Rules that get changed because of one player

[tornado]

The lane was widened in basketball because of George Mikan
The goaltending rule was inserted when Bill Russell started slapping away balls as they came through the net
The dunk was outlawed because of the dominance of Lew Alcindor

Some say the height of the mound was lowered due to the dominance of Bob Gibson

The amount of curve on a hockey stick was never regulated until Bobby Hull started using one

and now....the NFL changes the kickoff rule so there will be far more probability of kicking the ball into the end zone
..and eliminating any run back...
...after years of moving the kickoff point farther from the opposite end zone -- now they're moving it CLOSER..and..
and they are awarding the ball at the 25 yard line instead of the 20 for a touchback..giving everyone a bit more advantage & reason NOT to run it back.

and there are some that think this is a direct action because of Devin Hester.....so we'll call it the Devin Hester Rule...
In 2010 the Bears had a FULL 25% (10 of 40 ) of all the long returns over 40 yds in the entire NFL!

http://www.csnchicago.com/03/22/11/Kickoff-rules-changed-Bears-see-it-as-ad/landing_moon_v3.html?blockID=467183&feedID=661

http://www.csnchicago.com/03/17/11/Kickoff-rule-change-would-greatly-impact/landing_moon_v3.html?blockID=442782&feedID=3769

[BUFanatic]

Awful rule. CLEARLY a direct attack on Devin Hester and that kid from the Lions. ESPN did an article on the fact that the new rule will affect the NFC North the most (Longwell, Hester, Gould, etc.) I'll post the link if I can find it.

[amckillip]

You guys should do some more research before making accusations like this. Hester hardly ever returns kicks any more.

He's returned 21 kicks in the last two seasons, barely one every 2 games. So are they punishing Danieal Manning? (Who returned 3 times as many kicks for the bears over the past two years)

[Future Walk-On]

The Bears have had the best special teams in football for awhile now.

It sucks for the entire Bears ST.

[ph]

You guys should do some more research before making accusations like this. Hester hardly ever returns kicks any more.

He's returned 21 kicks in the last two seasons, barely one every 2 games. So are they punishing Danieal Manning? (Who returned 3 times as many kicks for the bears over the past two years)

I thought by the end of the year, Lovie finally saw the light and put Hester on kicks, too.