CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NFL passed a new rule that says any player who initiates contact with his helmet can be ejected after an in-game video review decided in New York. (PHOTO: NFL) The rule, which was made to avoid concussions, could change the game. [Helmet hits will lead to ejections under new NFL rule] The new policy comes after the league said concussions among its athletes went up by 16 percent last year. Former Northwestern University coach Jimmy Wallace spent more than 40 years coaching football. He travels the country, working as an expert trainer with USA Football. The organization “designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance and grow the sport,” according to its website. The retired coach is trying to make sure coaches and student-athletes know the right way to make plays, including to keep helmet-to-helmet contact out of the game. (PHOTO: NFL) “You want to be sure we're teaching them fundamentals of blocking and tackling when they’re going to carry over to the game,” Wallace said. Dr. Christian Turner from Novant Health treats student-athletes who get concussions. [9 investigates possible groundbreaking treatment for concussions] Turner said the NFL's new rule could be the right call if it's enforced. “With the position, they're trying to keep players out of, hopefully, we can see a decrease in some of the spinal injuries, neck injuries,” Turner said. The new helmet rule is one part of a comprehensive action plan. The league also banned 10 helmet models based on lab tests. Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com: Cox Media Group<doc-sep>The NFL’s new helmet rule has barely been tested in live football, yet it is causing great consternation across the league over its implementation. Whether it is fans’ fear of football becoming a pansy sport or players’ worry over being unfairly penalized, few seem to like the league’s attempts to protect the heads of its most precious commodity. Due to the new NFL Helmet Rule, the following plays will be penalized this season for unnecessary roughness: -Lowering your head before a hit -Hitting another player at any time -Attempting to play any kind of defense -Looking at another player too aggressively — NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) August 3, 2018 And much of the concern revolves around trying to understand just exactly what the new rule is. Owners approved this strengthened version of a previous ban on players using the crown of their helmets to hit another player. The new version states: “It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent.” Given the broad penalty and rather vague nature of the rule, it remains to be seen just how officials are going to apply it. But there were some clarifications via a fact sheet from NFL Communications: Contact does not have to be to an opponent’s head or neck area – lowering the head and initiating contact to an opponent’s torso, hips, and lower body, is also a foul. Violations of the rule will be easier to see and officiate when they occur in open space – as opposed to close line play – but this rule applies anywhere on the field at any time.​ Penalties for Violation: Loss of 15 yards. If the foul is by the defense, it is also an automatic first down. The player may also be ejected. Ejection standards: • Player lowers his helmet to establish a linear body posture prior to initiating and making contact with the helmet • Unobstructed path to his opponent • Contact clearly avoidable and player delivering the blow had other options Former Broncos defenders weigh in Steve Atwater and David Bruton, Jr. - two former Broncos safeties from different eras but both known for being big hitters - talked about the new rule and how it could impact the game. Atwater, who deserves a bust in Canton bust for his defensive prowess, noted on Orange and Blue Radio’s First and 10 show last week that he hoped refs would be lenient because “helmets are going to be involved” in tackling. “Especially if guys have their posture right and their heads are up, it’s going to happen, it’s got to happen,” Atwater said, noting that a player like Josey Jewell “who flies to the ball” could get a penalty. “He could get penalized some because he’s going full speed to the ball.” Bruton Jr., a former Broncos safety, team captain and special teams ace also known for flying to the ball and part of the Super Bowl 50 Championship team, told Mile High Report he believes the onus for safe play should come more from the players rather having it legislated by refs on the field. “Honestly, the decision falls on the player on how he wants to play. ...It really falls on the players to eliminate the use of the head because of the danger for multiple concussions or other injuries.” - David Bruton Jr., former Broncos safety “Honestly, the decision falls on the player on how he wants to play,” Bruton said, recalling his practices in Denver where the DBs spent a lot of time learning to “wrap and roll” when tackling. “You want good contact, your head up, your eyes up, definitely not the top of the helmet. And then you hit and roll to eliminate the impact as well as take away their ability to power through you.” Players taking that kind of responsibility to play the game right and protect their own health is where Bruton believes the emphasis should go. He’d like to see the league spend more resources educating players not only about the risks involved but also about care for their health during and after their pro careers. And as a player who ultimately left the game to protect his own health after suffering his sixth concussion, Bruton knows how crucial it is for players to think about their health. “Football is football. It’s a violent game and players need to realize the risks themselves and weigh the risk versus reward,” Bruton said. “You talk about a rule, if you see a guy keep his head up and still get flagged for it, that’s a problem.” - Steve Atwater, former Broncos safety But, like Atwater, Bruton doesn’t want football to be fundamentally changed or the game to continue favoring the offense by mostly penalizing the defense. “Everybody has heard ‘tackle with your head up’ since PeeWee days. The NFL can only do so much,” Bruton reiterate. “It really falls on the players to eliminate the use of the head because of the danger for multiple concussions or other injuries.” Atwater sees it the same way and hopes refs will come together on how they apply the rule and then do it consistently throughout the season. He’s not convinced that will happen. “Yeah, I don’t think anyone wants the game to continue on and guys who get done playing have issues with concussions, but we want to see consistency,” Atwater said. “You talk about a rule, if you see a guy keep his head up and still get flagged for it, that’s a problem.” So, just what IS the new helmet rule? This explainer from SBNation is a nice overview of just what the rule is attempting to do and how it would have