With four regular-season home games played and four to go, the Broncos are being proactive — again — about the quality of the playing surface at Mile High Stadium.
The entire field is being ripped up and replaced, despite the absence of any complaints about the quality of the grass there.
For the fifth straight year, the Broncos are spending the money to ensure that the players will be performing on the highest-quality surface, emphasizing that “the Walton Penner Family Ownership Group’s commitment to player safety and a best-in-class playing surface throughout the season.”
At a time when the debate regarding real grass vs. fake grass continues, with the situation boiling down to whether the owners are willing to write the check to ensure the best and safest surfaces for players, the statement made by the Broncos makes their ownership look good and, in comparison, owners who cling to artificial turf look bad.
Beyond caring about player safety, having the best playing surface provides the best protection of the investment the owners have made in their rosters. Which would be a sensible position for any owner — especially the cheap ones.
Now that it has morphed into a matter of collective bargaining, those who choose to be pennywise have even more cover for their pound foolishness. Which makes it even more important that the NFL Players Association apply not general public pressure to the league but specific scrutiny to the owners who won’t ditch artificial turf for grass, or who won’t replace low-quality grass with high-quality grass.