NFL institutes 15-yard penalty, possible ejection for lowering head to make hit

[KC Warpaint 3,238]

ORLANDO, Fla. -- NFL owners passed an unexpected rule Tuesday that will expand penalties for contact involving helmets, 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.

 

 

Owners on Tuesday unanimously approved a new catch rule and authorized senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron to eject players from games for egregious non-football acts.

 

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.

 

"It just seems that players at every level are getting more comfortable playing with their helmets as a weapon rather than a protective device," McKay said. "Therefore, we need a rule that is broad and puts that in context, and that's what we think this does."

 

Players, coaches and fans were left guessing on how the rule will impact the game. NFL Players Association president Eric Winston took to Twitter to share his thoughts.

According to NFL research, nearly one out of every two helmet-to-helmet hits caused a concussion in 2017. That's up from a ratio of one out of every three in 2015. NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills said in February that the current concussion data had sparked a "call to action," and on Tuesday he said this rule would be a key part of reducing head injuries in 2018.

 

"We spoke previously this year of having an all-time high of concussions," Sills said. "And we said that wasn't acceptable, and that we would respond to this, and this was part of the response. This is a very key component of the injury-reduction strategy on how we can reduce concussions immediately."
The hit on which Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, bottom, suffered a severe spinal injury would fall under the new rule passed Tuesday. Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

 

The competition committee initially planned to make lowering the helmet a 2018 point of emphasis rather than a rule change, McKay said. But after a leaguewide discussion Tuesday, owners instructed McKay to convert it to language that could be added to the rule book immediately. The league called a late-afternoon news conference and acknowledged that some parts of the rule still must be fleshed out.

 

At the top of the list is how to merge a long-standing league ethos against two issues: wide-ranging ejections of players; and using replay to review what are considered subjective calls by officials. McKay said the league is trying to effect a change in "behavior" and thus likely needs the weight of an ejection to communicate its sincerity. And given the potential impact on a game, a replay review is almost certain to be necessary to ensure proper enforcement."If you put replay behind [officials]," McKay said, "then I think that you do have the opportunity to feel more comfortable in ejecting them. But in this rule, we just need to do a little work to understand a little bit more how the mechanisms will work. But I think we do feel comfortable that if there is an ejection that replay would probably play a part of it."

 

The NFL will spend the next two months further developing the rule and likely will alter it to address replay and ejections at its May 21-23 meetings in Atlanta.

[dksww 484]

Won't get called in any game all year until Kareem Hunt takes a carry and lowers his way into a game winning score in the AFC title game.

[oldtimer 8,690]

Won't get called in any game all year until Kareem Hunt takes a carry and lowers his way into a game winning score in the AFC title game.

 

 

Or Houston  makes a game winning sack and fumble recovery for a TD

[sith13 1,746]

Like so many other rules it'll be helpful if executed correctly but most of the refs don't have a standard in hits involving helmets so this will end up in some questionable penalties/ejections. As mentioned by others, we'll get the short end of the stick for sure.

[SEMO 6,812]

Why don’t they just make it two hand touch and get it over with.

[kcchief4lif 910]

Won't get called in any game all year until Kareem Hunt takes a carry and lowers his way into a game winning score in the AFC title game.

That's right in the chiefs wheelhouse!!

[kcchief4lif 910]

Or Houston  makes a game winning sack and fumble recovery for a TD

That falls under the foward progress rule.  

[KCSLC2008 607]

That falls under the foward progress rule.

Haha. You got this down pat. Don't screw the Chiefs with a new rule if you can do it with an earlier established rule screwing.

[Thegoatee 1,781]

Necessary stuff. Guys have horrible tackling techniques and lower their head too much anyway. Take the helmet away and the game would be different. Everyone adapted their techniques around the new “indestructible” equipment, only for the brain to get rocked in their skull. So tired of seeing the launching safeties anyway, since they are the most common ones doing it.

[Chiefmanzada 466]

I’m not sure how this rule will be taken. Sometimes a tackler lowers his head by instinct to protect himself. Will that be deemed a penalty?

 

Very confusing. Somewhat alarming, not sure how it will be called so just have to wait & see

[Mloe68 1,521]

I’m not sure how this rule will be taken. Sometimes a tackler lowers his head by instinct to protect himself. Will that be deemed a penalty?

 

Very confusing. Somewhat alarming, not sure how it will be called so just have to wait & see

Good question. If rule has to do with making an aggressive type move toward another player leading with your helmet, then it makes a lot of sense. But it leaves ambiguity. League is going to need to work extremely hard training not only the officials but players and coaches on how this rule will be implemented. But I do think it makes sense. You simply do not need to lead with the helmet in this game. Head up. wrap up or use the shoulder ala Eric Berry. And that applies to ball carriers as well. But if they try to call penalties for simply dropping helmet as a self defense mechanism it's a problem. 

[TomahawkChop 255]

If the calls are made consistently with the the original intent in mind I have no problem with this rule. As others have already stated, quality tackling has taken a back seat in many instances to "blowing" somebody up.

 

My concern is that there may be calls in situations where a tackler is attempting a solid technique tackle, but the offensive player is being repositioned by a seconday tackle or even a teammates block which changes the connection point of the tackler. I saw this on multiple occasions in previous seasons - particularly as related to going low at a qb's legs or hands to the face. In the absence of concrete information on enforcement, refs will inevitably fill the void with their subjective observation.

[PAChiefsFan79 136]

Why don’t they just make it two hand touch and get it over with.

BS!

 

Tackle with your head up. It protects all players. You can still knock the shit out of someone with a shoulder pad.

[PAChiefsFan79 136]

Necessary stuff. Guys have horrible tackling techniques and lower their head too much anyway. Take the helmet away and the game would be different. Everyone adapted their techniques around the new “indestructible” equipment, only for the brain to get rocked in their skull. So tired of seeing the launching safeties anyway, since they are the most common ones doing it.

This

[Dan4pres 125]

The hit on Kelce against the Titans, is a prime example. Tackling correctly is a lost art, probably because they want to be on TV showing a kill shot. You can tackle a guy without launching your whole body at him. If that was the best way to get someone down, college wrestling would have invented that move years ago.

[xen 1,010,220]

Would align the league more with the heads up football movement.