The number of injuries that have crowded the IR list on numerous teams requires action by the NFL. I can’t recall a time when so many teams were so significantly impacted. A few years back the QB position injuries rose to an alarming rate. The NFL took action. There is no way to universally avoid injuries in a contact game; however, steps were taken to adjust penalties on QB hits. Now we seldom see an injury that takes a QB out for the season. I think the league and the refs need to take steps to protect other positions. It’s true no one wants a flag filled game. Year one of major changes will likely result in numerous flags at first as players test the level of enforcement. The NFL will undoubtedly have to send out numerous guideline memos to get the limitations of play clear.
I’ve asked around and part of the problem appears to be a lack of strict enforcement of existing rules. Crackback blocks are all too common. Chop blocks are often ignored as well. The latter tactic is a serious injury cause. We all have seen replays of facemask grab blocks among linemen that are missed as well as hands to the face calls. I’ve also seen tripping go uncalled. Some have suggested adding another Line Judge, moving the Down Judge slightly downfield. Another interesting idea was making it a penalty to leave your feet to block. You could still leave your feet when tackling, defending a pass or attempting to recover a fumble. This is a theoretical way to address targeting when simply blocking. With bigger, faster and stronger being the mantra of the NFL, something needs to happen to reduce player damage. Any ideas?
I’ve asked around and part of the problem appears to be a lack of strict enforcement of existing rules. Crackback blocks are all too common. Chop blocks are often ignored as well. The latter tactic is a serious injury cause. We all have seen replays of facemask grab blocks among linemen that are missed as well as hands to the face calls. I’ve also seen tripping go uncalled. Some have suggested adding another Line Judge, moving the Down Judge slightly downfield. Another interesting idea was making it a penalty to leave your feet to block. You could still leave your feet when tackling, defending a pass or attempting to recover a fumble. This is a theoretical way to address targeting when simply blocking. With bigger, faster and stronger being the mantra of the NFL, something needs to happen to reduce player damage. Any ideas?
