reggie bush and player numbers

[cougarjake13]

with bush's desire to keep his number 5 in the nfl i was wondering why the nfl instituted a policy that certain positions can only get a certain bracket of numbers to pick from, ie running backs have from 20-49 to pick a number, is there a specific reason why they created this ???

[FezPaul]

<p><strong><font face="courier new,courier,monospace" size="2">They say it's so the ref's can more easily identify a players position, so they can tell if he is where he should be on the field, i.e., an ineligible receiver downfield.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font face="courier new,courier,monospace" size="2">But I think the real reason is that the people running the NFL are a bunch of anal retentives.</font></strong></p>

[cougarjake13]

<strong>FezPaul</strong> wrote:<br /><p><strong><font face="courier new,courier,monospace" size="2">They say it's so the ref's can more easily identify a players position, so they can tell if he is where he should be on the field, i.e., an ineligible receiver downfield.</font></strong></p><p><strong><font face="courier new,courier,monospace" size="2">But I think the real reason is that the people running the NFL are a bunch of anal retentives.</font></strong></p><p>well that would make some sense for the refs but the o line&nbsp;are&nbsp;the only non eligible players down field and no one is gonna confuse an o lineman with a RB or WR so i think your right , they're just being anal</p>

[ozzie]

<p>I always wondered why Otto Graham (Quarterback) changed his number from 60 to 14.&nbsp; I wonder if that's when they began instituting this policy.</p><p><img height="264" src="http://www.fansedge.com/Images/Product/33-37/33-37557-F.jpg" width="233" border="0" /><img height="264" src="http://www.westsidestadium.com/content/wiseoldegg/o_graham1_full.jpg" width="201" border="0" /></p><p><img height="600" src="http://www.frankgalasso.com/IMAGES/sports%20tributes/Otto%20Graham.jpg" width="486" border="0" /></p>