Jabrill Peppers goes off on NFL in Twitter rant over rule changes
During the Annual League Meeting every year, rule changes are proposed by teams and are voted upon by team owners. It's always a controversial topic regardless of whether most of the changes that have been made are universally agreed upon. But this year is a different case, with many players airing their grievances online, one of which is Jabrill Peppers.
One of the rules that will now be implemented is the banning of the hip drop tackle. It is a standard way that defensive players will bring down opposing offenses, but it was proposed for banning due to the number of players injured as a result of the tackle.
Owners voted to make it illegal starting next season, and because a majority of rule changes impact how defenders play, Peppers took to Twitter/X to express his thoughts on the matter.
Jabrill Peppers sees the NFL becoming more like a flag football league
With so many rule changes over the years affecting how defensive players are allowed to play, it makes sense that many of them wanted to express their frustration after hearing the latest ban.
Peppers brought up a fair point about players not being involved in the discussion of banning certain plays since it makes little sense that only team owners make the decision. He echoed much of what other players were posting on their social media pages, but that's not where he left it.
I don’t understand how the players have no say so in any of these rule changes. While they’re at it, they need to change the name of whatever we playing cause this isn’t football anymore.
— JP5 (@JabrillPeppers) March 26, 2024
Peppers then responded to a fan who felt he was making too big of a deal about what was banned as if a guy who actually plays the game on Sunday wouldn't know the benefits or drawbacks of significant changes to the game.
He listed many of the more prominent bans made in recent years and reiterated the point that defenders are becoming increasingly limited in what is legal, all of which benefits the offensive side of the team.
Kickoffs, can’t hit QBs to hard/can’t land on em. can’t hit WRs to hard/ it’s a flag if it looks bad. Banning a “hip drop tackle” We know what we sign up to do. Owners are just tired of their stars getting hurt playing a dangerous game. Most of these changes favor the offense. https://t.co/36TKWGNu0j
— JP5 (@JabrillPeppers) March 26, 2024
Peppers followed that up with an idea for a rebranding of the NFL. Instead of being the National Football League, he proposed a name change to the National Flag League since many players feel it's becoming too close to the no-contact, simpler version of their game.
NATIONAL FLAG LEAUGE see we wouldn’t even have to change the acronym.
— JP5 (@JabrillPeppers) March 26, 2024
Unfortunately, any of the concerns expressed by current and former players about the latest rule changes will more than likely have no impact on the league's decision or their willingness to reconsider.
It will be interesting to see how something like the hip-drop tackle ban will be implemented into the game next season and how it will ultimately affect the game overall. If it becomes a significant issue, seeing the rule changed once again wouldn't be surprising. But maybe that's wishful thinking.
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