The NFL is in a sticky wicket. It’s the most popular league in the United States by a wide margin, and with popularity, comes a closer examination than any other sport. Then you throw in former players, young in their early 40’s going the suicidal route – possibly due to head injuries sustained while playing the game – lawsuits everywhere (over 500 former players are involved with numerous class action suits suing the league for various post-career problems), and you’re left with a sport teetering on the edge of potential – and hear me out here – extinction.

Football is fun to watch. It’s exciting, it’s violent, it’s an amazing experience live, and almost as good in HD at your local sports bar or on your couch. People love to gamble on it, build fantasy football teams through it, and use it to bond with friends and loved ones. It’s a passion passed on from generation to generation – a game evolving as the equipment and rules have.

Take Thanksgiving as a prime example; Aside from the floats, turkey (or steak), and family, what is the common denominator that most people take part in – watching football. ESPN spends more time talking about the buildup to the NFL Draft than they do the NHL Playoffs. Granted they own the rights (along with NFL Network) to coverage of the draft, but that’s not the point.

Think about a Sunday in the fall without football – or for that matter, a weekend in the fall where no football is played at any level. Picture a world where the game has been deemed too violent, banned from being played like a controversial book is burned. Picture the end of pigskin.

Picture yourself at high school – no Friday night game. Now you’re in college – no Saturday game. Now it’s Sunday – picture being at a sports bar showing nothing but bowling, baseball, and golf.

***

The NFL has been around since 1920 (3 years after the NHL got it’s waterlegs) and it’s the most attended domestic sports league on Earth when it comes to butts in the seat per game.  It’s one of the few things in life promised every year. With the exception of lockouts you will get a season. It’s almost a guarantee. But at its core, the NFL is a business. And at its core plenty of businesses fail, even after surviving for over 100 years: The NFL is 8 years away from that banner season.

But when you think about dynasties, nothing lasts forever. Before people understood just how dangerous the sport was medically it was played far more ruthlessly than it is today. But those same guys who gave their blood, sweat, and tears to get the game to where it is today are suffering the physical consequences later in their lives.

Some struggle to get out of bed. Some can barely stand. Some are simply broken souls. Does this sound like a system that works? A sport designed for the longhaul?

Is the NFL writing its death-certificate courteous of its style of play – which attracted most of the guys now suing it, who are trying to break it for perceived broken promises and lies about doing whatever it took to make the game as safe as possible?

Has the NFL with-held information over the years about the dangers of concussions? That seems to be the argument these former players suing them are now making. And when one scavenger sees a carcass, a whole lot of ‘em follow, which is why you’re seeing former players pouncing on these class action law-suits.

Do these players just want money? Or do they want to break the sport that broke them?

It’s such a complicated, sad situation: this tussle between what makes the NFL great and what makes the sport so wrong. Because let’s face it – if concussions and horrific head injuries lead to what we’ve been seeing — guys like Junior Seau taking their life at the age of 43 (this hasn’t been confirmed as his brain will be examined), then how do you let this game go on in its present form? How do you let kids play a game that harbors within it the power to ruin one’s life?

***

I’ve never found myself saying this before, but football is too powerful for its own good. It’s gotten too big, that it’s out of control. Its greatest strength (violence) appears to be it’s greatest detriment (horrifying head injuries). The players are stronger than before and the way we’re cutting out rules to keep these hulking 4.3 running monsters from killing each other continues to grow.

Talk has grown louder about eliminating one of the games most exciting and dangerous plays – the kickoff. Afterall, it’s hard to think of a more battle-like play than running 40 yards down the field at full speed to tackle a guy using his speed to go towards you.

But let’s say the NFL eliminates the kickoff, and starts each post-scoring possession at the 20. What’s next? Eliminating down the middle crossing patterns because two guys can violently collide while going after the same football? We see quarterbacks getting blind-sided all the time. How can we fix that? By forcing a QB to stay in a goalie-like crease where he can’t be touched for at least 7 Mississippi?

Roger Goodell is trying to make football safer – or at least advance the perception that it’s safer, but if you rip the guts out of what makes the sport so popular, you’re left with just skin and bones – and a game that quite frankly could wilt away.

