The NCAA is trying to reduce injury from helmet to helmet hits and rightly so. There are way to many injuries from defensive players targeting helpless players.
With all the attention this and concussions are getting, football as we know it is under attack. Even the President has said he would be leery about letting a son play football.
With all this warranted attention the safety of the players is coming to the forefront. The NCAA has added a new penalty for targeting. If a player is flagged for hitting high, he will be ejected from the game.
If the penalty occurs in the first half of the game, the offending player is ejected from the remaining time of the first half and for the second half of the game.
Should the offense occur in the second half then the guilty player will be ejected for the time remaining in the current game and for the first half of the next game.
Adding a new twist to the ejection rule will be the on field call is going to be subject to review up in the booth. The call can be upheld or overturned. However the powers that be in the booth will not be allowed to initiate a helmet to helmet call.
At the beginning of the season when star players are ejected from the game, we can expect a backlash to the new rule. However if football as we know it is to survive the latest scrutiny and avoid big law suites down the road this rule is a must have.
We should see the solution to the problem instituted in spring and fall camps. The solution is better tackling.
Instead of these helmet to helmet or shoulder to helmet hits the defense must go back to the basics using tackling drills.
Sure the armless tackles can look cool in the highlight reels but they can have heavy consequences, an injured player or a missed tackle that goes for big yards and or a touchdown.
Coaches across the country will be forced to teach their players better tackling skills like how to wrap up an opposing player.
Hopefully the new rule will be enforced making the game safer for all the players.
Tackling Drills Videos
