New Helmet Rule Makes NFL Almost Unwatchable

[iueyedoc]

So earlier this week there was an article about PHI players not having a clue about the new helmet rule. But no big deal, the refs said:
The refs told the players that they watched six games and found only three instances in which the new rule would come into play. Still, there is concern from some players that the policy will both slow the game down and hit them in the pocket.


So tonight 4 of them called. Two, one by each team, complete bullshit. This rule is a knee jerk clusterfuck with games going to be decided by refs that can't agree on the interpretation.

They better fix this fast or fan disinterest will come quickly.

 

[playthrough2001]

It’s absolutely terrible. The one they called on Orr and the last one on the Ravens are not penalties or the game is dead.

 

[ILoveDick]

The NFL gets harder and harder to watch every year. I'm not predicting complete doom, but I expect the ratings to continue to drop. Too much game stoppage and downtime.

 

[AussieBear]

the pats will get calls dey way all the way to another sb appearance..

good luck gambling on dis flag fer anything game.

 

[Aesopian]

The new rule is going to be used as a strategy in the NFL. Defenses don't matter much in this new rule unless it's a turnover.

 

[Hawkeye OG]

It pretty much sucks. I feel bad for the players. Game is very fast paced and shit happens. This rule is going to sway a lot of games IMO

 

[iueyedoc]

Hopefully they are calling it excessively to try and set a tone and will back off in the regular season

 

[Tjodalv]

They won't call them like this in the regular season.

 

[SugarWalls]

The NFL absolutely needs to remove hits to the head, and most definitely helmet to helmet contact.

This rule is not the solution. It’s gonna be a long year...

 

[PrideisBears]

Roquan smiling

 

[JT_Bonfire]

Hopefully they are calling it excessively to try and set a tone and will back off in the regular season

They always do this with new rules in the pre-season. They call it excessively to “set the tone” with the players, then they lay off of it in the regular season.

 

[Novoitus]

it was insanely inconsistent tonight. it just seems like something the refs can call whenever they want to, which is problematic.

 

[Aesopian]

They won't call them like this in the regular season.

Hopefully, they won't but my faith in officals is pretty low.

 

[nc0gnet0]

The day football died...............

 

[botfly10]

trump will blame it on kneeling tho

 

[Madden]

Maybe every player should have a sensor in their helmet. If the g-forces go beyond a certain level due to a hit, a siren will be activated through the PA system and the offending tackler will be beaten to death.

 

[JoJoBoxer]

The new rule is going to be used as a strategy in the NFL. Defenses don't matter much in this new rule unless it's a turnover.

**** everyone. Visionman said that this was going to be the easiest thing to teach and that it was only going to be called once every other game. Since it happened 4 times in the Hall of Fame game, both the Ravens and Bears will play their next three preseason games without one being called.

 

[JoJoBoxer]

Maybe every player should have a sensor in their helmet. If the g-forces go beyond a certain level due to a hit, a siren will be activated through the PA system and the offending tackler will be beaten to death.

... with his own helmet.

 

[Visionman]

**** everyone. Visionman said that this was going to be the easiest thing to teach and that it was only going to be called once every other game. Since it happened 4 times in the Hall of Fame game, both the Ravens and Bears will play their next three preseason games without one being called.

Said last night, it's preseason for the refs as well. 2 of those 4 were definitely not called according to the letter of the rule, and we're called out as such. Let's see if it is the same next week before everyone makes their tin foil hats, shall we?

 

[Toast88]

I don't think there's going to be much "there" there on this new helmet rule.

It's a tiny sample size, but based on what we saw last night, I don't see the new rule making much of a difference. We didn't see any running backs or linemen called for it last night, which is one thing a bunch of people were pre-freaked out about. We only saw it in a couple places we expect to see helmet-related penalties. And no one was ejected.

We'll see as the games go on and there were indeed some questionable calls (as per usual), but right now, seems like a nothingburger.