By James Parks
Targeting will come to the National Football League in 2018.
Among the new rules proposed by the league’s Competition Committee and eventually voted on by the 32 teams is a measure that forbids players from going into tackles with lowered helmets, in an effort to curb chronic head and brain injuries in players.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy explained the new rule, thus: “It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. The player may be disqualified. Applies to any player anywhere on the field.”
The new infraction will cost the guilty team 15 yards and, if committed by a defensive player, will result in an automatic first down for the offensive team.
Immediately, the new rule came under heavy criticism, mostly from defensive players, including cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Josh Norman, among others, who argued that it would force tacklers to be so cautious as to result in missed or poorly executed tackles and dilute the quality of the game. ...
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