The young nucleus of the Jets defense is known for their energetic, hard-hitting style of play. Will that change this season due to rule the NFL has installed for this season?
In short: no. Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye will continue playing just as they did during their rookie seasons.
"I'm not going to change the way I play," Maye told Manish Mehta of the Daily News. "And I don't expect the other safeties around the league to change the way they play."
The rule states that players can be penalized, ejected and fined for lowering their helmets upon contact.
"It's a technique thing," Adams said. "You got to change your philosophy of hitting ... At the end of the day, you're staying safe. A form tackle is chest up, eyes up, see what you're hitting. That's the nucleus of the game of football. Keeping your head up. That's keeping everybody safe. So, that's not going to take anything out of the game. Obviously, it's going to take away the bigger hits ... but at the end of the day you can still be aggressive."
The young leaders, like fans, aren't exactly sure how it's going to work out during the games.
"We're just as curious as you guys. Trust me," Adams said about how liberal officials will be enforcing the new rule. "I'm not a ref, so I can't really sit here and tell you how they're going to call it."
Adams added that he expects there to be more flags thrown in the preseason than the regular season. The Jets host the Falcons on Friday at 7:30 p.m. to kick off their preseason.