You can suspend guys, fine them heavily, you can send warnings, and preach about it all you want, but at the end of the day these are violent-minded guys playing a barbaric sport that demands of them Gladiator like toughness. They’re paid to act, not to think.

Their natural instinct is to kill the other guy (not literally I’d hope).

But if that instinct is leading to these horrible traumatic injuries, which lead to CTE, which in turn lead to an uncomfortable number of players taking their own lives shortly after exiting the game, then how do you fix a wildly successful, albeit broken model?

Sure you can get concussions playing lacrosse or hockey but football is the biggest sport around, and when you’re the biggest, you’re always under the brightest lights.

If I was a parent I wouldn’t let my kid play organized football. Period.

There is way too much risk. But I love watching it on TV. I love going to games. I love cheering my team out the tunnel, and taunting the other team after a big hit. So do a lot of people.

I love writing about it, analyzing it, and talking about it. Articles like this may seem to go against that, but I really do love football.

I just don’t love its future the way things are going. In fact, in a sport where betting is a part of the fabric, I’d put healthy odds that the game we know today, could very much be gone in the near future.

Unless of course, the NFL knows something that we don’t: Which is how to make the game safe, while maintaining its integrity. Right now unfortunately, those things sound way too contradictory.

Photo: Getty

Join us tonight on the site or on CoverItLive.com for our running commentary, thoughts, insight, and analysis on the 2012 NFL Draft. It’s sure to be a good time, and an interesting collection of characters that we’ll be breaking down. The fun starts at 7.

The NFL Draft is one giant crap shoot, but it’s also quite the circus. So we brought in our NFL Draft ringmaster, Mike Kaye to shed some light on 8 key NFL Draft questions. What did our NFL Draft expert have to say?

Here’s what we discussed:

1. Will Luck live up to the hype? 0:24
2. Luck or RG3? 0:54
3. Most underrated player in the draft? 1:56
4. Most overrated player in the draft? 2:58
5. Tannehill or Weeden? 3:47
6. Small school player poised to make a big time NFL impact? 4:36
7. Low character, high talent guy who can be a star? 5:38
8. Late round steal? 6:50

With the 2012 NFL Draft just two weeks away and most of the free agency madness of March in our rear-view mirror, we at Juiced Sports present the 2012 Juiced Sports Big Board (Top 100).

The cream of the crop may rise to the top, but in this year’s draft, there is plenty of value at key spots. While this is one of the weaker drafts for safeties, defensive ends and offensive tackles, this year is full of talented running backs, linebackers, and wide receivers. Just because your team doesn’t grab a top 32 guy in the first round, doesn’t mean they won’t find value in the second.

