Penalties and fines are after-the-fact measures.
They can only act as deterrents.
The NFL's effort to legislate safety into the sport is a lost cause. It cannot be done.
"There are certain things you can do, like make certain types of hits illegal," Eagles receiver Jason Avant said. "You can teach guys not to shoot with their helmets.
"But a lot of it is just part of the game. It's human nature and we've been playing football like this for so long. Certain things you just can't control."
If we are honest with ourselves, we don't want them controlled.
The physical nature of the NFL is a primary attraction.
We want to see the bone-jarring hits. During the course of a game, they get as a big a cheer as a touchdown.
And, yes, we even want to see guys get hurt, not injured, but definitely beat up, battered and bruised.
Everyone knows the deal.
NFL players are paid to sacrifice their bodies and health for our entertainment.
Each Sunday they risk life-altering injury so we can release a week's worth of stress and frustration vicariously through them.
It's our Roman Coliseum. We love the gladiator-like combat. It sells because it is brutal.
The NFL can put out whatever public-relations spin it wants to show that it is concerned about player safety, but ultimately, football is what it is.
At its core, it is the same game that President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to ban in 1905 because of 19 player deaths.
It is violent, and everyone accepts what that involves.
The entire culture of football is in direct opposition to the NFL's efforts to make the game safer.
Vick complains about not being protected and instead of being praised for raising a legitimate player-safety issue, he is ridiculed.
