National Football League makes rule changes about flagrant hits – NFL news
The National Football League will be cracking down even harder on players that perform unnecessarily violent hits or hit defenseless players.
The NFL chief disciplinarian, Ray Anderson, held a conference call that reiterated the League’s policy on flagrant hits. He said that those players will have a higher likelihood of being suspended.
No player was suspended in 2010, even though the League was already cracking down on illegal hits because “we were operating under the principle unless you have given sufficient advance notice of what the results could be, you need to be more lenient,” Anderson
said.
“Frankly, now that the notice has been given, players and coaches and clubs are very aware of what the emphasis is and we won't have that hesitation,” Anderson said. “Everyone will be very clearly on notice now that a suspension is very viable for us and
we will exercise it ... when it comes to illegal hits to the head and neck area and to defenseless players.”
The League increased the fines for flagrant hits after a series of them in one weekend of October 2010. During that weekend, New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather and Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson both drew penalties worth $50,000 each
while James Harrison, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, drew a $75,000 fine for one such hit.
Even though the suspensions were considered for multiple illegal hits throughout the season, none of the players was suspended. The League wanted to be perfectly clear on what kind of hit would draw a suspension, usually to the helmet or neck, and what a
defenseless player is classified as. The NFL has looked at hits from the past two years and has created a new list of rules that define defenseless players.
First is a quarterback who is in the process of throwing the ball. Second is a receiver that is attempting to catch a pass. Third is a runner who has already been stopped by tacklers and is not moving forward. Fourth is a player that is fielding a kickoff
or punt. A kicker or punter in the process of kicking the ball is also considered a defenseless receiver, as is a quarterback is after a change of possession, such as after an interception.
A receiver who is blocked from the blind side is in the seventh category with a player that is already on the ground as the eighth. There will be a meeting between owners next week in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the League will also propose bringing a
touchback out to the 25-yard line and moving the kickoff up to the 35-yard line.
The League is concerned about injuries on kickoffs, which also prompts a proposition for no players to be more than five yards behind the ball except the kicker and also to eliminate wedges.
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