NFL Rule Changes Are Stepping Stone For 18 Games
When the NFL owners voted on major changes in the kickoff Tuesday, safety was the obvious reason. But what might not be so clear is making the NFL more safe gives the owners more to justify an 18 game season.
LISTEN: Mike Florio On The Danny Mac Show
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"There was no outcry or discussion or concern about any changes that needed to be made for the kickoff rules," Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said on the Danny Mac Show. "This thing came out of the blue last Wednesday when Ray Anderson, the executive VP of football operations, and Rich McKay, the chair of competition committee, held their annual pre-league meetings press conference." Florio continued to say "This is something where the NFL, I believe, has decided to look under every rock for possible ways to make the game 'safer.' One way you make the game safer is you minimize the number of kick returns because on the kick returns, catastrophic, career-ending injuries can occur."
NFL players complaining over safety rule changes is nothing new either. When were put into place to require hip and knee pads, players complained then too.
"The owners are going to say 'we want to do things that make the game safer' and if the players resist, then it makes it harder for the players to say they don't want to play two extra games," Mike Florio said. "But there's still a certain amount of hypocrisy when the owners say 'we want to make the game safer so we can make more money off of you by playing more games.'"
