Add Mike Mayock to the list of football players, fans, and analysts who don't like the new rule banning running backs from lowering their heads into tacklers.
Mike Mayock played in the NFL and is now a top analyst on the NFL Network. He believes that after the owners voted 31-1 to pass the new rule, that they were wrong.
From NFL.COM
“While I applaud the league for most of what’s going on with the safety concerns, and all players and former plays applaud that, I look at this rule and I say, at some point I think we’re crossing a line,” Mayock said. “To me, a running back has got to be able to drop his pad level. And when a running back drops his pad level, his head goes with it. That’s just the way you play football. And from a defensive player’s perspective — which I was — I understand and respect that. I think it’s part of the game, and I don’t think you can legislate all contact and all forcible head hits out of this game.”
Mayock believes that this change has dramatically changed the game of football.
"“I’m not a fan of this rule at all. I think it crosses a line. We all love safety, but at some point, football’s got to be football,” Mayock said. “If a running back can’t drop his pad level, I don’t think it’s football anymore.”
Mayock is right. Running backs are trained to get lower than the tackler. When you get lower than the tackler, your head goes down as well. Running backs will have to totally change the way they run. It will be interesting to see how this rule plays out.
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