Steelers President Art Rooney II pleased with upcoming NFL rule changes

The NFL product will have some different rules in the upcoming season. Of the more notable rule changes, the adaptation to the "horse collar" rule, moving the line of scrimmage tot he 25-yard line on touchbacks and possibly ejecting a player for having two personal foul calls in one game were the most debated changes to the upcoming rule book.

So, how do the Pittsburgh Steelers and team president Art Rooney II feel about the changes?

"The rules changes we were in favor of got passed," Rooney told Jason Mackey of DKPittsburghSports.com. "The chop block got eliminated, so we were happy with that. I think from a rules perspective, we were happy with the way things turned out."

There were some changes Rooney stated he was skeptical about, one of which being the line of scrimmage being moved to the 25-yard line on touchbacks. Some might think this is the beginning of the end for the kickoff in today's NFL, but Rooney doesn't necessarily see it that way.

"I don't know if we're heading in the direction of eliminating the kickoff," Rooney said. "We're certainly looking at the play and how we can make sure it's a safe play in the game."

Other than those simple rule changes, Rooney spoke about the ejection rule and how it may impact today's game, but not just at the NFL level, but also the college ranks too.

"I think it's something we need to address," said Rooney, who voted for the ejection rule. "We're still at a point where these kinds of things are relatively rare. I'm not sure I'd say it's a widespread problem, but it's a good rule to have."

In regards to how the NFL players leading by example for the college prospects who will eventually be among the ranks of football's elite, playing with sportsmanship should have a trickle down effect.

"We had a discussion about that," Rooney said. "This rule will call attention to all the players, about conduct, about making sure that people are abiding by the way we want the game played."

Regardless of how you see these rules impacting the product in the coming season, Steelers brass certainly seems behind most of the rule changes, if not all.