Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward has seen almost everything in the NFL in his tenured career. However, in all these years, he seems to have developed hatred for one move that is mutually understood and respected by all teams.

“No more kneel downs,” Heyward declared, stating his demands during his appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, ahead of the Week 8 game against the Cleveland Browns. “Get them out of the game. It’s not a football play.”

But that boggled Eisen’s mind. Kneeling at the end of the game to allow the quarterbacks to safely run down the remaining time on the clock without really risking anything. Instead of playing it safe, Heyward wanted to run a traditional play. He didn’t want any part of the victory formation.

“Get rid of that. Get rid of it all,” Heyward further added. “Just make sure it’s an active play that both teams are trying to win.”

Heyward also said no to spiking the ball to manage time, surprising Eisen one more time. When prompted about how else the opposing offense gets to stop the clock, Heyward said, “throw it out of bounds.”

Of course, the Steelers defensive tackle hasn’t run his thoughts down with Aaron Rodgers. Heyward knows better than to actively pursue the matter.

“He’s going to kill me for it,” Heyward said when Eisen asked him if he had discussed his takes on kneeling and spiking with Rodgers.

“Asking a defensive lineman, I want no more kneel downs,” he added. “I want this to be, a play is a play. It’s always gotta count. It’s always gotta be something going forward instead of just kneeling the ball down and calling it a game.”

Rodgers kneeled twice against the New Orleans Saints in Paris to bring home a much-needed victory for Pittsburgh. Before that, he knelt in the final few seconds of regulation to keep things safe against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost the game in overtime. Taking away such a move from Rodgers is definitely going to earn the intended individual wrath from him, and pretty much every quarterback in the league.

There has been one individual who has dared to put Heyward’s intention to practice. Greg Schiano, when he was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, infamously bull-rushed through a victory formation of the New York Giants in 2012. Quarterback Eli Manning, who was hoping to bring home after a great performance (510 passing yards and three touchdowns), found himself on his back after a kneel-down attempt.

“I don’t think you do that at this level,” then head coach Tom Coughlin said after the game. “You jeopardize the O-line, you jeopardize the quarterback. Thank goodness we didn’t get anybody hurt — that I know of. A couple of linemen were late coming in.”

“What I do with our football team is we fight until they tell us ‘game over,'” Schiano said in his defense. “There’s nothing dirty about it. There’s not illegal about it. We crowd the ball. It’s like a sneak defense and we try to knock it loose.”

He admitted that he used to run the play even when he was head coach at Rutgers, and Schiano even repeated the move the next week, against the Dallas Cowboys. But there is a clear reason why the move was met with so much criticism.

Heyward’s desire for 60 minutes of non-stop competition is admirable. But kneeling and spiking are vital to the fabric of the NFL. Both use a down, but the offense has the option to choose between bleeding the clock and saving time. From preventing senseless late-game injuries to enabling thrilling two-minute comebacks, those strategic staples are staying protected.

The post “Get Rid of It All”: Steelers Veteran Cam Heyward Calls for Double NFL Rule Changes Before Browns Game appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.