by Jimmy Patrick

Created on: January 28, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Last season, the 2006 NFL season, you may remember a game that the New York Giants lost in the final seconds to the Tennessee Titans. Vince Young, the quarterback for the Titans was, for all intents and purposes, wrapped up and sacked on fourth down. The game would have been over right there and the Giants would have won, but the defensive player for the Giants decided to let go of Young instead of throwing him to the ground, for fear of penalty. The problem was that the whistle hadn't blown yet, and Young decided to take off and scramble for the first down which eventually led to victory for the Titans.

To me, situations like that are completely absurd. We see them all the time. Still, if I were the owner of the team and I had paid my quarterback in the neighborhood of $10 million annually to be the face of our team, I would vote for rules to keep him completely safe as well.

This is purely a question of dollars and cents. The quarterbacks are the highest paid players on the field, and are the most recognizable players to the fans. It is arguable whether the quarterback is the most important player on the team, though you could certainly win that argument if you put some effort into it.

When a team fails, all the fans see is the bad quarterback play, even though he might not be completely at fault. When they win, all the fans see is the quarterback play, again, even though he might not be the reason. For that fact and that fact alone, the NFL and its teams have to protect that investment.

As a fan, I would love to see bone crushing hits on the quarterbacks, and I am appalled when I see a defensive player penalized because his hand grazed the quarterback's helmet, or he nudges the quarterback a half second after he runs out of bounds.

So, do I like the rules? Do I think the quarterbacks are pampered? No and yes, but I also understand why the rules are there and realize they will never change them unless we can go back to the old days when the NFL didn't make much money and nobody cared who got hurt.

Running backs, receivers, linebackers and linemen can all be replaced much easier than a quarterback. What would the Patriots be without Tom Brady? How about the Colts without Peyton Manning? Who do we remember most from the championship teams of the 49ers or the Broncos? Joe Montana and John Elway, of course.

The NFL is a quarterbacks league. They are the biggest stars on the biggest stage in sports and it is in everyone's best interest to keep them healthy. So, somewhat begrudgingly I say the rules are good the way they are. Even with the rules set up the way they are now, we still see the occasional big hit on a quarterback as he releases the football, so I guess they don't quite have to put them in skirts yet.

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