applied to previous big hits. The rationale behind the rule is legit. The number of concussions suffered by players were up 16 percent in 2017 and included an unforgettable collision involving Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier that ended in a serious spinal cord injury to Shazier that he is still recovering from. Players reportedly suffered 281 concussions during the preseason and regular season last year - up from the 243 diagnosed concussions in 2016 - which is the second highest total since 2012 when there were 261 concussions. And as the Wall Street Journal aptly pointed out, the fact that the NFL is taking head injuries seriously via rule changes is in part a response to public backlash for having virtually ignored it for decades. “The NFL has been assailed for years over safety issues, particularly pertaining to head injuries. These issues have cost the league big bucks: The league committed an estimated billion dollars to an ongoing settlement with former players over neurocognitive issues. They also have also created a headwind for the game’s long-term future, with concerns beginning at the youth levels of the sport.” Last week, officials in Denver spoke about the new helmet rule and how they are going to (attempt to) approach it this season. “We’re trying to make this game safer. That’s what we do, we want to definitely call it,” said NFL line judge Julian Mapp, adding that they have watched film over and over with officials pointing out what is a foul. “We want it to be lowering the head and initiating contact. Maybe a little judgment may come in when you’re bracing for contact. It may be human nature, like ‘Someone’s about to hit me, I’m going to go like this a little bit,’ but you’ll notice, my head may be going down, but I’m not initiating contact to you. That’s maybe where a little judgment comes in.” The new @NFL Use of Helmet rule explained with video examples. Watch: pic.twitter.com/r2qPWEqMeN — NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) June 2, 2018 Mapp tried to clarify how the rule could/would be applied in different scenarios. It’s somewhat helpful. In the trenches: “If we actually can see the offensive linemen or defensive linemen with their head, lunge like that, that’s a foul.<doc-sep>One game, one slight tweak. The NFL has clarified the manner in which violations of the new “helmet rule” are called after a penalty in last week’s Hall of Fame Game was improperly ID’d. Yes, the teaching moments extend to the men in stripes. Beginning with the first full weekend of preseason games that commences Thursday, here’s how officials are now instructed to call violations: “Personal foul, lowering the head to initiate contact, number (of player’s jersey), 15-yard penalty, first down.” More:Helmet rule isn't cause for NFL players to panic just yet Explaining the language, Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president for football operations, told USA TODAY Sports, “Saying ‘use of helmet,’ is too vague,” for announcing the penalty. On top of that, apparent “helmet rule” violation during the sole preseason game last week was announced as “unnecessary roughness on a defenseless player” – which is also a 15-yard personal foul but doesn’t necessarily involve the use of the helmet. Vincent said amid skepticism among some players and coaches, the NFL is looking for consistency with how the new rule is officiated. “This preseason, we’ve got to clean up the verbiage,” Vincent said, “and they must be clear about what they see.” Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.<doc-sep>
We speculated during the offseason that the NFL’s new “lowering helmet” rule would have a dramatic effect on how games are officiated. After the first week of preseason games, we can now officially confirm that theory. The first week of NFL preseason games had a whopping 275 penalties for 2,371 yards. Hopefully this is just a preseason thing…… — NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) August 12, 2018 The final game of the preseason’s first week featured the two most controversial calls of the weekend. During the Cardinals-Chargers game in Arizona, these two hits drew 15-yard penalties… This is was the penalty call in the Cardinals game, called hit on a defenseless receiver but more likely it was the new lowering the helmet rule pic.twitter.com/yrDHosa0ab — gifdsports (@gifdsports) August 12, 2018 Please fix this NFL pic.twitter.com/c0nvv3pXQ2 — Seth (@SCoxFB) August 12, 2018 While these hits would not have been flagged in the past, both are in clear violation of the new rule, as both players made the initial contact with their helmets… Via NFL Communications: As approved by NFL clubs in March, it is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. Contact does not have to be to an opponent’s head or neck area – lowering the head and initiating contact to an opponent’s torso, hips, and lower body, is also a foul. It’s going to take some getting used to — and there will be plenty of calls like the ones above that are ripped by fans and media — but this rule should, in the long run, make the sport safer. If it requires a few soft whistles in order for that to happen, is that necessarily a bad thing? The one thing that should be acknowledged is that this rule was put in place to protect the defender as much as the offensive player, which is why the aiming point of the hit doesn’t affect its legality under the new rule. No matter where the defender makes contact, if his he lowers his helmet before doing so, it will be a penalty. As it should be. These hits may not have put the receivers in jeopardy — neither hit was targeted at the ball carrier’s head — but they certainly put the Cardinals players in harm’s way. We’ve seen hits like that go very wrong. Had one of those players suffered an injury, you would not have seen any “Please fix this NFL” tweets or heard any complaints about the flag. There are going to be more calls like the ones above, and we’ll see an increase in flags which will slow down games, but the long-term effects of this new rule will be worth the growing pains as players learn to adjust. We’ve already seen that start to happen. Via The Mercury News: Linebacker Elijah Lee not only became the first 49er penalized under the league’s new helmet-lowering rule, he also got tackling advice – from an official. “All game, the ref reminded me, ‘You don’t want to be my age and have spinal issues,’ ” Lee said… “I was surprised, but at the same time, we practice keeping our head out (of tackles),” Lee said. “Whatever I did, I have to fix that.” The players seem to understand that they’ll have to adjust. Fans and media need to do the same. What was once considered a textbook hit may no longer be legal. That doesn’t mean the rule is bad. It means it’s working. Football is, fundamentally, an unsafe sport. In order to make it safer, our understanding of what a fundamental hit looks like has to change. This rule will force that change.