It’s football season once again, so if you hear yelling, that’s probably me and the Big Guy!!!

As I was watching a college game this past Saturday, whose participants shall remain nameless but whose team colors are navy/gold and red/black, the navy/gold team would occasionally have a defensive player fall to the ground, at which point the referees would stop the clock for an injury.

In some cases, it seemed obvious the player was suffering from cramps or perhaps something more serious. But in others… Well, it seemed like the navy/gold team’s defense was merely trying to slow down the red/black team’s offense.

The rule regarding injured players is that if the refs stop the clock, then the injured player must be on the sideline for one play, after which he can return to the field. If the defense wants the player back on the field immediately rather than sitting out for a play, then the team must use one of the three time-outs it has per half.

The most effective way to prevent the defense from slowing down the offense with “injuries” is to increase the number of plays that the “injured” player must be on the sideline. After all, if player safety is such a concern, and it rightly should be, then it seems reasonable that it would take more than one play by the offense for the defense’s medical staff to properly and thoroughly evaluate the apparent injury.

I propose five plays, and if the offense should not require five additional plays on the current drive, then the remaining plays are carried over to the opposing offense’s next drive. Yes, some extra bookkeeping would be required by the refs, but honestly, something has to change to restore fairness to the game when an offense wants to go fast.