May 23, 2017
For a guy who led the NFL in rushing touchdowns last year with 18, you'd think new Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount would be a little more excited about commissioner Roger Goodell announcing more lenient rules surrounding TD celebrations.
At the very least, you'd think he'd at least know what the rules were prior to the change. Right?
Turns out, big celebrations aren't really the former Patriots' style.
“I didn’t know that [they changed them],” Blount said with a laugh. “I never knew what the rule was in the first place, so I definitely don’t know what it is now. What is it?”
In a letter to NFL fans, Goodell said the league would be “relaxing our rules on celebrations to allow players more room to have fun after they make big plays.”
“We know that you love the spontaneous displays of emotion that come after a spectacular touchdown,” he continued. “And players have told us they want more freedom to be able to express themselves and celebrate their athletic achievements.”
He then went on to give a few examples of celebrations that will once again be allowed under the new rules, including:
• Using the football as a prop, including an explosive device.
• Celebrating on the ground, like by making snow angels.
• Group demonstrations, like a coordinated dance.
In other words, the No Fun League is attempting to repair its image. But that doesn’t matter much to the Eagles newest running back.
“I’m not huge on doing any crazy kind of celebrations though,” Blount added after a brief explanation. “So it’s not going to hurt me either way.”
His new teammate, wideout Jordan Matthews, who scored just three times last year after scoring eight in each of his first two NFL seasons, celebrated with QB Carson Wentz in totally-legal-but-still-hilarious fashion last year.
In the past, he brought out this Rocky-themed celebration:
When asked about his future plans now that the over-the-top rules have been dialed back, Matthews hinted at the idea of bringing back the Rocky celebration, just with a little more flair.
Jordan on if he has a celebration planned now that the NFL lifted the celebration rules pic.twitter.com/yYciSiOkOb
— John Barchard (@JohnBarchard) May 23, 2017
Hopefully, this year he gets more than three opportunities to take advantage of the new celebration rule.
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