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Posted by jellis at 3/26/2009 2:41 PM CDT on truebluefanclub.com
The NFL owners this week approved several rules changes aimed at improving player safety, something the athletes would probably appreciate, right? Well not Deon Anderson, the Cowboys fullback and special-teamer.
Anderson, sitting behind the wheel of his car outside Valley Ranch, said he can't stand the new rule outlawing the three-man wedge on kickoff returns, and he thinks the league is taking away one of the traditions of the game.
"From years of watching legends bust wedges, that's a part of the sport. Sooner or later we're going to be playing touch football out here," Anderson said. "I think it's a stupid rule. You've got to watch out for the safety of the players and everything but at the same time this is football."
Anderson failed to mention any wedge-busting "legends" by name. The 26-year-old has delivered some big hits in his two years in the league, and he's taken some as well. The kill shot to the head he received while covering a kickoff in Denver last preseason comes to mind, Anderson staggering to his feet and falling again like a punch-drunk boxer. Anderson said it wasn't the Broncos wedge that got him, but a blindside hit, a type of blow the NFL also tightened the restrictions on this week.
"It's football. I don't know about cheap shots," Anderson said. "As long as there's nothing petty about it. If it's just a clean, you-got-lit-up shot, then hey, it's good. You have to have your head on a swivel. If I'm running down on a kickoff and someone in the front line comes across and cleans me up, it's not a cheap shot, I just didn't see it."
Anderson thinks the new wedge rule will definitely have a big effect on kickoffs next season.
"I think they'll be harder to run back, easier to cover," Anderson said.
-Josh Ellis
The NFL owners this week approved several rules changes aimed at improving player safety, something the athletes would probably appreciate, right? Well not Deon Anderson, the Cowboys fullback and special-teamer.
Anderson, sitting behind the wheel of his car outside Valley Ranch, said he can't stand the new rule outlawing the three-man wedge on kickoff returns, and he thinks the league is taking away one of the traditions of the game.
"From years of watching legends bust wedges, that's a part of the sport. Sooner or later we're going to be playing touch football out here," Anderson said. "I think it's a stupid rule. You've got to watch out for the safety of the players and everything but at the same time this is football."
Anderson failed to mention any wedge-busting "legends" by name. The 26-year-old has delivered some big hits in his two years in the league, and he's taken some as well. The kill shot to the head he received while covering a kickoff in Denver last preseason comes to mind, Anderson staggering to his feet and falling again like a punch-drunk boxer. Anderson said it wasn't the Broncos wedge that got him, but a blindside hit, a type of blow the NFL also tightened the restrictions on this week.
"It's football. I don't know about cheap shots," Anderson said. "As long as there's nothing petty about it. If it's just a clean, you-got-lit-up shot, then hey, it's good. You have to have your head on a swivel. If I'm running down on a kickoff and someone in the front line comes across and cleans me up, it's not a cheap shot, I just didn't see it."
Anderson thinks the new wedge rule will definitely have a big effect on kickoffs next season.
"I think they'll be harder to run back, easier to cover," Anderson said.
-Josh Ellis
