Filed under: Chicago Bears, Packers, NFC North, NFL Injuries
If the National Football League is serious about reducing vicious blows to the head, it can add a new rule that borrows a little from hockey and a little from soccer.In addition to walking off yardage against the transgressing team, football could establish a virtual penalty box that forces a team to use 10 men instead of the usual 11 for one or more plays after a dangerous foul.
An example of the need for such a rule came Sunday in the NFC Championship Game when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears, 21-14, for the right to play Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.
In the fourth quarter, defensive end Julius Peppers of the Bears was penalized 15 yards for delivering a blind-side hit to the head of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has already suffered two concussions this season.
"He lowers his head, leads with the crown and it's helmet-to-helmet,'' FOX announcer Troy Aikman said while watching the replay. "It's a wonder there that Rodgers (was) even able to get up.''
The screen showed Rodgers rising slowly and with difficulty to his feet with blood on his tongue while Peppers argued with the officials. In addition to the Bears losing 15 yards, Peppers was fined $10,000, it was reported a few days later.
Despite the league's crackdown on such hits, the risk/reward ratio of these fouls still makes it tempting for tacklers to hit quarterbacks this way.
Even a loss of 15 yards is worth the risk if such a collision puts a star quarterback out of a game or leaves him at less than his best. So why not do it? Even a fine of $10,000 is a small deterrent, especially if a player earning millions of dollars has bonus money in a contract related to overall team success.
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/28/nfl-should-look-to-hockey-soccer-on-flagrant-fouls/
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