Now more than two weeks into the preseason, the newly implemented helmet rule has sent the NFL world into a frenzy.
Fifty lowering-the-helmet infractions have been called so far. 49ers running back Raheem Mostert was involved in one of the circulated clips. In Saturday’s 16-13 loss to the Houston Texans, he was flagged on punt coverage for a tackle that would have been legal under old rules.
Raheem Mostert literally goes to his knees and tucks his head out of the way, and is called for a penalty under the new rule. #49ers #SFvsHOU pic.twitter.com/XrKjJ4PWia
— James Brady (@JamesBradySBN) August 19, 2018
The new rule penalizes players for lowering their head to initiate contact with their helmet to any part of another player’s body. Players and coaches are seeking clarity on a rule that has very little at the moment.
“I think everyone knows it’s an issue right now,” Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday. “I’m hoping that people get it figured it out.”
“That’s the hard thing. I know what I think is a legal tackle,” Shanahan said. “Then, I know what the new rule articulates with the words, so then it makes it hard to figure out how much we’re following that exactly and how much we’re not. I think that’s what everyone is in between, trying to figure it out. I don’t think people know that exactly yet.”
49ers players and coaches have reiterated that if you tackle correctly, by lowering your shoulder into the opponent’s sternum, a flag should not be called. The rule change preaches emphasis on the fundamentals.
“You were never taught to use your head, but stuff happens when you are moving fast, and another guy is trying to avoid you,” 49ers linebacker Eli Harold said. “Sometimes, it happens.”
Harold said he understands the rule has been implemented with concern for the players’ future. Last July, the New York Times dropped a bomb when it reported that a neuropathologist studied 111 brains of former NFL players, and 110 had CTE(Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy).
The NFL has tried to strike the balance of maintaining the game while making it safer. It’s an ongoing issue that will inevitably be met with backlash from players, coaches, and fans alike.
For the 49ers, though, they continue to preach the same tackling techniques they always have.
“People in the rugby world have tackled without helmets for years and we’ve been teaching that style of tackling for, I’m going on, I believe, eight years now and our players are going on year two,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said earlier this month. “So, we feel so good about all of the drills that we run, the techniques that we teach, the tape that we have to show them exactly what it looks like, that in a way we’ve been preparing for this moment. Now that it’s here, I don’t think it should change us.”