Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers criticizes NFL for being too soft now

New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers is one of the NFL's biggest hitters, and he admits he had to change his game to adjust to the league's rules in recent years. 

Those rules, in Peppers' mind, have made the game "soft as hell" as wide receivers are no longer afraid to go across the middle of the field. 

Said Peppers, via Masslive:

“I’ve knocked a couple people out before,” Peppers said. “Some of them weren’t even tackles. Guys coming to block me or back when crack blocking was legal. The game is soft as hell now. Any time you hit somebody and it looks too hard, they flag you. I definitely had to change my game up a little bit. When I get a chance to lay a lick on somebody, I try to do it. But it’s tough in today’s climate.”

This has become a pretty common narrative over the years, one that is usually held by one of two groups of people: modern-day defensive players or players from previous generations when the rules were not as strict. 

The awareness of just how serious concussion and CTE issues are among former players (as well as lawsuits) has prompted the league to enforce rules differently regarding hits to the head and protections for defenseless players. 

Peppers says he understands that aspect of it, but also wishes he could have played in a different era.

“I feel like they had to with all the concussions, CTE came out and all that,” Peppers said. “I feel like they tried to make the game more safe, I guess. But for me, it’s like, we’ve all been playing football, some of since we were six, seven years old. We know what we’re getting ourselves into. “But I think they’ve definitely made the game a lot softer. Receivers aren’t scared to come across the middle anymore because they know there are certain amount of ways we can only hit them. Back then, receivers were afraid to come across the middle because they knew punishment awaits. It’s a whole different game, but they want to see points scored, not good defense being played.”

While the NFL is certainly a very different game than it was 35 or 40 years ago (and maybe even 10 or 15 years ago), it is probably a little overdramatic to call it "soft as hell." It is still a fiercely physical game even with the added protections for offensive players (specifically quarterbacks and defenseless wide receivers). Players will eventually adjust, just as Peppers has had to adjust.