Maybe, maybe not. Awareness of the underlying issue (concussions, CTE, etc.) is so much higher now than it was even just 3 years ago, with refs more attuned now than they were to hits and other actions that could potentially put players at higher risk. We will see.Doubt it. The sky was falling, what, three years back when the hitting with the crown of the helmet rule came about?
It's almost never called.
https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/679281-nfl-outlaws-rbs-lowering-their-heads/
Seems like another terrible rule. You know, one that will never get called unless it’s the second half in a close game and will give a team a first down and completely change the game.LAUNCH said:BREAKING: The NFL has announced a new targeting rule. It is now a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. Anywhere on the field. The player may now be disqualified.
RB's are screwed.
I don't think this covers incidental contact, although we won't know until we see how it's called. "Lowering the head to initiate contact with the helmet is a foul."This just adds to the ####ification of the NFL. It is impossible to lower your shoulder without your head dipping down, so if a ball carrier now lowers his shoulder to try and run over a defender and his helmet makes incidental contact, he is subject to being disqualified. Way to go, NFL.
What is the ejection part about........there will be subjective determinations whether the lowering of the head to initiate contact was especially naughty? Will that decision be driven by the outcome of the hit on the other player?
Is it challengeable....subject to replay?
This is the first thing I thought of...good point about refs erring on the side of caution plus the subjectivity element...unfortunately many of these ejection calls on questionable hits occur early in games to key players...many times causing a turning point and influencing the game's outcome.If it ends up like the targeting rule in the Big 10 it will be a disaster. The refs somehow don’t seem to understand how to apply the rule since there is an assessment of intent - which is what targeting is. It seems like there is at least one ejection every game because the refs err on the side of caution and just toss the player if they make helmet to helmet contact of any kind. And like it or not, incidental helmet to helmet contact will happen. It cannot be avoided unless the NFL elects to eliminate tackling (which sometimes I wonder if this is where they are headed).
Well, that's the rub, ain't it? Incompetent refs trying to administer rules that are left open to interpretation. What could go wrong?If it ends up like the targeting rule in the Big 10 it will be a disaster. The refs somehow don’t seem to understand how to apply the rule since there is an assessment of intent - which is what targeting is. It seems like there is at least one ejection every game because the refs err on the side of caution and just toss the player if they make helmet to helmet contact of any kind. And like it or not, incidental helmet to helmet contact will happen. It cannot be avoided unless the NFL elects to eliminate tackling (which sometimes I wonder if this is where they are headed).
It’s about freaking time.
Lowering the head and striking another player can lead to subluxation of the neck. When I was coaching in high school the state federation made it a requirement that coaches watch a film on this prior to the first practice. It’s why players used to be taught to “look through the hit” - to lead with the face mask rather than the helmet. When the head is up the spine aligns properly and can absorb hits properly. Pros ought to know this and are literaly putting their lives on the line every time they lower their head and then strike an opponent with it.
All players and fans ought to applaud this. Pop Warner and high school players can learn to hit properly and are penalized when they don’t. There’s absolutely no excuse that the pros don’t learn to hit properly, and more importantly that for their own sake that they do hit properly.
But Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy, a member of the competition committee, downplayed concerns about the frequency of ejections and perhaps even the penalty itself. He waved off examples such as quarterback sneaks, where a quarterback technically lowers his head and initiates contact.
"We watched a lot of film this year," Murphy said. "I would say there were probably five hits where you'd say, 'These are ones where we would want ejections.' Now, whether there will be more penalties than that? Probably. But the focus, I think, should be on are you using the helmet as a weapon."
I think they are doing everything they can to keep it viable. The sport is extremely dangerous and I think there are real concerns about it turning off future fans and especially parents.More bad decisions from a league that's seemingly set on self-destruction.
I think we have to see how it plays out in games before we damn it.Worst rule ever
Those who attended a May 1 meeting at NFL headquarters in New York were relieved to hear details that suggest the rule is intended to be applied only in obvious and/or flagrant circumstances.
...
As approved by owners, the rule states: "It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent."
The key word in that sentence, McKay said, is "to."
It's fair to be skeptical of any rule that needs to be diagrammed in that manner. But it was McKay's way of saying that lowering the helmet in itself will not draw a foul. The rule requires a clear intent to use the helmet as a weapon and, importantly, requires actual contact to reach its threshold.
This interpretation means that running backs shouldn't be penalized when they lower their heads to brace for contact. It allows quarterbacks to drop their heads as they dive for the line to gain on a sneak. And it leaves the NFL in a familiar space: trying to eliminate the violent plays it has long targeted.
...
A running back who lowers his head and uses his helmet to bowl over a defensive back can expect a flag. So can a linebacker who takes a running start and drives his helmet into the chest of a receiver. The most egregious of these hits will be subject to ejection; one example emphasized during the meeting was Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan's helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams in Week 4 of the 2017 season.
I was wrong. This rule has to go.Doubt it. The sky was falling, what, three years back when the hitting with the crown of the helmet rule came about?
It's almost never called.
https://forums.footballguys.com/forum/topic/679281-nfl-outlaws-rbs-lowering-their-heads/
Ive seen enough....this wont workI think they are doing everything they can to keep it viable. The sport is extremely dangerous and I think there are real concerns about it turning off future fans and especially parents.
I think we have to see how it plays out in games before we damn it.
I didn't watch enough so I can't comment but sometimes these things get called differently in the preseason as opposed to the regular season.Ive seen enough....this wont work
Or they get called enough in the preseason an the players/coaches can actually understand the rule and can change how practices and coaching opportunities are used throughout the week. Noone thinks about that side of it. The whole reason teams have more than just the HC, OC, DC- is to be able to get the information and disseminate it to those that actually need it.I didn't watch enough so I can't comment but sometimes these things get called differently in the preseason as opposed to the regular season.
