Protime’s Pigskin Ponderings – Grass Cutting and Old Time Football

Tagged under: News, pfn, Protime Predictions

Phil Myers | October 22, 2026

Protime just got in from mowing the grass for maybe the 50th time this year.  Probably twice a week for most weeks during 2026, the ‘Summer of Mow’ Protime was out tending to his yard and his weeds due to all the rain.  Protime’s poor back is telling him to get a yard service next year.  But Protime will be working out during the off season and building his back up to endure the physicality of mowing and weeding come next grass cutting season.

Protime is known around the ‘hood’ as the Mr. Mow, grass cutter extraordinaire.  He prides himself on keeping his lawn manicured to virtual perfection.  Over the years, skunks seem attracted to his backyard and no one else’s in the ‘hood.’  Protime eventually realized the skunks love the grubs that were breeding in his yard.  So, he ordered grub control from Major Tom who is a bit different.  Major Tom thinks the earth is blue and there’s nothing else to do. 

Moving on, Protime is pondering how good old time football was compared to today’s game.  Now, before Protime begins he wants to get one thing straight.  The athletes in today’s game are bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic than the old days.  Today’s game is probably more tactical and the coaches definitely take more risks.  Stricter rules have benefitted quarterbacks and receivers in today’s game especially.  Plus better helmets have reduced head injuries.  

Also, these days one can see their favorite college or pro team every week instead of five times in two years for the colleges, or when the TV network decided to televise your beloved NFL team as the game of the week, if you lived outside of the home area of that favorite team.

Protime still likes old-time football better.  In his opinion, it was just a better and more interesting game.  A fumble was a fumble, they didn’t stop the game to see if the runner’s pinky or kneecap hit the ground before the ball popped out.  They didn’t need every official on the field to huddle up to confer about whether the guy who threw the flag actually saw a penalty.

Protime will preface this upcoming comment by saying players were not as big, fast, and strong as they are today so hitting someone back then was normally not as detrimental as it would be today.  You could clobber someone in the old days and most times they’d bounce right back up.  Protime liked it when you could actually sack the QB and not get a penalty for knocking him to the ground as he was pitching the pigskin.  Or there were no referee favorite players like Patrick Mahomes today, who draws more flags than Marilyn Monroe drew looks.  

To Protime the old-time players loved the game more too and gave it everything they had.  In a way they were tougher.  Yes, there was brutality but it was mainly accepted as part of the game.  Studies actually show there are more, way more, injuries today than in yesteryear.  So, your favorite player did not get hurt the first week of the season and then miss the rest of the year nearly as much as today.  Maybe, that’s the reason they should ban tackle NFL football today and go to professional flag football like they do in the NFL All-Star game.  

Protime liked it when there really were rivalries because players didn’t change teams like people change underwear.  For the most part in the NFL, the players stayed the same on each team, therefore certain rivalries were part of the game, not only for fans but players too.  

Don’t kid yourself if you think the Steelers of the 70s would have all stayed in Pittsburgh if there was free agency like today.  There is no way in the world every Steeler would have stayed.  Franco or Mean Joe or Lynn Swan or Bradshaw or Jack Ham, etc. would have left only too quickly if another team offered them way more money.

Protime liked to see halfbacks and fullbacks as part of the game.  “I’m lining my guys up with your guys and lets see who is better,” was a quote Protime got from an old-time coach.  In the old days there was the diversity of running and offensive styles.  Today everyone is the same.  A vanilla offense so to speak.  No Wing-Ts, no wishbones, no Power-I, no blocking fullback, at least not in the NFL any more.  Then there is ‘let’s not punt at our 35-yard line, let’s go for it.’  How many times during the game has that backfired.  Protime likes to see punts pinning teams deep in their territory.

There was also the factor of mythology in old times.  People had favorite players who became legends and hometown heroes because they played pretty much for the same team until they retired.  

Another thing is the players today are showboats and prima donnas which does not sit well with Protime.  If you score a touchdown, hand the ball to the referee.  Don’t act like a bozo.  If you make a tackle, get up and go back to your huddle like you’ve made tackles before.  Don’t act like you just won the lottery.

Protime also liked the old game better because you weren’t inundated with football for 12 hours or more on Saturdays and Sundays.  You could watch your favorite TV shows during the week and not have football games on every single day.  Fridays are for high school football but now colleges have even invaded that space. 

Protime also doesn’t like the rule change where the clock keeps ticking in today’s game when the player steps out of bounds unless it is under two minutes.  Then, as Protime notes, you can step out of bounds and stop the clock.  In addition, if that rule is to ‘speed up the game’ then speed up the game by not allowing an hour’s worth of TV timeouts each and every televised football game.

Alas, Protime could go on.  But he is exhausted.  You may agree or disagree with Protime.  He doesn’t care.  If you are younger, you don’t know what you missed.  If you are older, you just may be like Protime and find the old days of football more fun.