Jerry Jones Hints NFL Should Ban Kneel-Downs; Giants Still Steaming
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Jerry Jones has added his two cents to the great kneel-rush debate.
And to the Cowboys owner, it's not about whether Greg Schiano, coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, should have ordered his defensive linemen to fire off on the snap with the Giants in victory formation.
Instead, it's about the legitimacy of taking a knee.
"I've always thought that's a wasted play for our fans, the kneel-down," Jones told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. "I don't like it."
Schiano drew the ire of Giants coach Tom Coughlin when his Buccaneers, down 41-34 on Sunday with five seconds left on the clock, rushed at New York's offensive line. The play knocked over quarterback Eli Manning, who twice called it a "cheap shot" -- once after the game and again on Monday with WFAN's Mike Francesa.
Jones hinted that perhaps the NFL should outlaw the classic end-of-game kneel.
"(Former Chiefs owner) Lamar Hunt tried several times to introduce a rule -- to have it voted on -- that you couldn't kneel down," said Jones. "You had to run a play. Unless you were trying to advance the ball, then you got a penalty and time didn't run off the clock.
"It's not a good play."
Some Giants are still steaming over the play. Defensive end Justin Tuck called it "classless" on Tuesday, and insisted he would refuse to rush in a similar situation if ordered.
"If (defensive coordinator) Perry Fewell told me to dive at a guy's knee, when we were losing, I would say 'No,' " Tuck said.
Running back Andre Brown agreed.
"Knowing the situation, knowing the likelihood of us getting that ball back, I probably wouldn't have done it," Brown told WFAN's Steve Somers. "I wouldn't have done it."
Do you think the kneel play should be outlawed? How about the kneel rush? Be heard in the comments below!
