If these rules are fully implemented and strictly enforced NFL football is going to profoundly change. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...nsive-players-might-not-like-052411?GT1=39002 Owners approve new rules changes Rule changes unanimously approved Tuesday at an NFL owners meeting could have a chilling effect on defensive players. The league has further defined what constitutes a “defenseless position” to provide better player protection. There also are further restrictions on the ability to “launch” and level a defenseless player (i.e. leaving both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent or using any part of the helmet). Not only will there be a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty but the launching defender can be ejected from the game if the action is judged flagrant by the officiating crew. “There were too many hits that came in the past three years that were legal but not ones that we were comfortable the player who got hit had any opportunity to do anything to protect themselves,” said Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, who is head of the NFL’s competition committee. The league also announced plans for another safety initiative that will result in teams being fined if their players accumulate too many penalties for illegal hits. The NFL already fines teams if too many of their players run into off-field legal trouble under the personal conduct policy. The exact details of the new “club accountability” guidelines are still being formulated but NFL senior vice president Adolpho Birch expects implementation for the 2011 season (provided it’s played). “We’re trying to encourage clubs and coaches to teach the proper techniques and correct dangerous play on the field,” Birch said. The following hits on players in a “defenseless posture” are now illegal: • A player in the act or just after throwing a pass. • A receiver attempting to catch a pass or one who has not completed a catch and hasn’t had time to protect himself or hasn’t clearly become a runner. If the receiver/runner is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent, he is no longer a defenseless player. • A runner whose forward progress has been stopped and is already in the grasp of a tackler. • A kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air. • A player on the ground at the end of a play. • A kicker/punter during the kick or return. • A quarterback any time after a change of possession (i.e. turnover). • A player who receives a “blindside” block when the blocker is moving toward his own end-line and approaches the opponent from behind or the side. Prohibited contact against a player in a defenseless position was further defined as “forcibly hitting the neck or head area with the helmet, facemask, forearm or shoulder regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him.” It is also illegal to lower the head and make forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/”hairline” parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body. The latter provision does not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or helmet in the course of a conventional tackle. “This will permanently change the mentality, we think, of the defensive back trying to separate the ball in that you’ve got to lower your aim point,” McKay said. “The aim point has got to come into the numbers or below as opposed to above because you have to give that player an opportunity to defend themselves.” McKay said the “launching” rule likely wouldn’t result in an increase in player ejections and isn’t a point of emphasis for officials who already had the ability to issue disqualifications for hits that clearly cross the line. “We’ve always said that disqualification has to be open and obvious to you,” McKay said. “It’s hard at full speed to determine that act was so egregious that it deserves a disqualification. When in doubt, always throw the penalty (flag) and defer to the videotape to determine if a suspension or something else is necessary. We’re not changing that standard at all.” McKay said some of the inspiration to further bar “launching” stemmed from an alarming increase in the tactic at the college level. “I think we always look at ourselves where we want to set the standards and help people downstream,” McKay said. “We think we needed to make a point. You’re doing it as much to protect the guy getting hit as the guy doing the hitting. We have a couple of plays on videotape where the guy doing the hitting is getting hurt. “We just don’t like the fact that people have decided they can use their bodies, spring off the ground, lead with their head and expect to have a good result all the time.” The third approved rule change clarified protection of the quarterback. Hits to the head of a passer by an opponent’s hands, arms or other parts of the body will not be fouls unless they are forcible blows. “There are a number of plays this past year that many of us weren’t comfortable with (being) fouls,” McKay said. “We think we’ve got good video to show the referee what we want called and don’t want called. We think it will lessen penalties. We don’t think it involves player safety at all because if you do strike the quarterback with any force at all in the helmet, it is a penalty.” These rule changes were tabled at a March owners meeting because some teams were unhappy with the wording that was presented by the NFL’s competition committee. Teams approved the revamped measures by a 32-0 vote.
