Last year, when the NFL adopted a new rule against lowering the helmet to initiate contact, it was advertised as a major change to the way football is played. But it turned out not to be a major change because the officials didn’t call it very often.
This year, that may change.
Rich McKay, the head of the NFL competition committee, says that the league viewed the first season of the new rule as an opportunity to educate both players and officials, but after a full year, players are expected to know the rule and will be penalized if they don’t abide by it.
“I think during [the 2018 season] there’s no question that you saw many more fines and warning letters than you did flags,” McKay told Dom Cosentino of Deadspin.com. “I think this year you’ll see enforcement increase because I think the officials are more comfortable now [with] what they’re looking for. I think that they’ve been in a position where, at the end of the play, they didn’t necessarily look at that portion of the play—they were looking for the football, they were looking for other things. It’s interesting when you talk to them how they feel more confident now that they understand what they need to look for. By the same token, I think the message to our players has likewise had a year to get through.”
The question, however, is whether the league will follow through. If a rash of penalty flags in the preseason leads to a rash of complaints that the officials are being too strict in their enforcement, it won’t be surprising if once again this rule change turns out not to be the major change that it appears.
