Categories: General News
| On 11 years ago

NFL Rule Change: No More Truck Stick

By Adam Warwas

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.

Adam Warwas

Adam Warwas (Founder) has been writing about the Vikings for a total of eight years. Five of those years have been here at Vikings Territory where he continues to surround himself with enough talented individuals that people keep coming back. As proud as he is of what Vikings Territory has become, his real treasures are in his home... a beautiful wife and three amazing children (and a dog named Percy).

Tags: adrian peterson leslie frazier

View Comments

  • AP runs upright most of the time... he uses his upper body and arms more than his head.

    • William Gay might disagree with that. I do think that is an accurate assessment of how AD runs, but he's going to get nailed with this penalty a couple times next year. It will be impossible for ref's to get this right all the time and AP is a pretty likely guy for them to give crappy calls too because he's tall for a running back and also extremely violent in his running style. I don't think AD or any other running back in the league intentionally uses their helmet as a weapon. All this will do is give us all another reason to complain about officiating because this is another judgement call rule that will have a high degree of error. It's unfair to the players and officials on the field, and I don't see how it makes the game safer. Hopefully they will only throw the flag if the player is blatently violating the rule.

      • Mike and Mike in the morning said that the NFL did a study and they only saw 5 plays last year that would have warranted a RB being penalized for this new rule. However, Mike went on to say he thinks refs will be over zealous and throw the flag more than that.

        AP is a guy with strong legs, upper body, balance and vision... he will "truck" you with his entire body not just his crown.

        AP doesn't lower his head to get a tough yard or 2... he keeps his balance by keeping his head up so that he can break the long runs. I think the Vikings changed their vote for a reason... the NFL probably explained to them that AP's style is the way to teach a youth how to run. AP doesn't lower his head and kamikaze through the line of scrimmage.

  • I feel bad for teenagers. I've employed the ol' "truck stick" to girlfriends' past in the ol' Chevy Scottsdale. Wasn't necessarily illegal back then, just unethical.

  • this totally sux! never thought they'd pass it. pussifies football, blech!

    this is all about leverage and money in a courtroom. crosses a line, sets a precedent, and really changes the game for the worse, and why? owner's greed. they never cared about the player's health until they got sued and it started costing them their trust fund money, and they're telling the coaches to keep quiet about their objections to it, too. i was actually shocked when i first saw that they passed it. think about all the goal-line roll outs with a dive into the end zone that will get flagged, all the first down dives like that, too. whaddya gonna lead with? your azz?

  • I think to install this new rule change the NFL must mandate instant replay along with it. I think the referees will have a hard time making this call because it is going to be a judgement call. A judgement call should not determine the outcome of a game.

  • I think there is only one reason why the made this rule.
    So once they'll force 18 games seasons (most likely within 5 years) they'll say, that they made the game safer and players now can play 18 games, and it wouldn't be as dangerous as it was previous when there was only 16, but all these rules weren't in place.