Matt Forte rips “absurd suggestion of a rule change”

[-X-]

Michael David Smith
<a class="postlink" href="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/17/matt-forte-rips-absurd-suggestion-of-a-rule-change/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... le-change/</a>

Bears running back Matt Forte is not happy that the NFL’s Competition Committee has proposed a new rule that would penalize ball carriers for lowering their helmets into tacklers.

Forte wrote on Twitter that he thinks it’s ridiculous to tell running backs that they can’t lead with the crown of their helmets. According to Forte, lowering the shoulders is a vital part of breaking tackles, and it’s physically impossible to lower your shoulders without also lowering your head.

“The proposed rule change for running backs might be the most absurd suggestion of a rule change I’ve ever heard of,” Forte wrote. “In order to lower your shoulder you obviously have to lower your head. It’s a way of protecting yourself from a tackler and a way to break tackles. You can’t change the instinctive nature of running the football.”

Forte is echoing complaints that everyone from Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. Of all the NFL’s proposed rules changes for 2013, this is the one that has been met with the harshest criticism, and that will likely be the subject of the fiercest debate at this week’s league meeting.

---

Also, Marshall Faulk on the matter....

[tweet]313460349502377984[/tweet]
[tweet]313459392697753600[/tweet]

 

[Warner4Prez]

Honestly, I feel it's a matter of fairness. If it even looks like a defensive receiver leads with the head they'll toss a flag, and it can't be over-turned if they're wrong. Yeah it will alter the landscape of the game--again, but really if the powers-that-be are going to run around jerking each other off talking about player safety, they had to make this change like 3 years ago.

 

[Username]

This is the stupidest fucking rule I've ever heard of in my life for any sport. This would get way more people hurt than keep them safe.

 

[Warner4Prez]

Stupid yes, but if you take away a defenders ability to really essentially lead with his shoulders as a safety precaution, why would you allow the offense to do the same thing? It always seemed counter-intuitive to me.

 

[Ramhusker]

WOW! This one is beyond reason. We must rename this game and start recruiting fans because current fans will be leaving soon if they keep pussifying this game.

 

[jrry32]

This is the stupidest freaking rule I've ever heard of in my life for any sport. This would get way more people hurt than keep them safe.

Agreed. Dumbest rule that I've ever heard of.

I don't care what "fairness" dictates. Forcing HBs to run upright will get them injured and ruin some players' careers.

It's a dumb rule and doesn't keep players safe. It does the opposite. And it would ruin the running game.

I sincerely hope they aren't stupid enough to implement this.

 

[RamFan503]

This kind of shit has to stop. The NFL is a violent sport. The players know it. The owners know it. The fans know it. There is virtually no way of making this game safe AND watchable. So if the players want to continue to make millions and the owners want to continue to make millions and have an investment worth a dime, the two sides need to work something out to take care of the players AFTER football. Otherwise, no one wins and football becomes soccer. YAWN!

 

[Rabid Ram]

This just in baseball to pitch underhanded slow pitch style and sliding into base not allowed. that is how absurd this rule is to me

 

[Ram Quixote]

This kind of shyte has to stop. The NFL is a violent sport. The players know it. The owners know it. The fans know it. There is virtually no way of making this game safe AND watchable. So if the players want to continue to make millions and the owners want to continue to make millions and have an investment worth a dime, the two sides need to work something out to take care of the players AFTER football. Otherwise, no one wins and football becomes soccer. YAWN!

The Commissioner's office is in denial. They believe they can reduce the risks to players within the game when that's patently impossible. They will have to medically pension the retired players much better than they have in the past.

Take this rule. The RBs job is to be a human missile through the LOS. That requires the use of every movement available to them; every piece of elusiveness they possess. The rule strips them of a large part of that. That said, perhaps the rule can be modified to a "5 yards beyond the LOS" or "open field" amendment. That still may not sit well with some.

 

[HitStick]

Imagine Steven Jackson career if this was implemented when he was a rookie.....


You can not do that. Thats like saying the QB can't throw a jump ball because Anquan Boldin got his face broken once.

 

[-X-]

This kind of shyte has to stop. The NFL is a violent sport. The players know it. The owners know it. The fans know it. There is virtually no way of making this game safe AND watchable. So if the players want to continue to make millions and the owners want to continue to make millions and have an investment worth a dime, the two sides need to work something out to take care of the players AFTER football. Otherwise, no one wins and football becomes soccer. YAWN!

The Commissioner's office is in denial. They believe they can reduce the risks to players within the game when that's patently impossible. They will have to medically pension the retired players much better than they have in the past.

Take this rule. The RBs job is to be a human missile through the LOS. That requires the use of every movement available to them; every piece of elusiveness they possess. The rule strips them of a large part of that. That said, perhaps the rule can be modified to a "5 yards beyond the LOS" or "open field" amendment. That still may not sit well with some.

Yeah, you can't do that. These guys have been taught since Pop Warner to run the way they do. They can't possibly expect RBs to run one way their whole lives, and then when they get to the pros, change. And on top of that, the amount of flags that will be introduced into this already over-penalized game will make it unwatchable. Literally unwatchable.