Rule changes weaken the tough sport

Recently the NFL, National Football League, has made rule changes to one of the most televised games in the United States. The game is now much stricter on roughing the passer, and you can’t put full weight on the tackle, so how do you determine?

The defense can’t hit in the head, any contact is a penalty, hit them low its penalty.  This makes it difficult to know what to do, the defenders are in no man’s land on where to hit.

Becoming much stricter on pass interference has made the league much more of an offensive league.

These rule changes have really devalued running backs, there were only three running backs in the first round of the 2018 draft.  Rashaad Penny to the Seahawks, Saquon Barkley to the Giants, Sony Michel to the Patriots were the only ones that were in the first round, Barkley being the first pick overall.

Now the highest paid in the NFL are the quarterbacks, wide receivers, left offensive tackles (they protect the quarterback’s blind side), and cornerback covering wide receivers and “edge rushers”. Since it’s protective of receivers it does protect against concussions, but it can lead to knee and leg injuries. Defenders are afraid to go high so they overshoot low.

Although some may argue that the addition of rules and becoming more meticulous with penalties help protect the players, I feel as though it causes damage to the sport itself. People watch football because it’s exciting, there’s a lot of contact and action. Taking this away could mean lower ratings for the NFL, not to mention this is something the players train for since their earliest years. These professional athletes know what they are signing into, it’s not some huge surprise full of unwanted hits and tackles.

Overall the NFL is becoming soft and underestimating the strength and ability of its players. The audience wants to see the tackles and the physical game they love, without a penalty every few plays. Not only is it devaluing the contact game it is known as, but it’s also devaluing a big portion of its players, the defense. The game has become too technical and leaves the fate of the game in the hands of the officials.