NFL Considers Widening the Field of Play

"Hey, chill; It's just a discussion"

According to a report by the “National Football Post” the NFL is considering widening their field to prevent head injuries. In many previous meetings last year, the NFL committee had considered widening the area of play from 160 feet to 195 feet, adding 35 more feet. 195 feet is the width of football fields in the Canadian Football League and the NFL is conceding that the CFL might have had it right all along.

The logistics behind widening the field comes on the heap of this lawsuit undoubtedly and the NFL is doing its best to create safer ways for the game. The idea behind it is that widening the field will minimize congestion in the middle of the field where most head injuries take place. According to former committee member Bill Polian “there are less collisions of that sort in the CFL.” Some however argue that the more room a defensive player has the more time he has to gain speed and hit that much harder causing more injuries.


Bill Polian

The flip side that is seldom mentioned in this debate is that offensive scoring is sure to go up. With 35 more feet to cover, defenses will be more susceptible to screen passes and quick outs. Adding 35 feet in width is a distinct advantage to the offense in an NFL that already caters all the rules to offenses. I think they should just let it be and don’t fix something that isn’t broken; Injuries are a part of that game. The real issue is defensive players that think if they have a helmet on they are indestructible.

Nonetheless, I commend the NFL in its attempt to make the game safer; I just think harsher penalties on dangerous players might be more effective to keep the game real football fans love. I’ve been watching football since I was old enough to understand and I always loved the duel between offenses and defenses. That duel will be lost by defenses more often than not if the field widens and the integrity of the game could be compromised.

Josh Brown
@TitleTownTalkSB