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View Full Version : NFL institutes 15-yard penalty, possible ejection for lowering head to make hit



Denver Native (Carol)
03-27-2018, 09:35 PM
ORLANDO, Fla. -- NFL owners passed an unexpected rule Tuesday that will expand penalties for helmet-to-helmet contact, one that is more significant and far-reaching than the NCAA's targeting rule.

Under the change, a player will be penalized 15 yards and potentially ejected any time he lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. It will apply to tacklers, ball carriers and even linemen, and it will take the place of a previous rule that limited the penalty to contact with the crown of the helmet.

The NCAA's targeting rule penalizes players only when they hit opponents who are in a defenseless position. It calls for mandatory ejections, but the NFL's competition committee has not yet addressed how ejections would be adjudicated, according to chairman Rich McKay. There is little doubt, however, that the NFL is determined to aggressively address a 2017 season that included 291 concussions, its highest total on record, and a severe spine injury to Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier on a play that would fall under the new rule.

rest - http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22935229/nfl-institutes-rule-lowering-head-initiate-contact-helmet

Davii
03-27-2018, 09:49 PM
So, what if a receiver lowers his head into a tackler and that results in helmet 2 helmet contact?

I guess we'll see how the rule is enforced. I like the thought and intent behind it, I'm just worried about application

chazoe60
03-27-2018, 09:55 PM
Defense will be further ******.

Davii
03-27-2018, 09:59 PM
Defense will be further ******.

Maybe for a little bit, but the more emphasis they place on heads up tackling the less it'll screw them

MOtorboat
03-28-2018, 12:08 AM
This rule is a cluster**** in college.

Elevation inc
03-28-2018, 12:51 AM
this is gonna to be a horrible decision. Good intent but NFL Refs suck, they are sheep and this will become way to subjective....

Davii
03-28-2018, 06:39 AM
this is gonna to be a horrible decision. Good intent but NFL Refs suck, they are sheep and this will become way to subjective....

That's my concern as well. This rule will be entirely too subjectively enforced.

olathebroncofan
03-28-2018, 07:28 AM
Pat and Jim Miller on the afternoon Sirius show had a fit when this news hit. They were told that the rule had been accepted without the language being nailed down.

They gave an example of a pulling guard lowering his head when he blocks. That player could be ejected.

We will see this rule in the preseason a lot as a point of emphasis.

Buff
03-28-2018, 09:17 AM
This is going to be a disaster.

chazoe60
03-28-2018, 09:20 AM
Following this rule seems impossible. The biggest breakers of this rule will be RBs but I guarantee you they will almost never get called for it, yet LBs and DBs will be getting called continuously.

I'll probably watch less football next year than I did this year and I didn't watch very much this year.

Penalty yards are becoming the most important stat in the game.

Nomad
03-28-2018, 09:27 AM
Following this rule seems impossible. The biggest breakers of this rule will be RBs but I guarantee you they will almost never get called for it, yet LBs and DBs will be getting called continuously.

I'll probably watch less football next year than I did this year and I didn't watch very much this year.

Penalty yards are becoming the most important stat in the game.

Yeah. I'll give it a chance, but if the NFL is continually a flag fest, I'll lose interest quick.

atwater27
03-29-2018, 07:46 AM
If the Uber wise owners and executives could just be in the players shoes for a game, they would know this rule is practically impossible to not violate.

MasterShake
03-29-2018, 07:54 AM
Following this rule seems impossible. The biggest breakers of this rule will be RBs but I guarantee you they will almost never get called for it, yet LBs and DBs will be getting called continuously.

I'll probably watch less football next year than I did this year and I didn't watch very much this year.

Penalty yards are becoming the most important stat in the game.

That was my first thought as well, you never see a running back come out of the backfield head held high, smiling and holding the ball in front of his body for everyone to knock away! I hate when they implement rules in the name of safety without applying some standard to it. Just say this only applies to defense to encourage form tackling instead of spearing and also to make the games higher scoring to help sagging ratings.

OrangeHoof
03-29-2018, 09:09 AM
So, what if a receiver lowers his head into a tackler and that results in helmet 2 helmet contact?

I guess we'll see how the rule is enforced. I like the thought and intent behind it, I'm just worried about application

That's been my gripe about the rule all along. They somehow expect the defender to know where the opponent's head is going to be 2-3 seconds into the future and I find that ridiculous. Are there headhunters in the NFL? Sure. And if they are Steelers, Patriots or Raiders, they will get away with it. Is there incidental helmet-to-helmet contact? Sure and those are the guys this rule will throw the book at.

