In response to TFB12's comment:

Just bring back the leather helmets!!

nice job as always TFB

In response to dapats1281's comment:

Here's what I think,

Players will just act knocked out after each fumble

I agree with this.

If you make a change like that then you might as well make a change for all injuries that cause a fumbel.  Can't remember who it was but a receiver caught a pass, tore his ACL was in so much pain he dropped the ball and the defense got the ball.

In response to raptor64d's comment:

In response to dapats1281's comment:

Here's what I think,

Players will just act knocked out after each fumble

First off I thought Ridely did a great job of hanging onto the ball after he was clearly knocked out! You can also tell he was knocked out by the splits he was doing, in the end he was unconcious and had control of the ball and was inches away from being down. I didn't blame him on that fumble for one second!

If it wasn't for his own knee popping the ball out... as you said "inches away from being down"

I just want to say I don't like what happened at all, I understand it's a mans game and all that bull *hit and the players should be able to crush each other skulls because that shows manliness but how can you let something as major as the AFC championship swing on a turnover like that, Ridley could have done nothing about that at all it's not like he chose to get knocked out. In a sport where turnovers are so crucial and in a game that was balanced on a knife edge it's a bad way to go down. I'm not saying it's why the team lost but it certainly took away and chance they had of coming back. If there can be a tuck rule there should be a rule that governs fumble by knockout. Maybe i'm way off the mark here but i'd like to hear what you guys think!  

Ridley was on his butt, then his back and the ball still was on his chest then arm then on the field. He should have been down by contact.

In response to dapats1281's comment:

In response to bingobilly's comment:

The rule that needs to be changed is helmet to helmet (which according to the rule, I believe) was an ok hit in the Ridley play.  However, the way I saw it was Ridley put his head in a slight downward slant and the Baltimore thug rammed is helmet into Ridley's helmet.  I think the Baltimore thugs got away with "murder" throughout the entire game to begin with...

How would you have tackled Ridley if you were Pollard? He was right in front of him, Ridley lowered his head and gave Pollard a much smaller tackling radius. Even if Pollard aims for his knees, there's a decent chance of they'll still go head to head on the way down. These type of collisions happen all the time with rbs. 

I'd have tried to hit below the waist and above the knees and wrapped him up like a rugby player.  I think those guys do a much better job of tackling any way much more efficient but alot less violent which is why it'll probably never work in football. A broken tackle is so crucial in rugby it can lead to a score every time, so they don't tend to miss em

In response to AZPAT's comment:

In response to danemcmenamin's comment:

I just want to say I don't like what happened at all, I understand it's a mans game and all that bull *hit and the players should be able to crush each other skulls because that shows manliness but how can you let something as major as the AFC championship swing on a turnover like that, Ridley could have done nothing about that at all it's not like he chose to get knocked out. In a sport where turnovers are so crucial and in a game that was balanced on a knife edge it's a bad way to go down. I'm not saying it's why the team lost but it certainly took away and chance they had of coming back. If there can be a tuck rule there should be a rule that governs fumble by knockout. Maybe i'm way off the mark here but i'd like to hear what you guys think!  

Put skirts on 'em all and treat them like QB's.

We don't need more rules to "protect" players. I'm also very sure that if Rice had been hit s hard by Talib in teh first half, fumbled,a dn had to leave teh game, you'd feel 180 degrees different... more along the lines of "great play!", and "Didja see that hit by Talib?". Just be honest and don't deny it.

Yeah I probably would have, it still doesn't mean it's right though i'm a biased fan. Name another instance in the NFL where you can fumble the ball by no fault of your own

The Ravens were head hunting the whole game. Hernandez was the recipient of many head to head collisions. It is a brutal sport and the players know the risks but at some point you have to look at protecting them better.

In response to digger0862's comment:

The Ravens were head hunting the whole game. Hernandez was the recipient of many head to head collisions. It is a brutal sport and the players know the risks but at some point you have to look at protecting them better.

The Ravens came to play a rough game, while the Pats broke out the fine chna and silver for a tea party, so it seems. The Ravens were fired up, the Pats were pure vanilla. The Ravens were give no chance to win, and went out and took it. The Pats believed their own press clippings and coverage and were amazed they didn't win.

TEAM ATTITUDE!  I've been saying for a while that this hasn't been around the lockerroom since the '05 SB, slightly there in '07. No team fears any aspect of this Pats bunch, from teh All World QB to the leaking seive D, to the esteemed HC. Not any more. They don't play with any swagger, and are actually holding the wood shed door open as they step into it.

In response to danemcmenamin's comment:

In response to AZPAT's comment:

In response to danemcmenamin's comment:

I just want to say I don't like what happened at all, I understand it's a mans game and all that bull *hit and the players should be able to crush each other skulls because that shows manliness but how can you let something as major as the AFC championship swing on a turnover like that, Ridley could have done nothing about that at all it's not like he chose to get knocked out. In a sport where turnovers are so crucial and in a game that was balanced on a knife edge it's a bad way to go down. I'm not saying it's why the team lost but it certainly took away and chance they had of coming back. If there can be a tuck rule there should be a rule that governs fumble by knockout. Maybe i'm way off the mark here but i'd like to hear what you guys think!  

Put skirts on 'em all and treat them like QB's.

We don't need more rules to "protect" players. I'm also very sure that if Rice had been hit s hard by Talib in teh first half, fumbled,a dn had to leave teh game, you'd feel 180 degrees different... more along the lines of "great play!", and "Didja see that hit by Talib?". Just be honest and don't deny it.

Yeah I probably would have, it still doesn't mean it's right though i'm a biased fan. Name another instance in the NFL where you can fumble the ball by no fault of your own

Uh, let's see.... fumbling a kickoff (does that REALLY happen?), while transferring the ball from one arm to another, not securing a pass after making the "move", and watchuing the ball fall to the ground, running with the ball in yiur hand and having it his your thigh, causing it to spring loose, and there's the Sanchize Classic... run into your teammate's backside.

Need more? Just stop stop showing your whiny side and let it go. Ridley's got two Alleve and 6 monhs to get over his headache. What'll it take for you?

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000130779/article/lions-jahvid-best-unlikely-to-play-football-again

This is the kind of thing i'm talking about, this guys life is ruined because of the magnitude of the hit he took. 

TEAM ATTITUDE!  I've been saying for a while that this hasn't been around the lockerroom since the '05 SB, slightly there in '07. No team fears any aspect of this Pats bunch, from teh All World QB to the leaking seive D, to the esteemed HC. Not any more. They don't play with any swagger, and are actually holding the wood shed door open as they step into it.

In response to AZPAT's comment:

TEAM ATTITUDE!  I've been saying for a while that this hasn't been around the lockerroom since the '05 SB, slightly there in '07. No team fears any aspect of this Pats bunch, from teh All World QB to the leaking seive D, to the esteemed HC. Not any more. They don't play with any swagger, and are actually holding the wood shed door open as they step into it.

I can't argue with this. I think of all the great defensive players the Patriots had during the Super Bowl winning era, they miss Rodney the most. His energy and toughness were contagious. He was an enforcer and always made his presence known to opposing offenses.

I still thought he was down.

In response to kansaspatriot's comment:

The NFL is stupid. They have all these lawsuits for concussions, and now the Seau thng.

They need to institute a new rule that if you hit a guy running or catching and go for his head with your helmet, you get ejected, fined and suspended for a few games. And the coach should get fined.

The scrums on the line are a different thing.

The rule should be you tackle a player with your arms to end their progress, not spear them with your helmet to knock them down.

And running backs need to be suspended for lowering their head to initiate helmet to helmet contact too.