New helmet rule becomes headache for many in NFL
The NFL is taking shots for the new way it’s legislating hits.
This summer, pro football’s exhibition season centers on fallout surrounding a new rule banning players from lowering their helmets before contact. The NFL’s 32 owners unanimously approved the change in March.
The new rule states that players, regardless of their position, will be penalized 15 yards or possibly ejected for lowering their head to initiate contact with their helmet against an opponent.
The change marks the boldest step the NFL has taken to improve safety and reduce concussions, and comes at a time that football is under growing scrutiny for the longterm, debilitating effects it has on its participants. The 2017 season saw a spike in the number of concussions caused by helmet-to-helmet collisions.
In the spring, the rule was viewed as potentially transformative. But now, after 33 preseason games in which 50 helmet-lowering penalties have been assessed, the change is being viewed unfavorably by many coaches and players.
“It’s an idiotic rule,” 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said. “There’s no way you can tackle the way they are asking people to tackle and play football.”
Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther is among those who appreciate the intent behind the rule, but wonder about the practicality of apply-
ing it.
“I understand you’re trying to make the game safer, and we’re all trying to do that,” Guenther said. “But at some point, it is football.”
And 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, whose team has been assessed three helmet-lowering penalties in two preseason games, hopes more clarity is achieved before the regular season begins.
“I think everyone knows it’s an issue right now,” Shanahan said. I’m hoping that people get it figured out.”
The new rule dominated the discussion during a previously scheduled conference call Wednesday with members of the NFL’s Competition Committee, consisting of team executives and head coaches. The committee, which has received feedback from coaches, players and officials, determined no changes will be made to the rule, but clarified that “incidental” contact with the helmet or face mask is not a foul.
The league presented teaching videos to teams during training camp. And the NFL head of officiating, Al Riveron, will be sending a new video that will have feedback and examples of correct and improper calls over the next two weeks.
The NFL has studied, via video, the concussions that have occurred in games since 2015. Last year, it determined 46 percent of concussion-causing hits occurred on helmet-to-helmet collisions. It marked a significant increase from 2015 to 2016, when 36 percent of concussions came from helmet-to-helmet hits.
In July, Dr. Jeff Crandall, the chair of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine committee’s engineering subcommittee, discussed how last year’s concussion numbers led to the helmet-lowering rule. The data were presented to the competition committee and informed the unanimous vote.
“That was one of the indicators: Let’s look at what we can do to cut down on those helmet-to-helmet impacts,” said Crandall, the director of the center for applied biomechanics at the University of Virginia. “And that led to what sort of player behavior is risky behavior that we would like to see eliminated from the game.”
Raiders linebacker Derrick Johnson, a 14-year veteran, is among those who have said there is a “gray area” when it comes to enforcement of the rule.
In the first week of the preseason, Raiders safety Karl Joseph and 49ers linebacker Elijah Lee drew penalties after they clearly initiated contact with their shoulder. In a video given to the media last week, Riveron noted Lee was incorrectly flagged for his tackle.
On Saturday, 49ers running back Raheem Mostert was penalized when he tackled punt returner Tyler Ervin for no gain, although his head was clearly to the side of his intended target.
“I guess they thought it was bad form,” Mostert said. “I thought it was good technique by me.”
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said before the start of preseason games that he didn’t anticipate the 49ers having an issue with the rule. He noted the coaching staff had previously stressed proper tackling technique, with the helmet to the side. On Wednesday, after seeing players such as Mostert penalized for what appeared to be a textbook-form tackle, Saleh noted officials are also adjusting to the rule.
“We’ve got great conviction on what we teach, and one thing that we don’t teach is using our helmet,” Saleh said. “Some of the things that showed up in the game should not have been called, but I get the refs and all that. They’re probably going through the same things that everyone else is going through trying to figure out exactly what this rule is and how it has to be called.”
Niners nose tackle Earl Mitchell pointed to the flag against Mostert when discussing the NFL’s new landscape in which safety concerns could hurt teams on the field.
“If it comes down to a big play, in a big game, and it comes down to a (penalty) like that?” Mitchell said. “That will be a very hard pill to swallow.”
Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch