that allowed him to bookend a playing and coaching career spanning 51 years.100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Spo

Maybe the public address announcer at NFL stadiums is a job for Michael Buffer these days.You know: “Let’s get ready to rumble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”Unfortunately Cody Barton Jersey , what goes on inside the boxing ring might be safer than what we saw the last few weeks on the football field.Brawls. Dirty hits.Malicious moves . Targeting. Launching .Nauseating.“The unnecessary stuff is over the top,” says Broncos linebacker Shaq Barrett, who was not involved in any of the incidents and, presumably, is a neutral observer. “We should try to get that out of the game.”Leagues at all levels have spent more than a decade seeking enhanced player safety. Most of the time, those initiatives involved rules changes.In the NFL, mostly they have worked. Not so much lately.Troy Vincent, a terrific defensive back in his playing days and now the overseer of football operations for the league, promises that the NFL will look at any adjustments that will diminish the awfulness seen in recent weeks.“We have had clear directives from the competition committee,” Vincent says. “They asked us and the players to remove some of the helmet-to-helmet hits that we have seen, as well of some of the blindside blocks and other types of disparaging techniques and behaviors on the field. We have clear directive that this is not something that should be progressive, but that we strongly consider removing a player that is using these techniques that we want out of our game immediately.”Yet the prohibited keeps happening and, it seems, to a higher degree.“You’re always talking about keeping the poise and understanding the big picture is winning the game,” Saints coach Sean Payton says. “Part of that is mental toughness. You don’t have to respond and be macho. So many times I hear, `I’m not going to be punked,’ and I get that. And yet, listen http://www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-zach-allen-jersey , there’s a discipline element that you’re preaching as coaches. You’re trying to make them understand the big picture, which is winning, and all these side things that can take you down a path contrary to the goal.”While fans of specific teams will take umbrage at one of their guys getting suspended — that’s a basic principle of fandom, that your team can’t be wrong — more objective observers recognize the danger zone these incidents occur in.Two of the most insightful voices in this area, former NFL executive Pat Kirwan and former pro quarterback Jim Miller, discussed the ugliness of what we just saw during their SiriusXM NFL Radio program this week. They brought up a point worth pondering: Why aren’t players being tossed when they go so far across the line of fair play?Miller: “When are the officials going to be willing to eject players?”Kirwan: “They should have by now. They think throwing flags is going to stop it. I quote Ray Lewis, we are talking about a receiver coming over the middle and he did a number on the guy. I asked Ray: `What was going through your mind?’`Look, I’ve got the middle in our zone drop. Anyone who is coming in there, here comes the receiver, at no time in my life did I ever think of the rule book and let him in there with the ball.'”Miller: “I go back to that (2015 Steelers-Bengals) playoff game, that’s what lit the fuse, that’s what got the party started. And it was payback (Monday night). The Bengals felt they were wronged by the officials. (They think) if they are not going to police it, boys, we are going to police it. They got one of ours, we’re going to get one of theirs.“At what point will the officials eject?Kirwan: “As soon as the head of officials tells them if you don’t eject, we are going to suspend (an official). You’ve got to get this under control. Or the league office stops the game like they should, and say `He’s out now.’ Why can’t they eject from New York?’“You’ve got to control it.”Kirwan makes an excellent point that rules on paper mean nothing unless they are enforced, and there are consequences — not only for rules breakers Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , but for those charged with upholding the rules.“Stop writing rules and start throwing guys out that you, in your mind, ref, you know intentionally tried to hurt someone,” he says. “Just throw him out of the game.”Vincent notes that players, fans, coaches, general managers and owners don’t want to see ejections.“There are only 17 weeks and the philosophy is, if it gets out of control, we ask the referees to maintain control of the game, give them that flexibility,” Vincent says. “They have that flexibility, but we really emphasize let the players play, but if things begin to get out of control, you must maintain control of the game during that window.”In an odd way, maybe pro players need to look back at the grass roots of the game, where USA Football’s initiatives are designed to promote safety and proper tackling techniques — and are working.“My sense of it as coaches and maybe parents and players see those things,” says USA Football Executive Director Scott Hallenbeck Phil Haynes Jersey , “they’re fully aware of Heads Up Football and shoulder tackling. The common denominator is, this is the right way to teach it and it is happening across the board.“In the past, a kid might be taught differently at the youth level than at the high school level, now it is consistent. The majorities of youth and high school football now follow shoulder tackling. It’s been really comprehensive, we are seeing a great improvement, and coaches are telling us they are seeing a great improvement in overall tackling.”Too bad it’s not always apparent in the NFL. KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Emmitt Thomas announced his retirement Tuesday as the defensive backs coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, ending an NFL career that began as a Hall of Fame player and wound up spanning five decades.Thomas spent 13 seasons playing for the Chiefs, helping the organization to a pair of Super Bowl appearances and their only championship in 1970. The two-time All-Pro retired in 1978 and began coaching at Central Missouri State before moving onto the pros with the St. Louis Cardinals.He helped the Redskins win a pair of Super Bowls, and also worked for the Eagles, Packers, Vikings and Falcons, before returning to Kansas City in 2010. He’s been the Chiefs’ secondary coach ever since, first under Todd Haley and retained by Romeo Crennel and current coach Andy Reid.“My journey started in Kansas City, and by the grace of God I am able to end my NFL career here as well,” said Thomas, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008. “It has been a privilege to work alongside the great coaches that have come through this building. Having the opportunity to coach so many talented young men in my time as a coach has been one of my greatest gifts.”Thomas joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of tiny Bishop College in 1966, just four years after the organization moved from Dallas to Kansas City. He helped the Chiefs reach the first Super Bowl as a rookie Ugo Amadi Jersey , losing to the Green Bay, before returning three years later.He had nine interceptions that season, including one in their Super Bowl triumph over Minnesota.Thomas continued to be a productive player until his retirement, then became a sought-after coach for defensive backs. He spent four years with the Cardinals, eight more with the Redskins and three with the Eagles before serving as defensive coordinator of the Packers.After a stint as defensive coordinator of the Vikings, he joined the Falcons coaching staff, where he got his only taste as a head coach. It was Thomas who was appointed interim coach after Bobby Petrino’s sudden retirement in 2007, and he rallied a broken locker room to a season-ending win over Seattle.He was retained by new Falcons coach Mike Smith the following year, then joined the Chiefs in 2010, a move that allowed him to bookend a playing and coaching career spanning 51 years.100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta“Over the course of a career that spans two leagues and most of the modern era of the NFL, Emmitt was a Hall of Fame player and one of the most respected coaches in the league,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “Emmitt will always be a part of our Chiefs family.”The 75-year-old Thomas’ retirement had been expected after the Chiefs, who lost in overtime to the Patriots in the AFC championship game, fired longtime defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.Steve Spagnuolo has been hired to handle the defense and is bringing in many of his own assistants.“It was an honor to have Emmitt on our coaching staff,” Reid said. “Having a Pro Football Hall of Famer lead that room and share his experiences as a player and a coach has been incredible for our guys. Beyond football, he’s a tremendous person, and I’ve enjoyed working with him and getting to know him.”