There has been speculation for years that defensive players have been faking injuries to slow down the fast-paced no-huddle offenses that are now becoming more popular. We may now see the NFL try to do something about the seemingly non-punishable offense, I mean how can they prove you weren’t actually injured? On Wednesday, the NFL sent a memo to all teams threatening fines, suspensions and the loss of draft picks if they were found to be intentionally faking injuries. When several players were asked about it, they all conceded that it’s a defensive tactic that buys time for their defense to substitute and line up if the offense is in a hurry. “He’s always been in the game,” Ravens All-Pro safety Ed Reed said. “It’s all tactical stuff you need to use. Whatever it takes… If you’re tired, you’re tired. You get a break however you can.” Reed wasn’t the only player to comment on the situation. “I’ve been in places where it’s been (taught),” said Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, a member of the players union’s executive committee. “They have a name for it and I’ve been in places where it’s been called before. I’ve been in places where it’s a player that’s been designated. Maybe I’m getting everyone in trouble, but I’m just being honest.” .”
On Monday night, St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford said it was apparent the Giants were faking injuries to slow them down. “They couldn’t be substituted, they couldn’t line up,” Bradford said. “Someone said, ‘Someone falls, someone falls,’ so someone just fell and got a cramp.” This isn’t just at the pro level either, during the LSU vs Oregon game in week 1, when Oregon would start to pick up the pace and not come together, an LSU defensive player would “cramp up”. I remember that game and I told my wife they were probably faking injuries, and just as I said head coach Les Miles was caught on camera winning at #94 Kendrick Adams and just a few plays later Adams was on the field. with “cramp”. The announcers didn’t notice, but thanks to my DVR I checked the wink and the injury and it’s conclusive. But what can really be done to stop it? They can’t penalize a team for injuries because the players who are really injured don’t deserve it, and good luck proving someone didn’t have a shin splint. So what is the answer? Stop issuing time-outs for injuries and charging teams time-outs for injuries? Create a new rule that if a player goes down, he can’t come back for 1 quarter? Eliminate team coaches and have league-provided coaches who can determine if there is an injury or not? Is there a workable solution? I would like to hear your opinion on this, leave a comment below.