Let’s hope this isn’t penalty in the regular season bc if it is it’s going to be a longgggg season

[Angry Ram]

The rule is ill conceived and stupid.

I don't agree. It's stop players from leading with their helmets, on either side. A RB can't bulldog his way into a pile, and a DE can't headbutt an offensive linemen.

How would you try to minimize head injuries?

Refs will blow the calls because it is a judgment call at game speed.

Or because they are human?

You say you wont back down.....um.....back down from what?

My opinion. I'm not going to reverse my opinion on this subject or any other similar topic.

Not true at all in my case at least. Sure I bitch about a call I view as suspect going against my team but I watch - especially in the preseason - for how rules/players are going to affect the season. When you have a rule that is overly subjective, it lends to refs having far too great an ability to screw up a call and therefore affect the outcome of a game or drive. The refs have to make ridiculously quick and difficult calls. I want clear definitions for the refs as much as I do the players and MY team. This latest couple of changes are very difficult to define and can lead to emotional decisions by the refs in many cases and instead MAKE them look for motive even if there is none.

It's not emotional. They are doing what the rule says, and it was in place to eliminate concussions and other injuries. And it's pre-season, where I mentioned before it's full of sloppy players where at least half the league's players will be looking for a chance to sign somewhere.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/...ange-penalties-faq/1tkpxykwg2r4p1aain2ctr1dsw

This article mentions Ryan Shazier, who I didn't even think of in all of this. Now if this was a rule and he didn't lower his head, could he still be playing?

I don't agree with them affecting the outcomes of games/drives...well maybe drives. Teams have many opportunities to make plays, so overcome the officiating if a call goes against you. It happens to every team. It's a fantasy that every ref will make every call perfectly. For a league that prides themselves on "no excuses", many sure are quick to blame officials.

It may seem counter to what I'm saying but a ref knows what he sees on the field in most cases. A dirty hit doesn't necessarily need to be defined. If helmets collide, a ref shouldn't need to look for a penalty. He is down there watching the players and the game. If at that moment, he sees a player going in for a kill, he should be able to call it as unnecessary roughness. If he sees a player unnecessarily drive a player into the ground, he should be able to call it even if the player technically does it right. What it appears to me is that now they have to consider too much. Now if a player looks to lower his crown as I've already seen several times, he has to take his attention away from the play in looking to see if it's a penalty rather than if it fit within the play of a violent sport.

That is the NFL rule changes. It's not the refs, and they will be the whipping boys. I'm not saying this change will be seamless, this is a big change in the league. The game has evolved from wearing no helmets, to leather helmets, to pads, to the modern protection today. The rules have changed since then and this is nothing more than a continuation of that. Just because someone complains about it on twitter doesn't mean it's a bad thing. In fact the more I watch, the more I'm for it, if it prevents unnecessary head and spinal injuries.

Either way, I don't like these two as RULES. They are too much akin to "a football move".

When in this day and age that player safety is equally important as preserving the game for the future, rules like this are going to continue. IMO players and fans can't have it both ways...you can't tout player safety with the concussions, spinal injuries, etc etc without adjustments to the game itself. And you do that by making moves that are likely to cause injures illegal.

 

[fearsomefour]

I don't agree. It's stop players from leading with their helmets, on either side. A RB can't bulldog his way into a pile, and a DE can't headbutt an offensive linemen.

How would you try to minimize head injuries?



Or because they are human?



My opinion. I'm not going to reverse my opinion on this subject or any other similar topic.



It's not emotional. They are doing what the rule says, and it was in place to eliminate concussions and other injuries. And it's pre-season, where I mentioned before it's full of sloppy players where at least half the league's players will be looking for a chance to sign somewhere.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/...ange-penalties-faq/1tkpxykwg2r4p1aain2ctr1dsw

This article mentions Ryan Shazier, who I didn't even think of in all of this. Now if this was a rule and he didn't lower his head, could he still be playing?

I don't agree with them affecting the outcomes of games/drives...well maybe drives. Teams have many opportunities to make plays, so overcome the officiating if a call goes against you. It happens to every team. It's a fantasy that every ref will make every call perfectly. For a league that prides themselves on "no excuses", many sure are quick to blame officials.



That is the NFL rule changes. It's not the refs, and they will be the whipping boys. I'm not saying this change will be seamless, this is a big change in the league. The game has evolved from wearing no helmets, to leather helmets, to pads, to the modern protection today. The rules have changed since then and this is nothing more than a continuation of that. Just because someone complains about it on twitter doesn't mean it's a bad thing. In fact the more I watch, the more I'm for it, if it prevents unnecessary head and spinal injuries.



When in this day and age that player safety is equally important as preserving the game for the future, rules like this are going to continue. IMO players and fans can't have it both ways...you can't tout player safety with the concussions, spinal injuries, etc etc without adjustments to the game itself. And you do that by making moves that are likely to cause injures illegal.

I'm not trying to change your mind.
I have said several times in this discussion that rules like this one are very tough for refs.
Judgement calls at game speed would be exceptionally hard for anyone. The refs are not "bad guys" in this....frankly, I think they are being put on an impossible situation as I have said before.
I know how the rule is written. That is, in my opinion, not how it will be enforced. As I said before, time will tell on that.
I think plenty has been done to prevent head injuries. If rules can be implemented that can help reduce head injuries without changing the game in a meaningful way, I'm all for it. I'm not sure that's the case. At some point (where we are now) rules and technology can only do so much.
The reality of head injuries, the NFL and the business model and motivations is a road well traveled. Efforts should be made, things tried and adjustments made, but, the reality does not change.

 

[HellRam]

I really believe now is the perfect time for one of the other professional football leagues to start, like the AAF. If they can compensate players near or more than the NFL can, and avoid stupid rule decisions like this, they can be equal to or more fun to watch. It would be smart of them to use the rule book from before Goodell became commish. Give me 90s football with great players and illI watch it. Hell it would be amazing if they did this, and then some of the NFL teams moved over to AAF bc they disagree with the soft bs of the NFL. I'm actually really excited for AAF. Could be a game changer.

I don't know the details, but I've heard rumors of the old XFL league being brought back or some kind of league similar to it.

If the NFL really does want to progress into a high scoring offense, little contact fantasy football league. Then maybe a new type of football league could be successfull to a degree. A league that models itself after true American football.

 

[RamBall]

It the NFL just let's players maim each other there won't be any football to watch. There has to be some concern for player safety, while I agree some calls are often the top. The call in question in the original post of this thread, was definetly a penalty. Players cannot be allowed to try and injure one another.

 

[Karate61]

At the end of the day, it's not the rule itself that is so upsetting, it's the implementation of it. Mainly, they call a penalty, and on replay it's obviously not. That's what blows everyone's mind.

So, if they're going to add these "judgment" calls, I think they should be automatically reviewed. If not automatically, allow a coach unlimited challenges on these judgment penalty calls, but if called correctly, maybe tack on an additional 10 yards to the penalty.

That's my solution. And, these days they should be able to do the review quickly. Let some replay ref make the call and relay it to the field. Bam, make the call, line up for next play.