Fifty years after playing football at high school and college levels, techno-fan David Wall's new book, due in bookstores November 10th, shows major changes in the game; it's drifting away from the original purpose: a contest to see which team can advance the ball best. Wall picks out ill conceived NFL rule changes, and reverence for fat down linemen, all turned basic play action into Sumo wrestling. He proposes a new weight restricted league, with new rules and playing in mid-market cities, which would side-step the NFL's ...
Read More
Fifty years after playing football at high school and college levels, techno-fan David Wall's new book, due in bookstores November 10th, shows major changes in the game; it's drifting away from the original purpose: a contest to see which team can advance the ball best. Wall picks out ill conceived NFL rule changes, and reverence for fat down linemen, all turned basic play action into Sumo wrestling. He proposes a new weight restricted league, with new rules and playing in mid-market cities, which would side-step the NFL's headlong plunge to mortal combat - a Roman spectacle.Big change in the NFL is not likely. Team owners trapped themselves in taking over the game. Player salaries are overwhelming, bid up higher and higher on matchup analysis, and surround NFL owners like a high wall - while teamwork, player training and team conditioning fade from the game. Sadly, NFL line play is no longer aerobic exercise. Wall thinks the solution ought to refocus play on the game's purpose - eliminating non-player specialists and de-emphasizing the place kicking game. Speed up the cadence of plays and dump the press-box chess. TV should not dominate football or stop play on the field, nor should player salary competition rule where, when and why the game is played. Weight restricted players can be chosen from a population pool of 19 million while the NFL chooses it's giants from a pool of less than 27,000 men. Wall thinks the most exceptional players will be found in the larger pool of smaller men while the NFL now ignores them. They will lead the NFL, by example, to refocus their vision of football. Wall supports his ideas with history and statistical evidence. He also uses anecdotes, analogyand fun to make his points.
Read Less
