Despite their undeniable popularity, however, neck rolls — much like parachute pants, Members Only jackets and bolo ties — faded away. And now, even with an increased focus on head and neck injuries in the N.F.L., there has been no indication that the La-Z-Boy — Thomas’s term for the headrest-style neck roll Bryan Cox made famous — will return to prominence….
Joseph said that neck rolls probably disappeared because the game had sped up and equipment had been altered to allow players to keep pace. Linebacker Michael Boley, who said he never dabbled with a neck roll in his younger days, agreed, saying most players today want pads that are light and allow for movement.
Borden, late of this here network of websites (among other places), continues doing work on the Times’ Giants beat with an awesome feature on the disappearance of neck rolls in the NFL. I love this kind of stuff, especially since it concludes — as I long suspected — that neck rolls really don’t do anything besides make you look cool.
Glory days: I always tweaked dudes on my high school team who wore them. A couple of guys were honest and admitted it was just for style, but some guys made excuses about how they had lingering neck problems that would somehow be cured by the presence of their neck roll.
But until senior year, I always tried to find the biggest, coolest-looking shoulder pads available in our school’s equipment closet. Once a year I went to the local sporting goods store and picked out a facemask more complex and more badass-looking than the stock one that came on my helmet. And I wore a heavily padded glove on one hand while on offense in part because I was a little self-conscious about my skinny fingers (but not, apparently, about looking like Michael Jackson, since I needed my right hand glove-free to snap the football).
By senior year I was confident in my ability, so I picked out the lightest and most comfortable shoulder pads I could find because I cared more about moving quickly than looking cool. And I rocked the old Thurman Thomas-style facemask, and ditched the gloves so I could best use my hands for all the dirty tricks I’d learned with years of playing experience.
I played much better that year, though it certainly had more to do with experience and physical maturity than the equipment.
It sure does seem like the playcalling is predictable while watching the games, but I also think the playcalling is usually the easiest thing to criticize when a team’s going poorly.
Who really cares? What does it matter how Ryan and Tannenbaum publicly justify the move as long as the move was made to better the Jets?
Tedquarters 