NFL Institutes New Goal Post Slam Dunk Penalty

Let's just call the new penalty the "Jimmy Graham Rule."

Photo Courtesy of: Wikimedia

Jeffrey Beall under CC BY-SA 3.0 License

When will the ridiculousness end?!  At this week's owners' meetings, the NFL decided to make slam dunks into goalposts after touchdowns illegal.

The reason for this new penalty apparently is to guard against the goalposts being bent out of shape, thus becoming a little lopsided.  This particular scenario occurred in a game on November 21 of last year when Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints bent the goalpost in the Georgia Dome against the Atlanta Falcons.

As always it seems, the safety and health argument figures to have prevailed here and I have no issues with that.  On the other hand, what's wrong with having a player being about to celebrate a big moment in a game such as a touchdown?

I'm coming to the realization that the game of football as I once knew it is not the game that it used to be some years back.  I'm okay with certain changes geared towards protecting players from concussions, but rule changes involving player celebrations seems a little excessive.  The NFL is surely not doing itself any favors to live down its nickname of the "No Fun League."

Tim Musick
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