The San Francisco 49ers had a messy night of penalties when they played the Houston Texans for their second preseason game. None of the penalties could have been more egregious than one called on running back Raheem Mostert for what was a textbook tackle. The officials didn’t think so and threw the flags for that new fangled targeting rule that’s making the rounds. Jeremiah Attaochu also got nailed with the call.
Well, Sunday, Richard Sherman made it clear what he thinks of the new rule on social media, posting a few tweets about it:
To all those ppl including those who made the rule. I want a video of YOU running full speed and being lead by anything but your head while also attempting to bring down a moving target. You will soon realize it’s impossible. https://t.co/QFyENU6LKf
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) August 19, 2018
There is no “make adjustment” to the way you tackle. Even in a perfect form tackle the body is led by the head. The rule is idiotic And should be dismissed immediately. When you watch rugby players tackle they are still lead by their head. Will be flag football soon.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) August 19, 2018
This is considered a good Rugby tackle. It would be a for sure penalty in our league. https://t.co/2EqxrKwgCC
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) August 19, 2018
Well now, that’s a time to drop the mic if I’ve ever seen it. Sherman’s comments probably aren’t going to be well received by the league, but I think Sherman’s aware enough to not really care.
The new helmet rule just doesn’t seem to be working. On paper it looks good and makes sense, in execution, it just isn’t working as we’ve seen night in and night out. I would have preferred the league try this enforcement in the preseason for a year or two (like extra point/kickoff rules that come along) before moving along to the regular season in order to A: have the officials begin vetting how enforcing this would go and B: for players/the league to know this rule change is coming and plan accordingly. There simply has not been enough time for everyone to get onboard with this rule. Not to mention change years of habits/fundamentals or at least be given a wake-up call that it’s coming.
It’s a rule that definitely is needed to try and do any sort of decrease in CTE, but it’s been poorly implemented so far. I don’t see why the league can’t just have someone from New York buzz in when they see an improper tackle and make the game go to a quick commercial while they review it. The officials have demonstrated thus far they cannot make these crucial judgment calls in real time. Then again, if Mostert is any indication, there’s no way they can make it with extensive replay either. I’ve said forever the league could eliminate the commercial breaks on possession changes if they instead used those breaks to salt the games with shorter breaks to review penalties such as this (same amount of commercial time per game, shorter block—getting us back to the action quicker) with an emphasis to review anything officials are unsure of (hence more commercials) but what do I know?