical to the realm of dangerous.
Unless someone addresses this issue, the concussions will only get worse. The incentive is for players to kill each other so that they get that big contract, and so steroids will always be a means to an end. As Steve Latimer said, it's all about the "place at the table". Steroids are a fact of life in sports. Unless people wake up and realize that steroids is just as much of a problem in football it is in baseball, or biking for that matter (thanks a lot, Lance), the concussion problem won't go away.
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