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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HardRightEdge" data-source="post: 493693">The player objections to the rule have a lot less to do with taking away a weapon than: 1) the fear of getting penalized for inadvertent helmet contact and 2) being encouraged to run upright where they cannot protect themselves. Getting low on contact is good technique...maintain forward momentum, strike with the shoulder pads, protect the knees. Helmets will be involved from time to time, even if unintentional. Since the penalty does not apply in the tackle box, runners will still want to get low into the second level, so the rule won't change what a runner is supposed to look like. Getting low on contact can't change either...otherwise you might as well put a bulls eye on your knees. Implementation of this rule should acknowledge the speed of the game and good technique. I would hope the penalty would be reserved for situations where a guy goes head down, straight forward, and something like two steps in advance of contact (akin to the roughing the passer leeway, though that rule's implementation is still inconsistent).</blockquote>

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