Given the recent spate of commentary on violence, concussions, late hits, the importance of knowing who’s injured as part of determining potential game outcomes, some have suggested that professional football needs to change, perhaps in some fundamental ways.

That may be so, but while the various bodies are working out how they might make such changes, I have thought too hard about this, and as a result of such intense cogitation, I would like to offer a couple of modest proposals that could be adopted by the sport immediately, proposals which would have an immediate positive and potentially interesting impact on the game.

Proposal 1

Take a cue from soccer and introduce the red and yellow cards for both players and teams.

Here’s how it might work: player X on team Y delivers a hit that causes a major penalty infraction. It is determined that the infraction is serious enough to warrant a yellow card/warning or so very serious that a red card must be issued.

The yellow would indicate that the player will, on any subsequent foul, receive a red card.

The red card will call for the ejection of the player without replacement. This would result in a team having to play a man short on offence or defense (mostly likely) for the rest of the game. Having to play short on either side would immediately change the game and strategies in significant ways that could add to the interest and excitement of the game.

Proposal 2

Receiving a red card should also result in financial impact to the player: no salary for the game for a red card for the current game, and a requirement to sit out the next game at, say, half-salary. For a yellow card, docking of half-salary for the current game.

Both proposals would affect both the team and individual significantly,and would be far more meaningful than penalties that only result in loss of yardage. Loss of yardage has an immediate negative affect, but only for the current drive. Serious injury to a player changes the entire game for both the player and the team. As it is in the interest of all teams to diminish the injuries and damage that the sport perforce brings along with it, these additional incentives would almost certainly reduce the damage caused by intent, and might as suggested also result in some interesting changes to the game.