The Most Overblown Story In Sports [NoeBrainer]

There is a popular theory that a ton of sports fans currently share, and it's really, really bad.

I'd be a rich man if I received a nickel each time I heard a sports fan say, "Roger Goodell doesn't care about the health of the NFL players because there are replacement officials."  This is one of the worst theories I've heard in a while.  The replacement officials showed throughout the entire preseason that they had a tendency to be overly cautious when it came to late hits or personal foul penalties.

The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 24-17 to begin the NFL season on Wednesday night.  There weren't any calls missed where players were obliterated.  Not one player got hit late without a penalty flag being thrown.  The Cowboys were whistled for a late hit on Eli Manning.  The proper calls involving safety were not missed.

Plus, on top of all of this talk about player safety, let's not forget that players can be fined and suspended retroactively by the NFL.  Even if a player hits his opponent egregiously and the officials miss it (which hasn't happened), the league office will still take action by fining the player.  There is this thought that the officials will miss these big-hit penalties and it's going to lead to multiple players getting obliterated without any punishment whatsoever.  It's a ridiculous thought.

The league office would have to drop the ball when viewing the big hits retroactively also.  Do you really think that would happen too?  I've got some real estate to sell you on the Brooklyn Bridge if you actually think that would happen.

Brian Noe is the Brand Manager at 104.5 The Team, ESPN Radio in Albany, NY.  Brian also hosts “The Noe Show” each weekday from 1-3pm ET on WTMM.