1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2. Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
3. Matt Kalil, OT, LSU
4. Trent Richardson, HB, Alabama
5. Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
6. Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State
7. Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
8. Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
9. Luke Kuechly, ILB, Boston College
10. Quinton Coples, DE/DT, North Carolina
11. David DeCastro, OG, Stanford
12. Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
13. Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
14. Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
15. Cordy Glenn, OG/OT, Georgia
16. Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A& M
17. Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
18. Riley Reiff, OT/OG, Iowa
19. Courtney Upshaw, OLB/DE, Alabama
20. Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
21. Nick Perry, DE/OLB, USC
22. Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
23. Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis
24. Mark Barron, SS, Alabama
25. Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
26. Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama
27. Whitney Mercilus, OLB/DE, Illinois
28. Chandler Jones, DE, Syracuse
29. Rueben Randle, WR, LSU
30. Andre Branch, DE/OLB, Clemson
31. Jerel Worthy, DT/DE, Michigan State
32. Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State
33. Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall
34. Devon Still, DT, Penn State
35. Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
36. Kendall Reyes, DT, Connecticut
37. Lamar Miller, HB, Miami
38. Bobby Wagner, OLB, Utah State
39. Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin
40. Doug Martin, HB, Boise State
41. Dont’a Hightower, ILB, Alabama
42. Zach Brown, OLB, North Carolina
43. Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson
44. Lavonte David, OLB, Nebraska
45. Peter Konz, OL, Wisconsin
46. Brandon Thompson, DT, Clemson
47. David Wilson, HB, Virginia Tech
48. Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska
49. Harrison Smith, SS, Notre Dame
50. Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina
51. Bobby Massie, OT, Mississippi State
52. Shea McClellin, OLB/DE, Boise State
53. Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State
54. Jayron Hosley, CB, Virginia Tech
55. Jared Crick, DT/DE, Nebraska
56. Josh Robinson, CB, Central Florida
57. Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers
58. Chris Polk, HB, Washington
59. Ronnell Lewis, OLB, Oklahoma
60. Bruce Irvin, OLB, West Virginia
61. Jamell Fleming, CB, Oklahoma
62. LaMichael James, HB, Oregon
63. Kelechi Osemele, OG, Iowa State
64. Brian Quick, WR Appalachian State
65. Billy Winn, DE, Boise State
66. Mychal Kendricks, ILB, California
67. Brandon Boykin, CB, Georgia
68. Kirk Cousins, QB, Michigan State
69. Ben Jones, OL, Georgia
70. Bernard Pierce, HB, Temple
71. Juron Criner, WR, Arizona
72. Sean Spence, OLB, Miami
73. Mike Martin, DT, Michigan
74. Mitchell Schwarts, OT, California
75. Orson Charles, TE, Georgia
76. Zebrie Sanders, OT, Florida State
77. Alameda Ta’amu, DT, Washington
78. Josh Chapman, DT, Alabama
79. Demario Davis, OLB, Arkansas State
80. Markelle Martin, FS, Oklahoma State
81. Greg Childs, WR, Arkansas
82. Brandon Washington, OG, Miami
83. Josh Kaddu, OLB, Oregon
84. Ladarius Green, TE, Louisiana-Lafayette
85. Marvin Jones, WR, North Carolina
86. Antonio Allen, SS, South Carolina
87. Dwight Bentley, CB, Louisiana-Lafayette
88. Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia
89. Brock Osweiler, QB, Arizona State
90. Michael Egnew, TE, Missouri
91. James-Michael Johnson, ILB, Nevada
92. Cam Johnson, DE, Virginia
93. Keenan Robinson, OLB, Texas
94. Trumaine Johnson, CB, Montana
95. George Iloka, FS, Boise State
96. Casey Hayward, CB, Vanderbelt
97. Ron Brooks, CB, LSU
98. Chris Rainy, RB, Florida
99. Nick Toon, WR, Wisconsin
100. Tony Bergstorm, OT, Utah

Tim Tebow is a polarizing figure: Some love him, some hate him, but unless you live under a rock, you probably know who he is. Today, Tebow was officially introduced as a New York Jet, standing in front of approximately 150+ media outlets as the new backup QB of Gang Green (I certainly don’t remember Ex-Jet Drew Stanton getting a nationally televised Press Conference… I kid, I kid).

Tebow was asked repetitive questions about his relationship with Mark Sanchez and whether the two could co-exist, what his role would be, questions about the trade and how it went down, and of course questions about New York’s ‘fractured’ locker-room.

As usual, Tebow said what you’d expect: “I think I’m improving every day” “class, integrity” “I’ve always enjoyed pressure. I play better when I have more on the line.” “You have a responsibility to be a good role model, to set a good example,” “making a difference,” “I’m just gonna be myself” etc.

Tebow wished Denver nothing but the best and did it with a smile, and about his teammates, “we went through a lot together.”

How this New York experiment works will ultimately be the true testament to this deal, but with billboards already up, and controversy already spewing, Tebow’s arrival in the Big Apple has made waves. And o yeah, his religion. That garnered it’s own questions. (Just your typical ‘football’ press conference).

What do you think: Was the NY media fair on Tebow today? Are questions about religion out of line at a press conference? How will Tebow fare in New York?

The wait is over! And for the Saints, the punishment fits the crime. After a bounty scandal investigation uncovered lying and cheating over a 3 year period in New Orleans, Roger Goodell hit the Saints hard today for going against everything he wants the league to be. Citing safety as his chief concern, with the simple goal of extinguishing bounty programs not just from the NFL, but from football altogether, the Commish docked the Saints 2 2nd round draft picks, in addition to suspending coach Sean Payton for the season, along with Gregg Williams indefinitely. Joe Levitt was also suspended 6 games and GM Mickey Loomis was suspended for 8. Players suspensions and fines are still to come.

