HOUSTON (AP) Aaron Glenn could have taken it personally when the NFL announced this offseason it would crack down on cornerbacks making contact with receivers.
Glenn, ever optimistic, instead sees it as an opportunity.
''I feel sorry for the guys that just come out there with their athletic ability nowadays,'' Glenn said. ''You have to be so fundamentally sound playing corner now, because once you touch a guy after five yards they'll throw the flag.''
As a player who prides himself on fundamentals and technique, Glenn said doesn't worry about the league's decision to tighten the rule on downfield jockeying, warning that intentional contact beyond five yards will draw a yellow flag.
Passing numbers spiked after the original downfield contact rule was put into place in 1994. The league, always mindful that scoring excites fans, is looking for a repeat this season.
''In the offseason, the competition committee got together and felt they'd been a little lax on the calling of illegal contact beyond five yards,'' said Texans coach Dom Capers, a defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh in 1994. ''This is cyclical. Back in the early '90s we went through the same thing.''
Glenn, who came into the league in 1994, isn't bemoaning the league's newfound interest in protecting receivers. As someone who views his position as a craft rather than a job, Glenn believes he'll weather the new environment.
''You can be a lot more crafty,'' said Glenn, who missed Tuesday's workout to rest a tight hamstring. Capers called it strictly a precautionary measure. ''There are different techniques where you can hold a little bit, tug a little bit. It still can be done.
''I don't think the refs would be so nitpicky on that, where they'd call every little thing. If they did, the game would be five hours long.''
Still, both Glenn and his coach predict penalties will skyrocket.
''They're going to be called closer, we know that,'' said Capers, who will have rookie Dunta Robinson manning the other cornerback slot. ''If you're a defensive back, do you like it? No, but that's the way it's going to be so you've got to accept it and adjust your techniques accordingly.''
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Glenn, ever optimistic, instead sees it as an opportunity.
''I feel sorry for the guys that just come out there with their athletic ability nowadays,'' Glenn said. ''You have to be so fundamentally sound playing corner now, because once you touch a guy after five yards they'll throw the flag.''
As a player who prides himself on fundamentals and technique, Glenn said doesn't worry about the league's decision to tighten the rule on downfield jockeying, warning that intentional contact beyond five yards will draw a yellow flag.
Passing numbers spiked after the original downfield contact rule was put into place in 1994. The league, always mindful that scoring excites fans, is looking for a repeat this season.
''In the offseason, the competition committee got together and felt they'd been a little lax on the calling of illegal contact beyond five yards,'' said Texans coach Dom Capers, a defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh in 1994. ''This is cyclical. Back in the early '90s we went through the same thing.''
Glenn, who came into the league in 1994, isn't bemoaning the league's newfound interest in protecting receivers. As someone who views his position as a craft rather than a job, Glenn believes he'll weather the new environment.
''You can be a lot more crafty,'' said Glenn, who missed Tuesday's workout to rest a tight hamstring. Capers called it strictly a precautionary measure. ''There are different techniques where you can hold a little bit, tug a little bit. It still can be done.
''I don't think the refs would be so nitpicky on that, where they'd call every little thing. If they did, the game would be five hours long.''
Still, both Glenn and his coach predict penalties will skyrocket.
''They're going to be called closer, we know that,'' said Capers, who will have rookie Dunta Robinson manning the other cornerback slot. ''If you're a defensive back, do you like it? No, but that's the way it's going to be so you've got to accept it and adjust your techniques accordingly.''
Boston Globe Sports
