As Rams Bengals tempers ignite, is NFL discipline next?

In 2021, the LA Rams were accused of being ‘soft,’ ‘pushovers,’ and even ‘more fluff than substance.’  This year, the LA Rams are not even to the start of the NFL season and the team is already being accused of being on the opposite end of the spectrum. Too violent? Too physical? Funny how that goes in the world of NFL competition, isn’t it?

Competition is the source of what makes the NFL, well, the NFL. And it’s that competition, that ‘controlled violence’ method that makes the National Football League both the most compelling national sport in the nation and, at times, the most violent. It’s that violence that keeps the fans coming back for more. And for the most part, it’s that violence that leaves everyone entertained and satisfied, win or lose, at the final gun.

Of course, the NFL and NFLPA work closely together to ensure the health and safety of players. That is what leads to the never-ending delivery of rule changes and the introduction of new regulations each year. Players need to be protected from one another.

LA Rams News: The NFL is a violent sport

But who is kidding whom?  This is a violent sport, and little can be done to remove that amount of violence that makes the NFL the NFL. In years long since gone, it was common for anyone competing on the line of scrimmage to have a busted lip, a gash on their forehead, and blood running down some part of the face.

Fullback Larry Csonka reportedly had his nose broken over a dozen times. If you have ever seen the injury to Washington quarterback Joe Theisman’s lower leg, you could have nightmares for weeks afterward. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb led a touchdown drive on a broken ankle. Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered a separated shoulder but returned to the game to toss a game-winning touchdown pass.

But the granddaddy of them all, LA Rams Jack Youngblood, broke his leg but continued to play and actually recorded a quarterback sack. So yes, this is a game of injuries, of violence, and of athletes whose mindsets are so focused on competing that they sometimes appear to be superhuman.

Of course, they also appear to be uncontrollably violent at times as well.