It’s a rough day for the Saints, but if you review the statement that the NFL released today, I find it hard to feel sorry for them. In addition to cheating, the Saints lied, and then covered up their lies, trying to keep their “ducks in a row,” as was cited in the report.

Read the report here: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d827c15b2/article/nfl-announces-manageme…

What do you think? Where do the Saints go from here? What kind of season do you expect New Orleans to have, now?

That took long. Not! Not even 24 hours after the Denver Broncos introduced Peyton Manning as their new franchise guy, did they turn around and ship Tim Tebow to the New York Jets. Trading the Mile High Messiah (Gonna need a new nickname!) and a 7th round pick to the Jets for a 4th and 6th rounder, a pretty nice package all things considered.

Tebow goes from limbo to gimmick, as new Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano will likely use him in different red-zone and short yardage situations. For Mark Sanchez, he’s safe for now as the Jets starting QB, but the pressure will intensify dramatically if he gets off to a slow start.

It will be interesting to see how Tebow is treated in the largest media capital in the world and if the Jets give him any kind of shot to be a starter down the road. For now, Tebow will have a role, it’s just not the one he hoped for, or the place he clamored to go to. The Jaguars showed interest in Tebow and that’s where he wanted to go, but in the end he ends up with the dysfunctional Jets. Can Tebow work his magic on a fractured locker-room?

It’s been a crazy year for Tebow: have you ever seen anyone go through more highs and lows in a calendar year than him?

What do you make of the move? Do you like it? Love it? or Hate it?

A few weeks ago, Peyton Manning wept. There he was on the podium with long-time owner Jim Irsay, fighting back tears, reflecting on great memories, and insisting that within that surgically repaired body was a quarterback hungry to retake an NFL field, and prove to the world he still had something left in the tank. It was the dark, awkward end of an era.

“With every death, comes rebirth,” Will Ferrell once said in Wedding Crashers.

Today was exactly that.

A rebirth. A fresh start. New hopes. New dreams. New teammates. New butterflies. And a new fan base to worry about that neck and that arm.

Peyton Manning is a Denver Bronco. His Peyton-a-looza ended a Mile High, in the Rocky Mountains, backed by an all-time great Bronco QB, and a wily, ‘willing to spend big now to win’ owner. It’s a pair that’s worked magic before and now, they’re hoping Peyton Manning makes them look like geniuses.

Make no mistake about it, Denver is rolling the dice. They’re hoping Manning’s health comes up aces.

You see, you can’t simulate how Peyton will feel after that first hit, and you can’t predict how teams will target him this coming season, knowing how one blown play, can split his career into two.

Is today the day that we look back on as the start of a great partnership between two like minded football minds?  Or is today the day that the Broncos brought in a name, and whiffed on his game?

Peyton is 35, he’s walking into a new organization, a new division, and a completely new time-zone. He has to not only rehab his body back to full strength, but he has to get on the same page with his new teammates in the process.

On paper this is a stroke of genius for Denver. It gets them off the hook for the sticky no-win Tebow situation they were in, and it gives their fans hope that a title may soon be on the way.

But what if that title never arrives?

What if this big-money experiment flops?

History is not on Peyton’s side and you have to think he’ll be most vulnerable those first few preseason games and early into the 2012 regular season. If logic dictates that even he will need time to adjust, well, it better not result in him re-adjusting his neck.

Denver is relying on Peyton to be the star that we know he can be, but aren’t sure if he ever will be again.

All the light workouts in the world doesn’t change the fact that he’s fighting father time, health, and new “circumstances.”

It’s a front page story and is sure to captivate the nation this coming season.

But aside from the glitz, the glamor, and the smiles, is Peyton really ready to strap on his pads and be the old #18? Because if he’s not, the Broncos are setting back their rebuilding efforts for years to come.

If he still has the juice, then he was worth the squeeze.  But if the canister’s empty, then Denver has themselves a problem.

I hope Peyton succeeds, I really do. He’s a fun player to watch and a great face for the league. I just hope his career doesn’t end with us looking at today as the somber ‘truth’ behind the ‘facade.’

