The NFL owners passed four rule changes today at the NFL Annual Meeting. The changes were all meant to help prevent injuries.
Another such change, though not technically a rule change and didn't require a vote to pass, was to disallow defensive players from lunging and tackling the quarterback after being knocked to the ground.
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This change is in response to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's injury last year. He sustained a season-ending injury after Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard dove into his knee.
The new rule will be dubbed the Brady Rule.
At the time of the injury, Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss called it a dirty play, but Pollard was just hustling fans and teammates would expect of any player.
But it should keep the quarterbacks healthier. Head official Mike Pereira said they actually emphacized low hits on the quarterback months ago.
Here are the rest of the rule changes:
1. Teams will no longer be able to bunch around the kicker in such high numbers for onside kicks. There will need to be at least four players on each side of the kicker with three of those four needing to be outside the hash mark. This will mean that no more six players can bunch at a time, lessening the chance of a player on the receiving team getting ganged up on.
2. On kick returns, no more than two players may be involved in a wedge, in which players link arms to plow a hole for the kick returner. Again, this would keep solitary players from being ganged up on, lessening the chance of injury.
3. When receivers are defenseless, they cannot be hit in the head in any way, whether that means leading with the shoulder or hands. Previously, only helmet-to-helmet hits were against the rules.
4. Offensive players cannot deliver a helmet-to-helmet hit when blocking a defensive player on the blindside.
Reach Jeff Richards at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
