With the first two weeks of preseason behind them, NFL players and coaches are expressing confusion about a new helmet rule that they say is still unclear abut what is and isn’t allowed under the new regulations.
The rule, designed to increase player safety, prohibits a player from lowering their head and using their helmet to initiate contact with an opposing player. Doing so now results in a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.
Game Changer?
On paper, it sounds fairly straightforward. But implementation of the rule during preseason has gone off only with multiple hitches. The league is now planning to make an updated training video for players, coaches, and officials to use as a guideline for what is and isn’t meant to be a penalty the next time a player lays out an opponent with what previously might’ve been considered a beautiful open-field tackle.
On Monday, Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer told reporters that the application of the helmet rule will ultimately decide games, which in turn could impact careers.
“It’s going to cost some people some jobs – playoffs, jobs, the whole bit I’m guessing,” Zimmer said. “It’s just hard to figure out. No one has ever said to me, ‘Hey. Don’t worry about it, we’re going to call it less or we’ll get it straightened out in the regular season. Or we’re going to come up with a revised rule.’ No one has ever said that.”
Players – in particular, those playing defense – have sometimes been even stronger in their reactions. On Sunday, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman blasted the new rule on Twitter after teammate Raheem Mostert was called for a penalty during a preseason loss to the Houston Texans the night before.
“To all those ppl including those who made the rule…I want a video of YOU running full speed and being lead by anything but your head while also attempting to bring down a moving target,” Sherman wrote. “You will soon realize it’s impossible.”
Bettor Headaches with Helmet Rule
The helmet rule could also cause plenty of pain and suffering for gamblers this season. If enforcement appears to be inconsistent, sports bettors will inevitably face frustrating situations where a call or non-call decides a game for no apparent reason. Similar complaints have been heard from bettors when it comes to the NFL’s catch rules, with several games in recent seasons being decided by determinations over whether a receiver did or did not make a catch – decisions that many fans see as indecipherable or arbitrary.
The NFL does look like it is taking steps to minimize these issues. According to a report by Pro Football Talk, the helmet rule will be the main topic of a Wednesday conference call among league officials. A league sources also told ESPN that they expect it to take about three years for players to fully adjust their behavior to the new rules, about the same length of time it took after the league cracked down on hits against defenseless players.
On the other hand, there are occasional NFL voices saying that the rule change isn’t a big deal, including New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
“We’ve never taught tackling with the crown of our helmet, putting our head down and leading our body forward in that type of position,” Belichick told Boston radio station WEEI on Monday. “We’ve always tackled and blocked with our head up, and our eyes open and head back so we can see what we hit. That’s the only way I’ve ever coached it. If we do it that way, we’ll be within the rules.”