Very true. Refs go to practices as well to work with the coaches and players on what is and isn't a penalty.Or they get called enough in the preseason an the players/coaches can actually understand the rule and can change how practices and coaching opportunities are used throughout the week. Noone thinks about that side of it. The whole reason teams have more than just the HC, OC, DC- is to be able to get the information and disseminate it to those that actually need it.
Yeah, I heard the announcers say that they're flagging everything and are going to review the penalties before regular season to firmly decide what is and isn't s penalty.I didn't watch enough so I can't comment but sometimes these things get called differently in the preseason as opposed to the regular season.
HOLY CRAP!! (I had to go Google "NFL new forward dive rule"). That is HORRIBLE. Honestly, I'll let the lowering of the head rule play out a bit before passing judgment, mainly because some of the hits that they are trying to legislate out of the game really are stupid and dangerous--and usually to the guy initiating the hit.Just like every new rule the NFL implements, stupid and awful.
(much like the new forward dive rule)
That is the thing. to many players are getting hurt by diving like they were. Also, these rules are brought up by coaches and owners to vote on. They have a competition committee (https://operations.nfl.com/football-ops/league-governance/the-nfl-competition-committee/) that meets in the spring to come up with this stuff. I would think each of those members has input from the whole team, not just solely their own agenda.HOLY CRAP!! (I had to go Google "NFL new forward dive rule"). That is HORRIBLE. Honestly, I'll let the lowering of the head rule play out a bit before passing judgment, mainly because some of the hits that they are trying to legislate out of the game really are stupid and dangerous--and usually to the guy initiating the hit.
But NO DIVING FORWARD????? WTH????? If you want to be safe, you slide. If you need the yards, you dive. That's the game. Awful, just awful.
Yeah, because no diving for the end zone, right?? No one will be able to dive for a TD ever again.That is the thing. to many players are getting hurt by diving like they were. Also, these rules are brought up by coaches and owners to vote on. They have a competition committee (https://operations.nfl.com/football-ops/league-governance/the-nfl-competition-committee/) that meets in the spring to come up with this stuff. I would think each of those members has input from the whole team, not just solely their own agenda.
This will also change the stupid fumble out of bounds at the goal line if you dive for the endzone and the ball goes through the endzone and out of bounds. How many weeks in a row did we see that last year?
Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought I read (or maybe heard) that, just like a slide, they take it back to the point where you started the dive.Cancel, what I posted before. I actually just read what the rule does. It isn't that you cannot dive. You can still dive, you just cannot gain extra yardage once you land. Similar to when a QB slides, he is "down" when he begins the slide. Headfirst dives will be marked when the runner lands (or is touched?).
Best example would be in Unnecessary Roughness when the player hydroplanes for 10 yards. He would be marked back when he first hit the ground not the end of the slide.
I already tried barking up this tree and got into a pointless arguement here on the mechanics of a slide and how that rule is enforced. good luckMaybe I misunderstood, but I thought I read (or maybe heard) that, just like a slide, they take it back to the point where you started the dive.
This is going to be an absolute disaster. Horrible call just now on the Pats - Eagles replay. Horrible calls on most games this week.This just adds to the ####ification of the NFL. It is impossible to lower your shoulder without your head dipping down, so if a ball carrier now lowers his shoulder to try and run over a defender and his helmet makes incidental contact, he is subject to being disqualified. Way to go, NFL.
I think they are going overboard with it in the preseason and will then adjust when the regular season begins. Still will plenty of stupid calls, but it won't be as egregious as we are seeing so far this summer.This is going to be an absolute disaster. Horrible call just now on the Pats - Eagles replay. Horrible calls on most games this week.
They better hope so but there is no doubt a bad call is going to cost a team a win this year which could cost a playoff spot.I think they are going overboard with it in the preseason and will then adjust when the regular season begins. Still will plenty of stupid calls, but it won't be as egregious as we are seeing so far this summer.
As long as it helps the big money gambling interests turn a profit the league will look away and let this happen.They better hope so but there is no doubt a bad call is going to cost a team a win this year which could cost a playoff spot.
All you need is one stupid call and that's enough for me.I think they are going overboard with it in the preseason and will then adjust when the regular season begins. Still will plenty of stupid calls, but it won't be as egregious as we are seeing so far this summer.
I don't understand this practice. The preseason is shorter than ever, and installing fundamental changes in the way a D plays a game doesn't seem to be best suited for the very short period of time leading up to the season -- causes a huge amount of churn and potentially even more confusion as coaches install different interpretations of the rule in practice and then in preseason games. Just generally more confusion than if they figured all this out in early summer.Yeah, I heard the announcers say that they're flagging everything and are going to review the penalties before regular season to firmly decide what is and isn't s penalty.
I know its been several weeks but when refs visited the Eagles back in June to explain how the rule would called even the refs couldn't agree. Players said they were more confused after the presentation.I don't understand this practice. The preseason is shorter than ever, and installing fundamental changes in the way a D plays a game doesn't seem to be best suited for the very short period of time leading up to the season -- causes a huge amount of churn and potentially even more confusion as coaches install different interpretations of the rule in practice and then in preseason games. Just generally more confusion than if they figured all this out in early summer.
HeyI think they are doing everything they can to keep it viable. The sport is extremely dangerous and I think there are real concerns about it turning off future fans and especially parents.
I think we have to see how it plays out in games before we damn it.
Yep. You can pretty much bet the farm that this rule will end up deciding a big game -- there is going to be a "Calvin Johnson catch rule" moment sometime this season.lod001 said:They better hope so but there is no doubt a bad call is going to cost a team a win this year which could cost a playoff spot.