The NFL's January Problem

Football coaches rely on euphemistic phrasing to get the point across:

"Play physical" and "be aggressive" are favorites. A more candid Michael Irvin, or the late Al Davis, might allow a "hit em in the mouth" to slip out.

Everyone knows the deal: controlled violence and subtle intimidation wins football games. And at this time of year, coaches don't mind if the "controlled" slides into "un" territory, or the subtle is not so much.

This is the NFL's problem as it races to reverse the detrimental impacts on player safety. It's a thin line between tough and felonious.

Sunday saw a pair of ugly incidents that portend playoff football. Incidents that highlight the ubiquitous paradox facing the game.

You know about Odell Beckham launching the crown of his helmet into the jaw of the Carolina Panthers' Josh Norman. Somehow, Norman escaped injury.

You might have missed a similar cheap shot by Pittsburgh Steelers' center Cody Wallace, who delivered a flying, helmet-to-helmet late hit on the Broncos' David Bruton.

An NFL spotter immediately removed the woozy Bruton to check for concussion symptoms. He returned to the game, but suffered a broken leg at some point. He played through that injury. Of course.

Monday is hand-wringing day at NFL Headquarters, and ODB was suspended one game. Rumor has it Wallace faces "a hefty fine."

Maybe it all misses a bigger point. Notice that Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin didn't remove Beckham from the game. Nor was Wallace otherwise rebuked for his personal foul.

In fact, CBS cameras caught Steelers' head man Mike Tomlin giving an approving nod after the play. Tomlin looked like Cobra Kai sensei Martin Cove after one of his teenage lieutenants took out Daniel LaRusso's leg.

I believe football can be played in a relatively safe environment. Note the phrasing "relatively safe." Humans slamming into one another repeatedly will never be a very safe activity.

But the level of play rises when players hit harder. It's a zero sum game and there can only be one winner. January football is about persuading your opponent to tap out first.

The Giants wound up losing, but it's worth noting they outscored the Panthers 28-3 after Beckham's violent broadside.

When questioned about it today, Coughlin was appropriately contrite. But he also said he liked the aggressiveness.

That's January football. It'll be interesting to see if the NFL can hold the line.