I don’t think we disagree, but he’s missing the point a little. The slow down IS NOT intentional. They aren’t slowing down offense to protect the refs. They are slowing down offenses because they haven’t worked hard enough not to. The only time teams will like this is when they are playing Indy. In every other game, they’ll hate it.
Let’s not forget that Colts president Bill Polian was a driving force behind the league’s decision to change the interpretation of the rules regarding pass interference/defensive holding. You don’t think those changes specifically helped the Colts, and other teams that like to throw the ball around? Did the Patriots publicly complain, or did they adjust, however grudgingly?
Virtually every rule change the past 20 years has been made with an eye toward helping the offense. The defenses gritted their teeth and then adjusted. If Manning and other quarterbacks are going to be forced to spend an extra second checking to make sure the umpire is behind them, that’s a small price to pay for keeping the umpires in one piece.
Now, the league has said it will look at the rule and contemplate tweaks, so here’s my tweak, my ridiculously easy fix:
Tell the umpires to bust their hump to get back behind the quarterback.
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