Is the Nfl Rule Book Too Strict?

Is the NFL Rulebook Too Strict? Imagine a football game with linebackers roaming free. Standing their ground and not letting anyone get past them, lighting up anyone who comes near. A game where cornerbacks are allowed to be physical beyond five yards. Safeties are able to run full speed and do the job they were meant to do by putting their helmet on the football. Receivers are able to do whatever they need to do to shake off their defenders. Imagine defenses not having to worry about flags or fees for playing the game the way it should be played. Instead receivers run around the football field freely, paying no attention to the defenders because they aren’t allowed to hit a defenseless receiver. Football games shouldn’t have strict defensive rules because players don’t have to be as tough, defenses have to play slower, and it changers the result of the game. When football first started as a sport, teams were being built around a tough, solid defense that would take pride in hitting players so hard that the ball would get pried loose causing a turnover. Now teams are forgetting about the hard hitting players and are drafting all-star receivers and deep throwing quarterbacks. Part of this is because of the media and part of it is because of the rulebook (Easterbrook). More and more people are starting to watch the NFL and because of that organizations are starting to care more about their fans

than ever before. The best way to please these fans is to have high scoring, intense, fun to watch games. This is what causes teams to draft all of these star offensive players, and focus more about scoring than defending. If the NFL decided to get rid of some of the strict defensive rules, then teams would be more likely to draft hard hitting defensive players. Which could possibly cause fans to appreciate defenses more. If the rules were less strict and fans cared about defenses, coaches would have to change the way they draft. When the game was first created