‘Helmets up’ rule could pose problems for officials
Already, there’s concern ‘helmets up’ mandate will be impossible to officiate
The NFL’s new “helmets-up” mandate has sparked concern there’s a new impossible-to-officiate rule in the book. Son-of-catch rule, if you will. “This is a major change,” league competition committee chairman Rich McKay warns.
“It’s a culture change,” league senior VP of officiating Al Riveron advises.
The new rule — passed by owners in March, with what league officials described as unanimous support from head coaches — prevents any player, at any position, from lowering his head to initiate contact with an opponent and then making contact anywhere on that opponent’s body (not just the helmet area). Violating teams will be penalized 15 yards.
It’s the NFL’s most drastic safety-inspired rule yet. When it was hastily introduced two months ago at the league’s annual meeting, NFL medical leaders pointed out that concussions caused by head-to-head hits were up substantially in 2017 — 281 in pre-season and regular season, up 14 per cent from 243 in 2016.
Although one reason for the stark rise is that more players are willing to report concussion symptoms — as knowledge of the potential acute long-term dangers of brain injuries grows and becomes more accepted — the league found that too many of those hard, head-down hits were responsible for concussions. At the NFL’s two-day spring owners’ meeting, which concluded Wednesday afternoon at a hotel in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead district, Riveron and McKay walked reporters through the same plays shown in recent weeks via video conferencing to every team in the league.
The duo addressed the universal concern: couldn’t flags for hard, head-down contact be thrown on virtually every play? When linemen on both sides slam into each other at the snap? When a quarterback sneaks it? When a running back bucks into the line for a short-yardage gain? When a receiver blocks downfield? When anyone goes to make a tackle? Not really, they pointed out. Riveron said the most important words in the new rule are “to initiate contact.” That is, to purposefully lower one’s head to hit an opponent. “Lowering the head is not alone a foul,” Riveron said. “It’s not going to be an ejection-fest, I guarantee you.”
But as with their quotes at the top of this story, both men warned that players must never again “get a helmet” on an opposing player. That’s why I’m calling it the helmets-up rule. There will be no grace period either, Riveron said. The rule will be strictly enforced starting with pre-season games in August. Riveron showed reporters video examples from last season of such fouls. In each case, the delinquent player — tackler, blocker or ball carrier — had plenty of time and space to change his body’s position or angle of attack, but chose instead to keep his helmet lowered and crashed into the opposition. There was no mistaking the transgressing player’s intention. But egregious cases are always easy to call. Grey areas, not so much. How long will it take officials, players, coaches and fans alike to understand the difference at every position between a legal play and a foul? Hopefully, not long.
Riveron said the league is preparing videos containing legal and illegal plays, by the start of training camps in late July, to show players at every position group: quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, et al. “We all want to end up on the same page,” McKay said.
A few other points to bear in mind regarding this new rule: As before, egregious headdown
■ hits can garner a disqualification. And not just if the hit is to the head or neck area. There won’t be college-style,
■ automatic carryover penance to the next game if the ejection occurs in the second half. But as now, there could be a fine or suspension as determined by the league days later.
If a player on each team is
■ flagged for an intended headdown hit, the fouls will offset and the down replayed.
If more than one player on
■ a team is so flagged, only one penalty will be enforced (i.e., there will be no 30- or 45-yard walkoffs, etc.).
If each team commits the foul,
■ the penalties offset and the down is replayed.
Riveron stressed that an official
■ must see the entire play to throw the flag. In other words, he or she cannot just see the head-down hit and throw the flag. Intention prior to the hit must be clear, and must be seen by the official. So that’s the new rule.
“I’m confident,” commissioner Roger Goodell said at the annual meeting, “our game will be in a much better place for it.” From a safety standpoint? Absolutely.
It’s just going to take time — maybe a long time — for players, coaches, officials and fans to understand what constitutes a helmet-down foul at each position, and what doesn’t. Son-of-catch rule? And all its murkiness, confusion and angst? Gawd, let’s hope not. But for starters this year? Probably.