TwinSisters
Veteran
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9545884/2
well what do you know... har har. Talk about excuses...
One of the rules changes this season is to allow teams to bring their own balls on the road for use in games. That's key since several quarterbacks complained last year about being forced to throw new footballs, which can be difficult. Spurred by a petition that Peyton Manning led and had signed by several quarterbacks, the league's competition committee agreed to the change. Previously the home teams provided the balls, which led to quarterbacks complaining about their slickness.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is one who is especially happy about the change. He had trouble holding onto the ball on the road at times last year, leading to fumbles and questions about his hand size. "Some teams' equipment guys broke them in, while others basically took them right out of the box," Smith said. "This will be a better way. In high school and college, you played with the balls like you practiced with. It makes a big difference when the ball is right out of the box. It (holding onto the ball) wasn't a problem at home, so this will help."
Simms said the change won't be that big a deal to him. "Basically, I prefer the new balls anyway," Simms said. "I have extremely big hands. One thing I do is throw with new balls all the time. My dad talked about it for years and years, and he complained about it to the NFL. When I got close to getting to the NFL, I threw with new balls all the time." Simms is worried that some teams might push the envelope with the balls they use. "If you try to use a ball that's been in your closet since 1985, I'm sure you can throw a pretty good spiral with it," Simms said. "I don't think that's totally fair. I understand why they're doing it, but let's hope it's nothing crazy like that."
Under the new setup, teams will be required to make their footballs available to the referee before kickoff to make sure they're regulation.
well what do you know... har har. Talk about excuses...