Intelligence And Football?

[Sociofan]

An interesting post. I was watching ESPN Classic last night and they were showing interviews with players back in the 1980s. What struck me was that in all of them, the players appeared so much more poised, mature, and intelligent than what I see today. Just my imagination? Or has anyone else noticed the phenomenon? Is it the money? Are lower calibre characters being attracted to the NFL today? Are colleges failing to turn players into good citizens as well as great players these days? Of course that is not a blanket statement, but the sheer number of incidents on and off the field and the things I hear coming out of players' mouths tell me that character "ain't what it used to be!"