Which Giants player is most bothered by the league’s crackdown on hits to the head? It’s a pretty close race. Brandon Jacobs called it “insane” three times. Deon Grant suggested the league “put a flag on us and let us play flag football.” Meanwhile, Chase Blackburn had the well-being of his fellow players in mind, sort of: “What’s going to happen when people start changing their angles and going for the knees and legs on hits and people start taking ACLs? You get five ACLs every week, what does that mean? Is that better than having concussions?”
To be fair, not everyone thinks that the NFL’s policy of suspending players for dangerous hits — particularly helmet-to-helmet hits — will be the death of pro football. Kevin Boss has voiced his support for such a policy, and player representative Shaun O’Hara is at least a little more conflicted about the issue. But those aren’t the voices standing out today, now that the Giants have watched the video that explains the league policy.
The voices being heard today are the ones of guys like the safety Grant, who echoed Blackburn’s knees-or-head theory: “Would you rather that guy [Steelers’ linebacker James] Harrison went low — go straight at the dude’s knee, pop it out of its socket, and his career is over with? Or you give him a concussion, and he could think about if he still wants to play this sport?”
Giants players Brandon Jacobs, Deon Grant, Chase Blackburn frustrated about new NFL hitting policy [NYDN]
NFL players rail against helmet-to-helmet rules [NYP]