NEW YORK -- The NFL will keep a close eye on hits to the knees of defenceless players this season, with the possibility of extending the rules protecting such players. If the leagues competition committee finds enough evidence this season that hits to the knees are "becoming a problem," it could take action, chief of football operations Ray Anderson told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The committee could make a recommendation to the owners next March to prohibit direct hits to the knees of defenceless players. The owners would then vote on such a change. "We are always looking at plays that may elevate themselves and we do include in that category hits on defenceless players," Anderson said. "And certainly the hits to knees to players who have not had the opportunity to protect themselves or are not looking in the direction of where the hit comes from -- we have had a couple hits whereby a player was hit below (or at) the knees." Currently, hits to the head and neck of defenceless players are outlawed. But two direct hits to the knee in preseason games that injured Miami tight end Dustin Keller and Minnesota defensive tackle Kevin Williams have drawn complaints from some players. Keller is out for the season with several torn knee ligaments. Williams has a hyperextended knee. Anderson said the league will monitor plays during the year, study the data when the competition committee begins meeting after the season and see whether such hits to the knees are an "aberration or becoming a problem." "This issue has not directly come up," Anderson added. "But when we have had discussions when making the head and neck area completely off-limits to players, there was some concern players might lower their targets and might include knees and below. We will look at that going forward." Jaden Schwartz Jersey . 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The Kings loss was the most recent game for the Raptors.RIO DE JANEIRO - Like other delayed venues for the beleaguered Rio 2016 Olympics, work on the golf course has fallen behind schedule. But grass has been going down for several weeks at the course, which has created an upbeat mood as golf prepares to return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence. That changed Saturday when Rio organizers confirmed that a state prosecutor could halt work on the course unless the developer shows it is following environmental regulations and other requirements under Brazilian law. Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada confirmed the inquiry on Saturday and said developers had been asked to provide documentation that would allow the work to continue. "The state prosecutor is asking for the papers to show the work is proceeding according to the law," Andrada told The Associated Press. "We believe all the rules are being followed." Any delay would be another blow to Rios troubled Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has dispatched a special troubleshooter to accelerate Rios work, and recently IOC vice-president John Coates called Rios preparations were the "worst" in memory. Construction on the privately developed course, located about 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Rios famous Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, had been delayed by an on-going legal dispute over land ownership, protests by environmentalists centred on the loss of a wetland area, and teething problems for a sport new to Brazil. Plans call for the course to be public after the Olympics, although its being built in a luxury apartment development where units are selling for a minimum of $2.5 million with many priced much, much higher. In a recent interview with AP, American golf architect Gil Hanse said the course should be fully grassed by November, and could be playable midway through 2015. He said it would not be "tournament ready" until a few months before the games begin on Aug. 5, 2016. "I think we are as organized as we have ever been," he said. "Going forward we have to make sure we dont all of a sudden start to rush the finish work. Because ultimately the details of the finished surface are what players are going to see. You need to lavish lots of time and attention on the details of the finished surfaces." Hanse said a test event is likely before the Olympics, although Peter Dawson, head of the International Gollf Federation, suggested it might be difficult.dddddddddddd The course itself could be dwarfed by whats going up around it in Barra da Tijuca, the site for the Olympic Park and many games venues. Developers plan to build 160 luxury apartments in four 20-story towers overlooking the course. A key player in the project is Italy-born Pasquale Mauro, one of the largest landowners in the Barra area. The opulent marble and glass units — most from 266 square meters (2,850 square feet) to 648 square meters (6,975 square feet) — are selling for between $2.5 and $7 million with completion set for a year after the Olympics end. One building features a 1,308 square-meter (14,100 square feet) penthouse serviced by six elevators, two bedrooms for maids, and one master bedroom for the "governess." The development will have an Italian flavour — called Riserva Golf-Vista Mare Residenziale — and is billed in sales literature as "Rio de Janeiros most exclusive address." Among the amenities are squash and tennis courts, swimming pools in every building, a 50-meter outdoor pool, a golf simulator, ferry service across the lagoon to the sea, a dance studio, gym and a multi-purpose court for basketball or three-man soccer. "Besides the workout academy, there are five massage rooms and a martial arts room to help quell day-to-day tension," the sales literature says. A spokeswoman for the Rio city government, which is supervising the private-sector project, said the course would be public for 10 years after the Olympics. Its not clear how the course will be run after that. Hand-painted signs near the course suggest not everyone is happy. "Golf for Whom?" reads one. The course got other unwanted attention late last year when broad-snooted caimans that survive in a fetid lagoon nearby wandered on the course. The alligator-like creatures took refuge in ponds on the golf course, and are a common sight in the area where population growth has pushed them from a bordering mangrove swamp, which has been polluted with raw sewage from unplanned development in the area. "They seem to be happy to co-exist with us now,