Here's a little historical perspective, courtesy of Wikipedia. The coming changes to the game are part of long progression toward safer and less violent play, like it or not:
"1905 had been a bloody year on the gridiron; the
Chicago Tribune reported 18 players had been killed and 159 seriously injured that season.
[4] There were moves to abolish the game. But President
Theodore Roosevelt personally intervened and demanded that the rules of the game be reformed. In a meeting of more than 60 schools in late 1905, the commitment was made to make the game safer. This meeting was the first step toward the establishment of what would become the
NCAA and was followed by several sessions to work out "the new rules."
[5]
The final meeting of the Rules Committee tasked with reshaping the game was held on April 6, 1906, at which time the forward pass officially became a legal play.
[2] The New York Times reported in September 1906 on the rationale for the changes:
"The main efforts of the football reformers have been to 'open up the game'—that is to provide for the natural elimination of the so-called mass plays and
bring about a game in which speed and real skill shall supersede so far as possible mere brute strength and force of weight."
[6]
Do those highlighted passages sound familiar 107 years on?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_pass#cite_note-7
