NFL Makes Three Significant Rule Changes

NFL owners voted yesterday on potential rule changes during their owners meeting in Atlanta this week and three new rules have passed as a result.

Starting with the 2013 season, thigh and knee pads will be mandatory equipment for all players to wear, news players were not happy about but a requirement Goodell has been pushing for years.

Goodell pointed out something a Nike executive told him recently: NBA players are wearing more pads from the hips down than NFL players.

"There is something wrong with that," Goodell said.

The other two major rule changes to get passed during the owners meeting yesterday are in relation to the trade deadline, which has now been pushed back two weeks, and a special designation for Injured Reserve status.

The owners also voted to move the trading deadline from after Week 6 to after Week 8, and to allow one "marquee" player placed on injured reserve to return to practice after the sixth week of the schedule and to the lineup after the eighth week. That player must be on the 53-man roster after the final preseason cut.

So what do you guy think about all these changes? Unlike years past, these don't seem to be that bad or contribute to the wussification of the NFL.