May help to reduce injury, especially traumatic impacts that cauase spinal injuries, but again, i can't help but think that this is a bit of a bait-in-switch and will not amount to much with respect to Chronic Traumatic Encephaly, which is what Duerson, et all suffferend from. The problem with CTE, as it's currently understood, is the "C", more so than limiting any individual "T"
Look for the entire Texans defense to be ejected when they play the Colts, since it's evident that any Colt that gets tackled after being the target of one of Peyton Manning's throws is "defenseless."
A player in the act of or just completed throwing a pass? WTF? You can't sack a quarterback anymore unless he's got the ball down?
I can imagine a lot of QBs trying to game this rule to get bailed out a lot more. Also no more holding up a ballcarrier to force fumbles, and it sounds like QBs are untouchable in a turnover play?
Yeah this rule is crazy! I can't believe they even agreed to put this one into play... There are going to be tons of suspensions and penalties...you see this every game...
Can the players fight against it in any way? For example, demand to leave it out of the new CBA? Can't believe the owners make these decisions.
I assume they are referring to certain types of hits - this is the next sentence: Prohibited contact against a player in a defenseless position was further defined as “forcibly hitting the neck or head area with the helmet, facemask, forearm or shoulder regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him.” It is also illegal to lower the head and make forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/”hairline” parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body. So I assume that only those types of hits are the ones not allowed against defenseless players, but not really sure.
Yet another reason I'm turning to college football more and more. Hopefully I'll outlive Roger Goodell and someone with more appreciation for fundamentals of the game will eventually take over. Are you kidding me, Roger? So if a receiver has a ball drilled to his hands/chest, he can't be hit until he's "completed" the catch? It's glorified flag football at this point, in that apparently defenders aren't even allowed to be physical to try and break up a play. Newsflash: receivers are rarely ever "defenseless". It's a choice they have to make. If a hard-hitting safety is approaching them, do they want to go for the catch and take the hit, or is it too much? It's the receiver's choice, and they know it full well going into each game and each play. That's the beauty of the game - at least at some levels. Sigh.
This is how I read it. It's not illegal to hit a "defenseless player". It's illegal to hit them in a certain way. It's talking about prohibited contact which suggests that other contact is allowable. The only thing is that I thought most of this stuff was illegal anyway. I do like the dumbing down of the QB protection rules. Players were getting flagged for ticky tack incidental contact with the QB because it was a foul according to the letter of the law. Hopefully that will stop now.
As I interpret this, if a defender hits in the chest or below, and doesn't lead with his head, he can't be called for hitting a defenseless player at all. To me, that's an improvement. Peyton Manning got lots of those type calls. Now the refs will only be able to baby him when he is hit 0.25 s after the pass is thrown.
Yeah the league cares SO MUCH about player safety to implement all these ridiculous rule changes, but then they want to extend to season to 18 games. So hypocritical. The flip side is that these rules will likely make fantasy football more interesting.
My favorite play in football was watching a charing DE blindside a QB to, sigh I suppose this play would be a penalty? http://youtu.be/auGvZWjmid4 <iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/auGvZWjmid4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I hate these calls against the Defense, it really screws up the flow of game and rewards Defense's playing with less intensity basically( having to pull up on hits and make split second decisons going against things theyve been taught since pee wee football)
I'd rather they took away some of the padding than change the rules for legal/illegal hits. That would deter more violent hits than anything.
What the NFL really needs to do is change the gear the players wear, including the helmets. Make them actually have to tackle a player rather than launching at them and just trying to knock them off balance. The other big change that is needed is Olympic drug testing and real bans for players using PHD's.
Someone had to do it Football won't be the same, thats for sure. If people hold NFL stats history in any regard, downgrade that sentiment now cuz this will be the decade offensive records get smashed.
On the EXTREME END, worst possible outcome of these rules - If they affect the NFL by really softening it down away from watch-ability, this is where the other football leagues can actually make themselves an alternative more than before. XFL mighta been 10 years too early
The players making that tackle, which is no doubt a dangerous tackle, would have got suspended for longer than the NFL suspends players for steroid use. The NRL is a great example for the NFL to use. Taking the padding and helmets away doesn't mean you are left with a game that is any less brutal on the defensive side of the ball. The game will change and technique will become more important, but it will go back to real tackling, no just using your helmet as a weapon. (Thats what she said!)
