NFL Rule Change: No More Truck Stick

Back in my pre-children Madden playing days, I used to think it was unfair that my truck stick allowed me to run for 2,000 yards a season with Adrian Peterson, but if I still gamed that guilt would’ve gone away after the season he had last year.

Adrian Peterson is famous for giving defenders “the business” during a run, lowering his head and trucking whomever is in his way, as he was raised to believe that if he were hitting them harder than they were hitting him, then he would not only be a better running back but he would remain a healthier one.

The NFL approved a new rule today that will create a spot penalty (that is, penalized from the spot of the infraction, not the line of scrimmage) of 15 yards if a call carrier uses the “crown” of their helmet when engaging a defender.

The Vikings, for obvious reasons surrounding their $100 million running back, opposed the rule vocally at first.  However, citing an overwhelming amount of evidence at the owners meetings, they ended up being one of the 31 teams to vote in favor of the rule change.  Leslie Frazier said the vote was cast with player safety in mind.

Many other news outlets will dissect the new rule, and I am content leaving that to them, and how it might impact the game.

All I wanted to say is this:  Thanks for giving Adrian Peterson yet another obstacle to truck.

That is all.

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