NFL isn’t backing up its tough talk on this player-safety issue
It happened Thursday in Dallas.
It happened last week in Dallas.
It’s happening every week, though not only in Dallas.
Why, after the NFL made such a big deal about curbing helmet-to-helmet contact with its ballyhooed offseason initiative to protect its players, does it seem like dangerous helmet-to-helmet contact continues to occur without repercussions (but often with concussions) on a weekly basis?
Surely, the NFL — with its army of spin doctors, analytics personnel and publicists — will produce data after the season to show how well it did to curb the helmet-to-helmet problem. But, regardless of what numbers they produce to the public, here’s a fact: It hasn’t been good enough.
If you think it is, take a look at the hit by Dallas defensive back Jaylon Smith on New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara in Thursday’s 13-10 win over the Saints.
The hit came on third-and-17 at midfield in the fourth quarter with the Saints trying to rally from a deficit. Kamara caught a pass from Drew Brees and gained eight yards before being punished by the Smith hit. A penalty would have given the Saints a first down at the Dallas 27. Instead, they would never get any closer to tying the game or taking the lead.
Smith likely wasn’t trying to hurt Kamara, but it was clearly poor tackling technique, which should be penalized and it wasn’t. That had a major potential impact on the outcome of the game and, more importantly, could have seriously injured Kamara, one of the most dynamic players in the sport.
When Brees was asked about the hit, he said, “What do you think? Let the league deal with that.”
Therein lies the problem. They’re not dealing with it well enough.
If the league’s officials cannot be counted on to make these calls, then there might have to be a special replay rule set up for helmet-to-helmet hits. Perhaps each coach can be given an extra challenge flag or two to throw when they believe a call has been missed.
If you think the NFL is doing enough, then take look at the Cowboy’s 31-23 Thanksgiving win over the Redskins, when Washington tight end Jordan Reed was rammed in the helmet by the helmet of Dallas’ Xavier Woods on a key third down with the Redskins trying to rally from an 11-point deficit.
Reed, who suffered two concussions while in college and has had a reported four more known concussions in the NFL, was so livid as he walked to the Washington sideline he angrily threw his helmet. He later tried to plead his case to the referees near the sideline.
His words, and the words of too many offensive players in the league, fell on deaf ears.
“I asked the referees [and] they said it wasn’t helmet-to-helmet on the field,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden told reporters the day after the game. “But clearly, when you watch it was. Just a play that they missed for some reason. And when it’s that blatant in front of a lot of people in the middle of the field, you just wonder why that wasn’t called if we’re talking about protection of the players.
“It’s just frustrating because that’s a point of emphasis, so to speak.”
So to speak.
