Burfict on injury list, tweaked knee?

[OrlandoBengal]

(11-16-2015, 01:46 PM)jowczarski Wrote: Honestly the integrity of the game was shot in the 80s when anabolic steroids came into fashion. The league is littered with HGH users, as is every pro sport - team or individual. The NFL does test for it, but it's one just test and the players kind of know when it's coming. They also know when the other tests are coming. Basically, you have to be an idiot to get caught for breaking the substance abuse rules. All of this performance has not come about naturally. Ideally most of it has, but it's 2015. We know what we're signing up for enjoying pro sports.

As for punishment, guys get dinged on a yearly basis, get banned four games, and it's afterthought. How many "Joe Smith is back from suspension..." or "The team will get by until Joe Smith is back from suspension...." It doesn't carry the stigma as it does in Major League Baseball. Maybe - maybe - if the result was an unpaid ban for a year you'd see it truly cut back, but again, the testing mechanism is kinda b.s. 

Part of it logistical, though. HGH is often used to aid in healing quicker, not so much for mass building. And let's be real - what these guys do to their bodies week in and week out is incredible. So if you were to totally take away all their "extra" methods for recovery, rosters would have to expand, IMO. 

I think a big part of the "problem" is that the leagues are always playing catch up when it comes to drugs and PEDs.  I have always sort of compared it to computer security and hacking... you're always going to have someone out there, some super intelligent prodigy, who finds a way to get around the system.  I do agree with you though that there is sort of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy when it comes to certain things the league does not want to know.  At the same time, it looks good for them when they are able to announce that Joe Smith was suspended for four games because of something in the cough syrup his Doctor prescribed him... it makes most people think "wow, they are really strict... no one is getting away with anything in the NFL".

[gobobro]

(11-16-2015, 01:46 PM)jowczarski Wrote: Honestly the integrity of the game was shot in the 80s when anabolic steroids came into fashion. The league is littered with HGH users, as is every pro sport - team or individual. The NFL does test for it, but it's one just test and the players kind of know when it's coming. They also know when the other tests are coming. Basically, you have to be an idiot to get caught for breaking the substance abuse rules. All of this performance has not come about naturally. Ideally most of it has, but it's 2015. We know what we're signing up for enjoying pro sports.

As for punishment, guys get dinged on a yearly basis, get banned four games, and it's afterthought. How many "Joe Smith is back from suspension..." or "The team will get by until Joe Smith is back from suspension...." It doesn't carry the stigma as it does in Major League Baseball. Maybe - maybe - if the result was an unpaid ban for a year you'd see it truly cut back, but again, the testing mechanism is kinda b.s. 

Part of it logistical, though. HGH is often used to aid in healing quicker, not so much for mass building. And let's be real - what these guys do to their bodies week in and week out is incredible. So if you were to totally take away all their "extra" methods for recovery, rosters would have to expand, IMO. 

I'm with you on what you're saying. Part of what sparked the idea for legalization came from watching guys like Ray Lewis, Adrian Peterson, and other "fast healers." Legalize it in a monitored format and you level the playing field for those who want to play by the rules...


I think you would also get the chance to test a lot of blood, refine the tests, and gain a better understanding of PED world.

If your lucky, the legal environment might provide a disincentive to the illegal use... Coupled with heavier punishments for that.

[fredtoast]

(11-16-2015, 01:46 PM)jowczarski Wrote:  Basically, you have to be an idiot to get caught for breaking the substance abuse rules. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2057990

 The NFL was considering whether to penalize Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith after it was revealed he was caught at the Twin Cities airport with an elaborate contraption designed to beat drug tests.

A search of a bag Smith was carrying April 21 turned up several vials of dried urine and a device called "The Original Whizzinator," which includes a fake penis, bladder and athletic supporter.