If there is one takeaway from the NFL preseason thus far, it's that the newly implemented helmet rule is pretty bad. It results in a 15-yard penalty if any player initiates contact with their helmet to make a tackle and it has led to textbook tackles being flagged in various games.
Richard Sherman is among one of the many current and former players who have already publicly voiced their frustration with the change.
Following a meeting between league officials regarding the controversial helmet rule, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent announced that the Shield would not be making any changes to it at this time.
"The committee resolved that there will be no changes to the rule as approved by clubs this spring, which includes no additional use of instant replay. The committee also determined that inadvertent or incidental contact with the helmet and/or facemask is not a foul," he said.
The former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback did clarify that inadvertent contact should not be flagged by the refs, but that is far from the resolution that many were hoping for.
As the rule has clearly been panned by fans and caused confusion among teams thus far, Vincent also said the league would, "continue to provide video feedback and examples of fouls and incorrect calls to coaches, players and officials over the next two weeks and throughout the season as the new rule is implemented."
With this much of a disruption already taking place only two weeks into the preseason, it will be interesting to see just how long before the league makes an appropriate change. Judging by how long it took them to look into adjusting the catch rule, there's going to be a lot of angry fans tossing objects around the house for the next 17 weeks of the NFL regular season.
