Rule Changes are in order

[andrew_nyg]

I am as guilty as the next fan when it comes to enjoying our team connecting on a BOMB for a touchdown.

Indeed, having guys like Eli, Nicks, Cruz, Ballard, Manningham et-al lighting it up...is something of a new and fun experience for this old-school Giants fan.

STILL: The balance of power is OFF in the NFL, and the rules are the culprit. I truly believe that all of these new rules which help leave receivers free to roam, in the long run...is not good for the game.

I want to see real Linebacker play matter again. I want to see an actual bump and run (DB/WR). I want to see the real chess match...the real war that is NFL football as it relates to offense vs defense.

The only way to get back to this is to change the rules on illegal contact, and (I may get some crap for this but) the 5 yd rule should be changed to either it's intereference or it isn't...the 5 yard rule is a cop out.

Let's go back to REAL FOOTBALL! 

Go Giants!

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[BlueMoshik]

Not gonna happen. Goodell and the rest of the NFL suits want points, points, and more points.

[BayAreaGiant]

Your idea of "real" football is not shared by a lot of fans or by the owners in the league and the networks. Points put excitement in the game and that is what they are looking for. You can't call pass interference when a receiver gets knocked down 10 yards downfield and the ball hasn't been thrown yet. There needs to be a rule like the one that they have now or receivers will be laying all over the field. There are teams in the league that have linebackers and linebacker play. This is especially prevalent on the teams that use the 3-4 defense. Unfortunately, you root for a team that doesn't have linebackers thus no linebacker play. The world has changed and so has football and the NFL. It is not going to go backwards. Get used to it. 

[MP21WAYS2PAY]

I couldn't agree more, and I would add that the protection of QBs has become so arbitrary and absurd, that hit on McCoy by James Harrison should have been legit, if the QB starts running out of the pocket, they deserve no extra protection.

Another rule change I would like to see, which I was thinking about the other day when the Giants (JPP?) was later accused of "leverage" on a field goal, is why not allow leverage on field goal defense, have guys launching themselves 12 feet in the air on the backs of their teammates, trying to get air to block the field goal.  Sounds like a good time to me.

[andrew_nyg]

Not gonna happen. Goodell and the rest of the NFL suits want points, points, and more points.

We'll see, Blue.

One thing that I've learned being an NFL fan for as long as I have is what wets the appetite of the fan...therefore the league, is indeed cyclicle. I wouldn't be surprised if it cycled back toward fans wanting to see defensive battles again in the not too distant future.

[St Marys]

Your idea of "real" football is not shared by a lot of fans or by the owners in the league and the networks. Points put excitement in the game and that is what they are looking for. You can't call pass interference when a receiver gets knocked down 10 yards downfield and the ball hasn't been thrown yet. There needs to be a rule like the one that they have now or receivers will be laying all over the field. There are teams in the league that have linebackers and linebacker play. This is especially prevalent on the teams that use the 3-4 defense. Unfortunately, you root for a team that doesn't have linebackers thus no linebacker play. The world has changed and so has football and the NFL. It is not going to go backwards. Get used to it.

Under successive Commish football has been positioned to become less violent for a reason: it is in a global TV ratings war for top green, and that means moving more and more towards a family-friendly outlook.   A negative to that are serious injuries.   Today's players being bigger, harder, faster, protecting players as much as possible in what is still a violent game is obviously key.

[NYSPORTS]

LSU vs Alabama was a "real" football game.  The National Championship might be the only other chance to watch a defensive slugfest. 
The "N" in NFL might as was well stand for "New". 

[joeynygiants]

prior to 1978, a wr was free game until the ball was in the air.

now they have the 5 yard rule, it will never be changed.

[CAGiantFan]

The one rules I would like to see changed is the silly going to the ground at the end of a catch rule.  If a receiver has possession and both feet come down in bounds it should be a catch no matter what happens when he goes to the ground.

[joeynygiants]

ca yes, if the wr has the ball, and two feet down it is a catch.

[TONKA56]

Your idea of "real" football is not shared by a lot of fans

I'm not so sure.  I think the silent majority of long time fans don't care for the modern game as much.

[jimmyz]

I can only speak for myself and I'm what I consider a long time fan (at least as long as my 40  yrs will allow me to be) and I also love what i guess you'd call old school defensive football.

When the lockout threatened the season, I honestly could not see how it would impact me as the game has become so watered down and easy to consume that I no longer really have as much passion about the game as I used to.  The lockout, to me, only threatened to delay more of this tamed version of the sport.

[andrew_nyg]

I dunno...

Is it strange that I miss watching the Giants in and old fashioned 14-7 SLUGFEST that includes swallowing up a running back on 3rd and inches from the opponents own 30, or the same on 4th and goal from the one?

I especially loved it when the field was covered in snow, and guys were fighting for every inch on almost every play.

I have fond memories of bottling up Riggo on a 4th and short that turned the entire momentum of the game around...or Reasons jumping to meet a diving Bronco RB in Denver to stop him cold in mid-air.

To me that's FOOTBALL! 

[LennG]

\ One rule that bothers me is the position of ball when the knee hits the ground. Waht I mean by this, if a player id falling, the ball should be placed at where he landed, not where it is while he is falling. That is like stopping time when the momentum of the player should be taken into account. A guy cannot stop himself when he is falling so why stop the progress of the ball. If he is tackled, the ball should be marked at where it was when he hit the ground, not where it was when his knee hit.

[Bob In PA]

I agree, Andrew. That penalty against J.Williams in the Dallas game was ridiculous, then they practically mugged Ballard in the end zone (far more than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage) and there was NO CALL.  Enforcement of the "illegal contact" rule is too random for me.

Also, importantly, the league actually has something to gain from elimination of the illegal contact penalty.  It would slow down the receivers and therefore reduce the number of violent collisions with defensive backs, cutting down on the number of injuries.

Bob in PA