The NFL continues to get marshmallow soft

Bob on 03 26, 2009

The NFL continues to get marshmallow soft. Worried about the well-being of players, NFL franchise owners passed four(4) player safety rules on Tuesday.

Effective this season, no more than two(2) players will be able to form a ‘wedge’ when returning a kickoff. Isn’t a ‘wedge’ a triangular shape? NFL teams have been effectively using the wedge on kickoffs for decades, but that is no more. This rule change kind of baffles me. The committee thought the wedge was causing too many injuries…how? Show me some tape or give me a thorough explanation for this change. Similar to this, the league essentially gives no hope for recovering an onside kick. No more bunching players. At least four(4) players of the kickoff team must be on each side of the kicker. Furthermore, at least three(3) players must be lined up outside each inbounds line, as well as one who is required be outside the yard-line number. It was already difficult to recover an onside kick, and now it’s nearly impossible. They might as well just erase the onside kick altogether.

Additionally, players who are knocked to the turf are no longer allowed to lunge into quarterbacks (Tom Brady rule). What a horribly ridiculous rule. Defensive linemen are expected to slowly get all 300 lbs. back up and level-footed, and then make the tackle? I understand one of the best QB’s in the league(Brady) was lost for the season due to this kind of play, but that’s irrelevant. It’s the quarterback’s responsibility to move around the pocket to avoid this type of injury from happening.

Another rule change, and I’ll call this the ‘Hines Ward rule’, is that a 15 yard penalty will be imposed if a player delivers a blind-side block to the head of a defender using his helmet, shoulder or forearm. Should players start chest-bumping? Get outta here. Similar to this new rule, and I’ll call this one the ‘Wes Welker rule’, prevents defenders from hitting a ‘defenseless’ receiver with their shoulder or forearm. This is a fast-paced game, you expect a player to make a decision in a split-second on whether or not the receiver about to receive the ball is defenseless? Give me a break. Anquan Boldin was on the receiving end of one of these hits and as a result got his jaw wired shut. He didn’t complain, rather he admitted that it was not a dirty hit. He earned his stripes, and I bet that will be the last time Boldin isn’t aware of his surroundings.

These rule changes are dim-witted and are diminishing the integrity of the game. This is no cupcake league! Keep your head on a swivel or get your clock cleaned. If you want to play with your purse on, pack your stuff up and get out of town. Go play flag football, two hand touch, take up curling, hell I don’t care what it is, just get your pansy-self out of the league.

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