This month’s NFL topic: Since they fixed the catch rule, the helmet rule hasn’t been a big deal and fans need a few The rule to complain about is the penalty for brutality towards the passer.
Perhaps the strongest words on the subject to date came from Miami Dolphins passer Cameron Wake, who questioned why the NFL seemed interested in only protecting quarterbacks.
“My knees mean just as much to my family and my ability to play and support myself as those of (Dolphins quarterback Ryan) Tannehill,” Wake told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “I can’t understand how his are more important than mine.”
Wake told Jackson that regarding player safety rules: “If it’s about player safety, everyone should be safe, not just certain players. There are some flaws in Wake’s argument, but it will surely resonate with defensive players who are penalized more, and small fortunes fined for doing their job.
Cameron Wake doesn’t think the NFL cares about the safety of all players
Wake’s teammate William Hayes tore his ACL trying to contort himself to avoid landing his full weight on Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders last week. Carr said he would have preferred Hayes to fall on top of him rather than injure his knee trying to avoid him. Many quarterbacks said the new emphasis on roughing calls to passers has gone too far.
It makes sense that the NFL wants more protection for quarterbacks. His product suffers greatly when we have multiple backups in play due to injuries. Just wait for the complaints when the CJ Beathard-led San Francisco 49ers play several prime-time games later this season.
That doesn’t mean defensive players have to like it.
“Don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining.” Just tell me you want to protect the quarterbacks…. It’s silly to say we care about all the players,” Wake told the Miami Herald. “You don’t care about my safety.”
A violent sport
The NFL, of course, has adopted rules to protect non-quarterbacks. Remember the helmet rule that everyone was complaining about in August, until we moved on to the brutality of the passer this month? This was done to make defensive players safer. And especially, defensive players hated it.
Player safety rules are a constant battle. Adam Thielen of the Minnesota Vikings is a receiver, but when he was pulled from Thursday night’s game over concerns of a concussion, he shouted to the officials as they took him out of the game. The NFL is either criticized for not caring about player safety or for the rules it makes in the name of player safety. The league can’t win that way.
Wake understands the difficulty of making football safer.
“It’s an uphill battle. The crowd loves violence. You see big hits, the oohs and the aahs. They like it,” Wake told Jackson. “How to make a violent sport non-violent? »
This is one of the toughest questions facing the NFL. Their attempts to protect quarterbacks aren’t necessarily noble and for player safety, but rather for the sake of the product and TV ratings, but it at least gave everyone something to talk about.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Do you have any advice? Send him an email to [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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