mykc14 wrote:Tt's hard to see how the 'lowering your head' rule is going to be played out, but it seems difficult to enforce. I will say, however, that the idea of taking the head out of the game is one that is through all of football from Pee-Wee to HS and college. All levels have rules about 'targeting' and things of that nature. The hard part is too often when watching college football you see a perfect hit and not only is that play penalized but the player is also ejected. To me this rule is about Checking Their A$$ and nothing more. They want to give the appearance of moving forward for player safety but this one has the potential to create some really bad calls.
I say this half jokingly, but if you want force players not to use their helmuts as a battering ram, then get rid of the facemask. My old man played back in the leather helmut days in the early 40's and used to say that you had to tackle with your shoulder and make sure to wrap them up rather than simply knocking a ball carrier off his feet by launching at him like a missile. You saw more defenders going for a ball carrier's legs rather than hitting them above the waist where more force is necessary to stop them.
I'm all for rule changes to enhance player safety when practical, but this one is going to be extremely difficult for players to adjust to.