Hitting and helmet rule changed

Hopefully Tomlin is going over the rule and teaching this right now but I wouldn't hold my breath. I know Belicheat is.


The Rule: As approved by NFL clubs in March, it is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. Contact does not have to be to an opponent’s head or neck area – lowering the head and initiating contact to an opponent’s torso, hips, and lower body, is also a foul. Violations of the rule will be easier to see and officiate when they occur in open space – as opposed to close line play – but this rule applies anywhere on the field at any time.

Penalties for Violation: Loss of 15 yards. If the foul is by the defense, it is also an automatic first down. The player may also be ejected. Ejection standards:

1. Player lowers his helmet to establish a linear body posture prior to initiating and making contact with the helmet

2. Unobstructed path to his opponent

3. Contact clearly avoidable and player delivering the blow had other options

 

funny, thats the way i was taught to play football...with your head up. when did it all change to "go ahead, its ok to spear the opponent"?

 

Take off their helmet and pads, and just play flag football,( Oh wait the NFL would go bankrupt ) Players kno what they getting into when they play, let them play.. JMO

 

Pretty sure those rules will be the subject of many debated plays and games this year...... it'll be hard to get any consistency from the refs, in my opinion.

 

Nevermind the ruling but adding seven new officials already adds more fire to an already destructive firestorm.



This season should be called:


"NFL's Laundry Day: 2,018 Different Infractions".

 

Will the refs (or coaches) have the option of reviewing or calling for a review in slo-mo to confirm or overrule call on field? This means that Shazier could have also been ejected from the game where he was injured last year and a 1st down awarded to the other team. Crazy stuff.

 

Looks like it will apply to RBs too? Hope so!

 

I cant see this rule lasting very long in its current language. If it does, it is the beginning of the end of football as we know it. Should have kept facemasks off of the helmets in the first place.

 

I can see it already ,when it's time to play NE...the game before or during.

 

Agreed, it's going to be like the catch rule last year. It's going to be a rule they use to hand the Patriots the 1 seed. It will help them win multiple games and the narrative will be Belicheat is such a great coach he coached them up on the rule. That's why I'm saying Tomlin should be on this but I doubt it. RB's and Bell lowers his head on contact a lot.

 

The game has definitely changed but with the ever-litigious environment the team owners are in, they kind of have to do it this way.

 

I foresee a bunch of neck injuries.

 

My biggest question is this:


Are Defensive Lineman affected by this?! Much of that was not clear enough within the ruling.


What an asinine rule. Way too many reasons as to why the NFL is declining in ratings. Safety is one of them no less but to essentially warp it to this degree is unreal.

 

Apparently the ref squad in philly went over like a bunch of tirds in a punch bowl at the Eagles practice recently. The refs couldn't agree on their own answers and it sounds like everyone left dumber after the ordeal. Get ready for more asinine explanations between flags.

 

So a karate kick to the jewels is still legal.

 

Well of coarse. Burfect is still in the league. Don't want to take away his technique.

 

Roger Goodell and the horribly incompetent Officials of the league cannot save the game we love when they continually gut it like a fish. This season will be another game stoppage debacle with major yardage handed out & many penalty-driven scoring opportunities. So get your DVD's out and revisit Troy Polamalu playing NFL football- because it ain't coming back folks.

 

Yes, it reads like a basic spearing rule to me.

I think the problem is with the “clearly had other options” part. Refs have been inconsistent on the with roughing the passer before, no reason to think they’ll be any more consistent with this.

 

So all this time the chest bump celebration was just tackling practice?

 

Should get a good indication tonight in the HOF game on how much over officiating this helmet rule is going to receive this year, score a TD and it gets called back because a player had his head lowered a little bit and the teams out rage will be loud and clear but to no avail....

 

And Bell will have pretty much zero practice time to adjust. Great.

 

I'm watching this HOF game and if it's any indication then get ready for a long season of semi-recognizable football. I think Shaziers injury is going to have a huge impact in regards to many terrible calls. The penalty that gave the Rats a 1st and goal leading to a 17-7 lead was nearly unwatchable and truly embarrassing if it's really the way the game will be called from here on out.

 

I watched the first quarter and then pieces of the rest. From what I saw they didn't even call it in the 1st when they could have then they started calling it in the 2nd half. This season is going to be a mess. Going to be no consistency and somehow the Patriots will lose 0 games because of it but win 2-3 they shouldn't have. Another rule to get them the 1 seed which = Super Bowl for them.

 

Well I guess arm tackling is now the correct technique after all. This is not about safety otherwise why wait 90 years to implement. Somehow lawyers and money are at the root of this. Always about the money.

 

As the rules change so does the play calling . Why even run the ball ? Probably a 30 to 40 % chance of a 15 yard penalty on every pass play. They want scores like NBA scores .