There are few more entertaining plays during NFL games than truly elite catches. Without a doubt, part of the reason we’ve seen so many special catches in recent years (particularly of the one-handed variety), is the increased technology surrounding sticky gloves.
Well good news, people who hate fun things, the NFL may be trying to crack down on sticky gloves moving forward, according to the chairman of the competition committee and Falcons team president, Rich McKay.
As he told the Los Angeles Times in a recent article about the impact of sticky gloves:
“I think it’s time to go back and look at the gloves and see if, with what’s going on here with sports science in the past 10 years, if there isn’t too much of an advantage being gained.”
McKay also told Times reporter Sam Farmer that the competition committee has talked extensively in recent years about whether or not the NFL should come up with regulations for gloves, so this is not the first time this issue is being brought up.
Unsurprisingly, former wideouts who didn’t have the benefit of using gloves with the same stick that modern day players use, are quick to point out how much harder it was back in their day. As Cris Collinsworth told McKay:
“Before these gloves, I’d never seen anybody make an overhand catch — when their fingers point toward the ground — below the waist, but now I see guys make those catches below the knees,” he said.
They’re brilliant catches, and brilliant players, I don’t want to take anything away from them. But if you played before gloves, you had to slide or dive to make that catch. Maybe somebody could make the ball stick in their hands like that, but I had never seen it.”
Collinsworth may very be right about what he’s saying, but who honestly wants to have less exciting and athletic catches in a game other than defensive backs? The league has done many things over the last decade to aid offenses over defenses, so them regulating sticky gloves would totally go against what their norm has been. Hopefully McKay doesn’t have the support required from the rest of the competition committee to regulate the gloves any time soon, or we may soon be denied more plays like these.
(Via Los Angeles Times)
