The recent story in the NFL is helmet to helmet hits on defenseless player. The league committees are trying to make the league safer for the player to reduce injuries. The NFL Commissioner is not doing a good job protecting the players because concussion and major head damage keep happening. The Commissioners idea is to penalize by a 15 yards penalty on the field against their team, but also charged significant fines toward the player who commit the penalty. (Benavent) By fining the players the league is changing the speed of the game, the hard hitting and the fun of game.
NFL Commissioner Robert Goodell stated: Strategy, strength and speed are what make the game great. We don’t want to take physical contact out of the game. But we must ensure that players follow rules designed to reduce the risk of injury. Enforcing rules on illegal hits to the head with fines and suspensions has changed tackling for the better. Players and coaches have adjusted. They always do. We now see fewer dangerous hits to the head and noticeable changes in the way the game is being played. That’s true the league is safe but fining player is not going to fix the problem.
The fact is that when you are tackling you are using your head which is a fundamental football. A tackle is when a player using a great amount of force to bring a ball carrier down. Further, it’s when a defender at lower leverage and strikes a ball carrier with his head across the ball carrier body with his arms wraped around him bring him down. Let’s say that the ball carrier does the same thing lowering his head trying to avoid the hit and now the defender is call for helmet to helmet hit. In the act helmets would hit together. It’s not unavoidable and certainly not intentional.
I think that the NFL commissioner wants to encourage players to hit low toward the knees where the ball carrier has no protection. The result will in tearing ACL’s and other ligaments that end players’ season and possibly careers. During this season there would be a lot of flags thrown during the game causing the game to be longer. But that’s not the main idea it is how to determine which violent hit is considered a penalty and a fine. Some of the violent hits are not called and some hits are called. The league needs to figure out which are and which are not.
Most of the time these hard helmet hits happen when a receiver goes across the middle and a defender is attempting to stop the receiver from catching the ball. To clarify: Forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, regardless of whether the defensive player also use his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him; and lowering the head and making forcible contact with the top, crown or forehead “hairline” parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body. Lapsncaps) There are a lot of conversely between NFL Commissioner Goodell and players because the fact that they have to change their playing style and adjust to the new league safety rules. I think that it’s hard to adjust because football is a violent sport and tackles require force. I understand there trying to protect players, but there inconsistent and making it into a sissy league. Tackling is part of football. When a defender tackles a ball carrier helmet to helmet hit well happen.
It’s not unavoidable and certainly no intentional. This sport is completive each team want a victory however in a situation when it really counts and a receiver attempts to catch the ball the defender would must likely hit the receiver to knocked to ball lose. But if the defender “forcibly hit the defenseless player’s head or neck area, lowering his head to any part of the defenseless player’s body is a penalty and fined thousands. The NFL wants to stop the concussion and prevent players with long term health problems.