Will the NFL field look more like the Canadian Football League fields in the future?

American football fans don’t think much about the Canadian Football League – in fact, friends of the National Football League think its junior league is somewhat of a joke.

But don’t tell that to the members of the NFL’s competition committee. You see, the committee has been looking for ways to continue to improve their game and have been eyeing the fields in Canada and considering making NFL fields bigger to enhance safety.

Dan Pompei wrote a piece about the competition committee’s considerations in today’s National Football Post … an article that should at least raise a couple of eyebrows, if not bring it into the discussion.

When you think about it, it’s not such a bad idea. The CFL fields are 195 feet wide (NFL fields are 160) and are 30 yards longer than the fields to the south.

But how would this enhance safety? The thinking on one side is that it spreads players out and reduces crushing collisions over the middle of the field. It would also change the physical makeup of players as teams would need smaller, faster individuals to cover more ground.

Big hits are one of the reasons the NFL is such a popular game.

However, there are those who feel that more room on the field would allow players more space to gain the speed needed for high-impact collisions. Those are polar opposite views that would have to be investigated further.

The question is whether the owners would be open to the idea. Not only would it change the nature of the game (higher scoring, less defense), but physical changes would also have to be made to stadiums, which might come at a large cost to the owners.

Those are questions that would need to be addressed down the road, but it’s not stopping the competition committee from considering the options.

Pompei’s discussion included comments from former competition committee member Bill Polian. He said, “I’m not so sure we shouldn’t think about widening the field. It’s a radical idea, but I think it’s worth thinking about. You would have more space and perhaps a safer game. I say that based on my CFL experience. There are less collisions of that type in the Canadian game.”

Warren Moon

Even Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon got into the discussion.

Here’s what he had to say to Pompei: “The lower impact hits I think cause more problems over a period of time because there are more of them. A wide receiver doesn’t get the number of hits a linebacker or lineman gets on a day to day basis. Those hits accumulate over time and probably do more damage than a big hit a receiver might get a few times a season.”

It’s clearly a radical idea that would have a profound affect on the NFL. Maybe too profound. There are less radical ideas out there, such as widening the hash marks, but nobody’s really sure that would have any impact on player safety. After all, that’s what the entire intent is here.

As the NFL continues to look for ways to make things safer for players, yet keep the explosive allure for fans, there will probably be more radical ideas. After all, if change is to be made, most times it’s the radical ideas that make a difference.

It will be interesting to see just how much discussion this idea brings.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below … or visit us and like us on Facebook. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Video of NFL big hits

March 16, 2012; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears new wide receiver Brandon Marshall speaks at a press conference at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

Given that it’s National Mental Health Awareness Month, this op-ed written by none other than Chicago Bears’ wide receiver Brandon Marshall not only sheds a whole new light on the man, but also provides insight into deep issues that go way beyond concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

It’s a social issue, wrapped in a sports phenomena, and embedded in an individual’s humanity.

Marshall’s piece has not only given me new respect for this man, I am grateful for his insight into what is happening out there in the real world.

As a society, we have to look more deeply into the issues that result in tragedies like that of Junior Seau. His death is only the tip of an iceberg, but we’ve got to have the will and the understanding to make it a wakeup call to bear down, to allocate resources and to bring this issue to the social forefront.

It’s not about just one man, nor is it about a game. It’s about gaining an understanding into the human brain and what we can do to keep these situations from occurring.

But we’re just starting. In fact, the contest hasn’t even begun, nor has the National Anthem been sung. We’re warming up and there’s four quarters ahead of us.

Do we have the will to win?

Though there are many who will continue to suffer because they don’t have the time to wait, we have to persevere and work to overcome this social injustice and lack of understanding.

In the meantime, it’s pieces like Marshall’s that will help us get there. Take a read here or below. You, too, should have a better understanding when you reach the end.

Let’s use Junior Seau tragedy as opportunity to learn

Junior Seau. Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

‘Wow! Wait? What? Junior Seau was shot? How? Why? They’re saying suicide?’’

Question after question went through my head after I heard the tragic news Wednesday.

Immediately, my heart began to hurt. What I felt was a deep pain, a deep compassion for this situation beyond Junior, his kids, his family, his teammates and his friends.

There are many people out there who are suffering and have nowhere to turn for help or are afraid because of the stigmas placed on mental health.

As I began to meditate more on Junior’s death, I began to think about this vicious cycle our world is in. The word ‘‘validate’’ started to run through my mind.

The cycle starts when we are young boys and girls. Let me illustrate it for you:

Li’l Johnny is outside playing and falls. His dad tells him to get up and be strong, to stop crying because men don’t cry.

So even from the age of 2,
our belief system begins to form this picture. We are teaching our boys not to show weakness or share any feelings or emotions, other than to be strong and tough.

Is that ‘‘validating’’?

What do we do when Li’l Susie falls? We say: ‘‘It’s OK. I’m here. Let me pick you up.’’

That’s very validating, and it’s teaching our girls that expressing emotions is OK.

We wonder why it’s so hard to bridge the communication gap between men and women.

This presented itself clearly when I was going through group therapy and was the only man in my groups. Better yet, I was there for three months, and there was only one other guy in the program.

In therapy, I learned how to express my emotions and talk about my problems, then apply it to my real life. I had to work through my entire belief system, train myself how to think, not what to think, and let go of the things that had me in bondage.

I had to bridge the gap. It wasn’t going to do it on its own. It’s a cycle.

Can you imagine how this presents itself even more so in football players?

Junior Seau, Kenny McKinley, Dave Duerson, Brandon Marshall, etc. I am the only one in that group who is living because I got help before it was too late.

In sports, those who show they are hurt or have mental weakness or pain are told: ‘‘You’re not tough. You’re not a man. That’s not how the players before you did it.’’

Someone like Junior Seau.

So your perception of a man or player gets distorted.

Focusing more on this issue, we see more and more professionals doing research on the brain and head trauma in retired athletes. I respect their science and their research on CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and how they think it might be associated with depression and dementia, but we can’t recognize CTE until the autopsy.

We can, however, start today by treating the living. Treatments that helped me — but that I think we all can benefit from — are dialectical behavior therapy and metallization therapy.

Looking at the situation with Seau and other cases with retired athletes, I think our focus should be more on why the transition seems to be so hard after football.

As athletes, we go through life getting praised and worshipped and making a lot of money. Our worlds and everything in them — spouses, kids, family, religion and friends — revolve around us. We create a world where our sport is our life and makes us who we are.

When the game is taken away from us or when we stop playing, the shock of not hearing the praise or receiving the big bucks often turns out to be devastating. The blueprint I am creating for myself will help not only other athletes, it will help suffering people all over.

We must break the cycle, and that starts with prayer and by seeking help. By understanding the pain,
we can replace the hurt
with love.

Brandon Marshall is a wide receiver for the Bears.

Copyright © 2012 — Sun-Times Media, LLC