"So teach the defenders not to aim for that region," is the retort but you significantly alter their ability to break up a pass or stop a ball carrier if you expect him to hold his head up the entire time, possibly resulting in more neck/head injuries for the defender.

Simple physics. Two men running full speed at a ball that will intersect their paths. One is expected to go all out to catch the ball. The other is expected to tackle the guy catching the pass but don't hit him in the neck or shoulders even as he dives at you reaching for the ball.

I thought a 15-yard personal foul was bad enough.

Poet
03-29-2018, 09:26 AM
This rule is inevitable, at least it felt that way over the past few years. I hope they don't botch it; I am not optimistic in regards to them enforcing the rule.

Freyaka
03-30-2018, 11:50 AM
So, what if a receiver lowers his head into a tackler and that results in helmet 2 helmet contact?

I guess we'll see how the rule is enforced. I like the thought and intent behind it, I'm just worried about application

The ole Rob Gronkowski move...

Tned
03-30-2018, 01:36 PM
This rule is inevitable, at least it felt that way over the past few years. I hope they don't botch it; I am not optimistic in regards to them enforcing the rule.

In the litigious/activist society we live in, I think the owners fear that if they don't make aggressive changes (following quite a few others, such as pulling players, concussion protocols, etc.) that their product could crumble and vanish before their eyes.

I have the same concerns as everyone in terms of this rule becoming a cluster, but this like so many other changes (kickoff for instance) is the owners attempting to preserve the NFL.

Poet
03-30-2018, 03:54 PM
In the litigious/activist society we live in, I think the owners fear that if they don't make aggressive changes (following quite a few others, such as pulling players, concussion protocols, etc.) that their product could crumble and vanish before their eyes.

I have the same concerns as everyone in terms of this rule becoming a cluster, but this like so many other changes (kickoff for instance) is the owners attempting to preserve the NFL.

In regards to the second part of the post, I agree. They're trying to stop the empire from going the way of Rome.

Tned
03-30-2018, 05:44 PM
In regards to the second part of the post, I agree. They're trying to stop the empire from going the way of Rome.

It's a balancing act, because they need to keep fans from walking away due to the game changing too much. It's one of the reasons they are really short sighted to piss fans off with silly rules such as the penalties for excessive celebration, some of the taunting stuff, etc.

OrangeHoof
03-31-2018, 08:23 AM
this like so many other changes (kickoff for instance) is the owners attempting to preserve the NFL.

And not doing a very good job of it. Instead of removing the PAT, they just kick it from further away. They've tried to reduce the number of kickoff returns and instead returners start running them out from 6, 7 and 8 yards deep. They continue to play games on Thursday nights.

NASCAR responded to the head injury crisis with safer crash-absorbing helmets. Why can't the NFL?

Northman
03-31-2018, 08:42 AM
So, what if a receiver lowers his head into a tackler and that results in helmet 2 helmet contact?

I guess we'll see how the rule is enforced. I like the thought and intent behind it, I'm just worried about application

And that is the crux of it. The NFL is already having issues with the catch rule (which is subjective with the officials involved), now you want to apply that to helmet to helmet hits? There are going to be a lot of ejected players next year whether they do it by accident or not.

DenBronx
03-31-2018, 09:22 AM
And they say there isn't a demand for another league. Maybe the XFL will wake up the NFL because this isn't football anymore. It's become a heaping pile of political garbage.

OrangeHoof
03-31-2018, 07:55 PM
Go to YouTube, find a poster named Kevin Ready and start watching NFL Films highlights from the late 1960s and begin saying to yourself "now *that's* football!". You see some high and cheap shots but you also see a lot of form tackling and gang tackling. None of this pat-a-cake shit.

Broncoknight30
04-04-2018, 03:09 PM
Just another ambiguous rule to make it APPEAR the NFL is proactive in order to defend themselves from the onslaught of lawsuits from retired NFL players who are now flat broke and want a payout.

Another way to fine their millionaire employees under the guise of "safety," which is a very lucrative word for governments and other entities.

Plus, it is yet another way to ensure their marketable teams or players are in the big dance, so that some team like the Jags with a Bortles will not be in there. Call it another...Brady rule.

Poet
04-04-2018, 07:58 PM
Oh god...