Peyton looks good now. We’ll see what happens when the games begin and the scouts retreat from the field to the press box.

Photo: Getty

Unwavering belief in one’s self is just one factor behind the great top athletes in their sport.

As much as athletes are praised by fans and the media, they can be questioned and doubted just as often. How many times have you read a magazine, browsed a website or watched SportsCenter and saw analysts dissecting every play and questioning how much a veteran player had left to offer?

Michael Jordan, Brett Favre and Andy Pettitte believed they had more to give to their sports after retiring and they made comebacks. While Peyton Manning has never once talked about retirement, there have been plenty of others who feel like he should.

Manning is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. And he’s had the ability to change an entire team; just ask the Indianapolis Colts, who went 2-14 without him last season and 10-6 the year before when he was healthy.

But football is a contact sport, and part of the reason many fans love it, is to watch vicious hits. Many of these hits are landed on quarterbacks from the blind side, forcing their necks to snap back. After three neck surgeries and several other procedures, fans and analysts alike are wondering if Manning can still do it.

It’s so common for professional athletes to go under the knife and have procedures performed these days that we as fans talk about it like it’s nothing; but anytime someone’s body is being cut open, it’s a pretty big deal. And this isn’t an injury to a foot or shoulder—we’re talking about the neck, a sensitive and delicate area. Players have been paralyzed after suffering neck injuries on the field before.

While Manning had a handful of teams publicly in the market for his services, I thought—and still think—that he should retire. Sure, a deal worth $96 million for five years is amazing, and I certainly couldn’t imagine leaving that much money on the table, but a person’s physical well-being is at stake.  Manning has earned more than $100 million through contracts and big endorsement deals. I know you loved those Peyton Manning Sprint commercials, right?

The Denver Broncos medical staff and management team put Manning through a series of tests, and they’ve cleared him to return to the game and dominate the field. Although they’re fully behind him, they have their own version of personal health insurance setup just in case.

As reported by ESPN, Manning will receive $18 million in his first season. But years two and three are when things might get interesting. Manning will undergo a physical in February or early March; if he passes, then the guaranteed $40 million kicks in (he’ll earn $20 million a season for the second and third years of the deal).

There’s a clause in the contract that states if Manning suffers an injury related to his spinal fusion surgery, the team can reduce his pay for the next season. In years four and five, he’ll be guaranteed $19 million each season, as long as he passes a physical at the start of each season. It just seems like if you have to add this type of clause, the threat of another injury occurring is real. If Manning walked away from the game today, he would be respected and viewed as one of the best to ever play the game.

Obviously, Manning still believes he can make the throws he’s made all throughout his career. But that’s what makes him great: that unwavering belief in his abilities and his work ethic. I just hope this work ethic doesn’t result in suffering an injury that limits what he can do after football.

But no matter what, Peyton Manning will always be an Indianapolis Colt in my eyes.

Photo: Getty

On the same day that the Denver Broncos will introduce Peyton Manning as their newest starting QB, Hines Ward quietly retired from the NFL. The 14 year NFL veteran came into the league in 1998 as a 3rd round do it all versatility machine from the University of Georgia, and his college success carried over to the NFL where he was an integral part of the Steelers turnaround in the late 90’s. The coaches changed, the quarterbacks changed — people tend to forget the Kordell Stewart/Tommy Maddox Era— and even the stadium changed, but Hines Ward was always there. He was the rock to an iconic franchise that won 2 Super Bowls with him in the fold — including Super Bowl XL in which Ward was named MVP.

Hines Ward was the glue to a winner, and the hard-nosed blue collar player, who came to represent Pittsburgh’s blue collar mantra.

Ward was cut by the Steelers earlier this off-season, and said he received interest from different NFL teams, but that he couldn’t envision himself in another team’s jersey. Talk about loyalty. In a day and age where the word is merely laughed at, Ward was the heart and soul of the black and yellow. He leaves the NFL with terrific numbers, a reputation as a reliable and unquestioned leader, and a legacy as one of the great Steelers wide receivers of all time. No small feat, considering the history of that proud franchise.

How will you remember Hines Ward? What should his legacy be, and is he worthy of the Hall of Fame?

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