Ditka and Paterno say that to make football safer, facemasks should be banned!

It's counter-intuitive, to say the least. But it's an interesting thought: no lesser football personages than Mike Ditka and Joe Paterno think that dirty hits could be discouraged, and net player safety actually improved, by getting rid of facemasks.

The theory is that if you have to look out for the welfare of your own mug, you are going to be a bit less cavalier about what you do to somebody else's. Football players used to play a pretty fair version of the game without nearly so much armor. Rugby and Aussie Rules football players do the same today.

Does all the protection make players reckless? What do you think?