One of the most heavily fined players in the NFL has ripped the league’s recent changes to the rules protecting defenseless players.
Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan told Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean that hes’ not surprised by the mandates of the league office because Commissioner Roger Goodell is “A guy who has never played the game.”
Finnegan, who has said he aspires to be the NFL’s dirtiest player, said NFL rules just don’t make sense.
“You have milliseconds -— not even seconds —- and it’s not like you try to do it. It just so happens in that split-second you have a chance to tackle a guy and sometimes it happens to be that way,” he said. “Last year having to dive at guys’ knees because you’re not sure … If they duck, and you’re still helmet-to-helmet with them, then it is your fine, it is a penalty on you. It has sort of taken the edge of the players who really like the physical play. But I’m not surprised. It’s crazy.”
Other Titans players agree with Finnegan’s assessment, although some are more succinct.
“As a defensive player,” Titans linebacker Gerald McRath said, “it bites.”
