Upon Further Review...

Every once in a while, I catch myself being old and thinking things that would never have previously cross my mind. When a car speeds down my street I will find myself thinking, "That guy should slow down." Or whenever I see any of the latest teeny-bopper, boy-band popstars I often think, "Dude, get a haircut." It is because of times like these I appreciate any chance I get to roll my eyes at the previous generation when they talk about how great it was in the 'old days'. As old as I occasionally act, I have yet to pine for simpler times or the days before some technological achievement. I get the most chances to roll my eyes when it comes to retired NFL players, who like to sit around and put-down the current NFL game by saying that it is played by pampered millionaires who aren't nearly as tough as the guys they used to play with. Please. Today's players are bigger, stronger and faster than those guys thanks to year-round training and the realization that you can't smoke a pack of cigarettes a day if you want to be considered an elite athlete. The guys who play safety today are bigger than the guys who used to play offense line in the early days of the NFL. The reason the pads are so much bigger in today's NFL compared to the early days of the league isn't because guys are soft - it's because guys today hit with the force of a truck and people finally started to notice that repeated collisions like that aren't great for your long-term health. If they are wearing more protective gear it is not because they aren't as tough, it's because they want to be able to actually walk away from the game with their health.

I also think, thanks to advancements like high-definition instant replays along with more stringent rules enforcement, that it is harder to play football today than it was back even a decade ago. I talked a couple weeks ago about how much of a difference HD has made and that watching a game from 2002 may as well be from 1972. Well, because we now have a clear view of everything, these days plays are called almost to the letter of the law - there is no getting the benefit of the doubt anymore. During last night's Patriots preseason game there was one play that was a perfect summation of the difference technology has made in the game. Patriot's tight end Alge Crumpler went out on a sideline route and came down with the ball, but was ruled not to have maintained control of the ball. First off, 20 years ago they would have given him the catch just for the effort. If you watch a replay of an old NFL game those guys just had to grab the ball and get both feet down to be awarded the catch. But last night when the refs went to the video they were checking that Crumpler not only caught the ball and got both feet in, but also made sure his hands were on the ball throughout the entire process of bringing the ball into his body and that the ball didn't move even a little when he hit the ground before the refs would give it to him. By today's standards, half of the "great" catches in NFL history wouldn't stand up to a replay review. You could make the case that things are too tightly called, but I'd rather have it this way than go back to the days of out-of-shape quarterbacks and officials who were pretty much guessing on certain plays.

-Count me among those who were truly bummed out upon hearing that Nationals' phenom Stephen Strasburg is going to need Tommy John surgery and will miss not only the rest of this season, but most likely next season as well. Now, given the number of times this surgery has been performed with little to no long-term problems, this probably won't be a big blow to his overall career. At least they know what it is and how they can fix it. He'll probably be able to come back just as strong as he was before he got hurt. However, it just stinks for the Nationals, because he was the first positive momentum the team has had since their initial season in Washington. Since then it has been a litany of bad signings, missed draft picks and mounting losses; even opening a new stadium didn't help. Strasburg was pretty much the only reason to watch the Nationals, which is too bad because I actually want to see them do well. Frankly, I'm sick of the same seven teams be in contention in the National League over and over again. I was getting excited at the idea that this team was being built the right way, around young pitching, and was going to be in it for the long haul. Instead they are back to searching for a number one pitcher and most likely filling that role by signing someone who would be a number three pitcher on another staff. So much for the Nationals making a big jump next season.