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Tucked away

NFL rule changes

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

he NFL recently made

changes to the rule book,
causing a buzz in the process,
but simultaneously taking great
strides in advancing player
safety. The most prominent
change is that ball carriers can
no longer drive the crown of
their helmet into a defender in
the open field, but peel-back
blocks and the tuck rule were
also eliminated.

While many hard-nosed
runners were immediately up
in arms about the new rule
restricting the use of their
helmets, the owners were
decidedly on the other side of
the coin, with the vote finishing
at 31-1—-Cincinnati being the
lone team to vote against the
change. Browns’ running back
Trent Richardson felt that he
was the reason for the change,
“T feel like I made it bad for
all the backs. I feel like it’s my
fault. People keep telling me it’s

the T-Rich rule. I guess I made
history today.” Richardson

was involved in a monstrous
collision last year with the
Eagles’ Kurt Coleman that the
Philly safety saw the worst of,
his helmet flying some 15 yards
after Richardson bulldozed into
Coleman head first. The young
back had a slightly threatening

are a lot of runners that feel
the way I feel.” Essentially, he
doesn’t care that plays similar to
the one with Coleman will draw
a 15-yard penalty and possibly a
fine; he'll do it anyway.

For those who are taking
shots at the change, saying
the NFL is destroying the
game, remember the popular

the injuries sustained from
such blows can be serious. Yes,
lowering the helmet does help
backs defend themselves, no one
is arguing that point, but this is
just about being one-on-one in
the open field; driving forward
with the helmet in the tackle box
still appears to be legal.

In the name of player safety,

For those who are taking shots at the change, saying the Nfl

66

head.

quote for the league though:
“Most likely I’m going to be

the one getting all the fines and
all the penalties...] just can’t
change the way I play the game.
I'll still play me. I'll still play the
way I play. I’m going to try to be
as safe as I can, but I’m going to
protect myself first. 1 know there

, =

line brought up by Steelers’
President Art Rooney: “Jim
Brown never lowered his head.”
The helmet is not a weapon,

nor should it be used as one. I
love watching a defender get
flattened just as much as the
next guy, but when players

are stronger and more athletic,

is destroying the game, remember the popular line brought up
by Steelers President Art Rooney: ‘Jim Brown never lowered his

the peel-back block has been
removed completely from the
game. Formerly, players could
still turn back to their own goal
line and take out their man

low so long as they were in the
tackle box, but now even that
has been taken out. After gross
injuries such as Brian Cushing’s,

it was just a matter of time until
the NFL cracked down on the
cheap shots offensive linemen
were taking on defenseless
players. As any sane person
would expect, there hasn’t been
any real opposition on this one.

The last notable change is
the dismissal of the infamous
“Tuck Rule” that was key in the
Patriots win over the Oakland
Raiders in a 2002 playoff game.
From now on, any quarterback
who fumbles the football as
he’s trying to bring it back into
his body will actually fumble
the football. This should have
been done a long, long time ago.
Needless to say, the Patriots
abstained from voting on the
rule.

There will always be folks
taunting the league about
player safety rules and the
mocked change to the NFFL
(National Flag Football League),
but it’s the right move. Is our
entertainment really worth
cutting short men’s lives or
severely limiting their quality of
life? Of course not.

 

Trent Richardson | Photo courtesy of Tom Uhlman/AP

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