PITTSBURGH -- Troy Polamalu is complaining that excessive fines are taking the football out of the National Football League -- but the commissioner isn't listening.

Video: War Of Words Between Polamalu, NFL Commissioner

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the Pittsburgh Steelers' four-time Pro Bowl safety is wrong if he thinks the league is just interested in making money when it fines players for hard hits -- even ones that don't draw penalties during games.

"I have a great deal of respect for him as a player, and obviously he has a right to his own views," Goodell told Baltimore's WBAL-AM on Thursday. "But to say that this is about money and not the health of our players, I think, is extremely disappointing when we spend as much time as we do with active players, reviewing our rules, reviewing techniques, making sure that we make the game as safe as possible."

Concerned that the increasing size and strength of players may be heightening the risk of serious injuries, the NFL is strictly enforcing all contact rules, especially those involving quarterbacks and helmet-to-helmet hits.

"It's becoming more and more flag football, two-hand touch," said Polamalu, one of the most intense players on the field and softest-spoken off it. "We've really lost the essence of what real American football is about. They're not really concerned about safety, because people have been doing this for ... quite a few decades."

Goodell acknowledges that it's tough to draw a line between emphasizing safety and preserving the violence that's inherent to the sport.

"We have a physical game. There's no question about that," Goodell told WBAL-AM. "We think that's one of the attractions of the game ... We just want to make it as safe as possible and balance the physical nature with rules that will hopefully prevent unnecessary hits and unnecessary injuries."

Polamalu said the only people who welcome all the fines are "quarterbacks and the front office." However, the NFL does not profit from the fines, which are donated to charity.

Teammate Hines Ward drew $15,000 fines for unnecessary roughness in two successive weeks, but Ward wasn't penalized by referees at the time those infractions occurred and said he doesn't know what he's doing wrong.

"For us, pretty much, you come into work on Wednesday, you see a FedEx envelope in your locker and you know you're getting fined," Ward said.

Polamalu believes the restrictive rule enforcement might be making defensive players hesitant because they are worried a routine tackle will result in a major fine.

"You've got to figure out how to tackle people a new way. ... It's too much," Polamalu said.

He wonders if physical players who once starred in the league -- such as former Steelers Joe Greene and Jack Lambert, Dick Butkus, Ronnie Lott and Jack Tatum -- could play in the NFL today.

"These guys really went after people," Polamalu said. "They were that way because the game was physical. Now, they couldn't survive in this type of game. They wouldn't have enough money. They'd be paying fines all the time, and then they'd be suspended for the year after they do it two games in a row. It's kind of ridiculous."

While Polamalu likes aggressive players, he doesn't defend those who take cheap shots.

"I didn't mean being cheap, but don't take anything from anybody. Know what I mean?" Polamalu said. "Joe Greene wouldn't take anything from anybody. Joey Porter wouldn't. When people came to our field, they knew this was our home field. Nobody was going to mess with us. ... That's the type of attitude I think is really awesome."

Recent fines include:

• Cardinals strong safety Adrian Wilson was fined $25,000 for a hit that left Bills quarterback Trent Edwards with a concussion.
• Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers was fined $10,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
• Jets safety Eric Smith was suspended for one game and fined $50,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin that the league called a flagrant violation of player safety rules.

Polamalu isn't defending those hits -- but rather, the routine plays that are drawing fines even if there are no penalties or apparent rules violations.

"It's just the essence of what NFL football is," he said. "You don't want to get into a sport that loses the core mentality. It's like playing basketball and, 'Oh, you can't body somebody up. You can't touch them. You can only play defense from a foot out.' It takes away from the real athleticism of the sport. ... football loses its identity."

Meanwhile Polamalu's teammates are defending the normally soft-spoken, quieter guy off the field.

"I don't know what he said that for, he might get fined for that. You gotta be careful what you say nowadays," said linebacker James Farrior.

"But when he speaks, he's very passionate about what he's talking about, so he had a strong opinion about that," said wide receiver Hines Ward of Polamalu's comments.

Polamalu told Channel 4 Action News' Jon Burton he stands by his comments. But he also said he's ready to stop talking.

"Quite honestly I don't really want to comment on that anymore because my focus is on other things right now. I'm sorry to be this way," Polamalu said.

---

Related Links:

• More Pittsburgh Sports Headlines
• Add Us To Your iGoogle Or My Yahoo Page
• Download Our Free Desktop Alert For Breaking News

---