The new ‘Helmet Rule’ has already been on the receiving end of plenty of fan outrage after a number of head-scratching penalties and ejections through the first 2 weeks of the preseason, but the most outrageous flag from the games so far has to be the flag that Vikings linebacker Antiwione Williams drew for roughing the passer on a seemingly harmless sack of Cody Kessler on Friday.
According to the league, the penalty falls under the new ‘Rodgers Rule’ – named after Anthony Barr’s collarbone breaking sack of Rodgers from last season – which is designed to prevent excessive contact on QB sacks. Even under the rule, It’s hard to tell what the NFL wants Williams to do here, maybe give Kessler some cookies and put down a pillow to land on?
Colin has said that the NFL would severely overcall penalties under these new rules to get a baseline for the regular season. Let’s hope Colin is right.