USA TODAY International Edition
Banning leaps is right call to make
Attempt to block kicks isn’t worth risk to players
A horrific injury … just waiting to happen.
That’s the bottom- line scenario that has moved Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera to enlist in the camp seeking to outlaw the athletic but sometimes dangerous tactic of leaping across the line of scrimmage in a single bound for a creative rush to attempt to block a kick.
“We talk about it all the time: player safety, player safety, player safety,” Rivera told USA TODAY Sports. “Well, now we have a chance to eliminate a dangerous play from the game.”
The competition committee will propose banning a tactic that again caused quite a stir when Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner leaped over the line twice against the Arizona Cardinals to make a difference in a 6- 6 tie in October. He blocked Chandler Catanzaro’s 39- yard, secondquarter field goal attempt and influenced a 24- yard miss in overtime.
At the time, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was livid, in part because Wagner made contact with the Arizona long snapper, which is allowed by rule if the leaping player doesn’t land on an offensive player. Rivera can relate to the consternation, given that Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor leaped over the line on back- toback field goal attempts during an NFC playoff game in 2016.
Owners are expected to vote on the rule proposal when they gather in Phoenix next week for the league’s annual meeting.
Rivera, a member of the coaches’ subcommittee for competition efforts, realizes there have not been any signature serious injuries suffered with the tactic. “Not yet,” he warned. “That’s why this is such an important preventative measure that we can take.”
He’s right. Time to err on the side of caution. Never mind that the daredevil stunts occasionally added a “Flying Wallendas” twist on kicking attempts. The risk isn’t worth it.
Rivera said the Panthers coach their blockers on kicking attempts, and particularly the long snapper, to simply raise up if they spot a leaper. That counteraction, though, fuels worry.
“Guys can get their feet taken out while they are in the air,” Rivera said. “That causes them to lose control and maybe land awkwardly. You would hate to see a player land on his head and sustain some type of serious head or neck injury. That would be the worst- case scenario.”
Momentum appears to be gaining steam for a rule change. NFL Players Association President Eric Winston said during the recent NFL scouting combine that the union endorses a rule to scrap the tactic.
“We have a chance to do something to prevent something bad from happening,” reiterated Rivera, who played linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1984 to 1992.
The NFL sought to make the PAT a more exciting play, but it surely needs to draw the line on the leaps for the right reasons. No thrill is worth an increased chance of a freak accident that could end a career.