Alan Truex: A tip of the hat to the new helmet-butting rule

Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game in Canton had more significance than any of those of prior years.  Not that it counted, of course not, and not that the Baltimore Ravens entertained us with rare athleticism as they squeezed past Chicago 17-16.

This matchup was a tribute to faded glory.  The player whose prestige rose the most did not play in it.  Joe Flacco, the disrespected 2012 Super Bowl winner, tried not to look too happy as backup quarterback Lamar Jackson made a tepid pro debut.

Jackson continues to look like a wide receiver trying to be a quarterback.  He’s the only Raven who could have the skill set of a game-altering receiver.  But he doesn’t want to hear about it.  He eagerly points out that he’s never played a down as a receiver and is not interested in doing it now.

Jackson’s 4-for-10 passing was not definitive but did not dispel doubts about his processing speed and accuracy from the pocket.  He’s more likely to be the Ravens’ No 3 QB than the No. 1.

But the impact of this extra preseason game went far beyond Heisman Trophy holder Jackson or other Ravens, though third-year linebacker Kamalei Correa broke out with 3 sacks, an interception, 2 passes defensed and a team-high 6 tackles.  Terrell Suggs is looking over his shoulder.

The Bears, hoping to rebuild with a bright rookie head coach, Matt Nagy, did not show much.  They did not play their young franchiser, Mitchell Trubisky.

Never mind.  Thursday night’s exhibition was a symposium on head safety.   First time two NFL teams have met in game conditions that featured a new helmet-hitting rule open to myriad interpretations. 

Players shall not lower their heads to initiate contact with an opposing player.  Any ramming, butting or spearing by any portion of the helmet, even if not violent or intentional, is a 15-yard penalty.   It doesn’t have to be helmet to helmet, but helmet to any part of the body.

There is, however, one notable exception to the rule: “If the contact by or with the helmet is incidental to conventional blocking or tackling techniques, it’s not a foul.”

Off first impression, the exception is the rule.  It all comes down to what the meaning of the word “conventional” is.

Hasn’t the sport always allowed – and encouraged – nose-first blocking and tackling?

If Thursday night was an accurate indicator, offensive linemen can fire off the ball like they always have.  And a linebacker does not have to contort his body to prevent his head from being in front.

This was a normal bland preseason game, no more chaotic and bumbling than most of them.  The new rule produced three penalties (one against Correa), two of them assessed for conduct that was clearly improper and dangerous.

One who was penalized, perhaps unfairly, was Ravens safety Bennett Jackson, who made a diving tackle on tight end Daniel Brown, grazing his helmet against the latter’s chest.  Jackson said the ref was apologetic.  “He said, ‘Hey, it’s preseason, we’ve got to throw the flag.’”

So the league is experimenting.  That’s what preseason is for.   Just get it right for the regular season.  Spare us a catch not being a catch.  Let me be the first to say the ambiguity of the new rule is the beauty of it.

When do we know what really is a spear and what isn’t?  “If they get fined, it’s real,” said Mike Florio, hosting Pro Football Talk on NBCSN.  So far, no fines.

I’m not sure what Thursday night said about the future of pro football, but it did show that players can pay a little more attention to protecting themselves without detracting from the visuals.  And that’s a good thing.

Yet it’s easy to understand the hand-wringing of Florio and others over new dogma that repudiates the traditions of the game.   Minnesota Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo is wearing a cap in training camp with the message, “Make Football Violent Again.”   He was in concussion protocol eight months ago.  Which begs the question: Is he already suffering from CTE?

With what we now know of concussion – Hall of Famers Nick Buoniconti and Brett Favre supporting the findings of many neurologists – Commissioner Roger Goodell is right to change the culture in which you led with your head.   I might have played a few more days of tackle football if a junior-high coach hadn’t screamed into my face: “Get your nose in there, or get your ass outta here!”

Florio said: “We hear all the time, low man wins.  But how do you get your pads low if you don’t take your helmet low?  And how do you move in on a receiver who is ducking?  How do you get in position to tackle that guy without potentially hitting his helmet with your helmet?”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who praised the rule when it was announced in March, backed off after seeing it administered Thursday night: “I don’t know enough about the rule to understand it right now and comment on it.”

I think the refs, at least, are close to figuring it out, and that’s what matters most.  Of course their calls will be subjective and disputed, as they are after most holdings or pass interference.  But by the end of the preseason, most players will have deduced what they must do to avoid penalties.  The slow learners must pay a price, in fines and, in the most extreme cases, suspensions.

Goodell’s office was so sneaky in implementing the rule – not seeking any debate or input from players and coaches – that it left fans expecting the worst.

Cassandra cries about the doom of football are overwrought, though the sport may never have the dizzy popularity it enjoyed before concussion, Trumpism and #MeToo whittled its base.   Pro football now is anything but a feelgood sport.  Will it ever be again?

As slow as the NFL was to acknowledge and research the hazards of concussion, it’s finally doing some things right, albeit with prodding from federal judges.

The hope – or to some, the fear – is that game action will move from the heavily congested middle of the field to the perimeter, where speed and elusiveness will be more displayed than power and violence.

If that’s how the game evolves, it still will be an appealing product.  The league doesn’t have to promote violence but can sell the blurring acrobatics of its athletes and the harried accuracy of its quarterbacks.

The NFL is getting better with its storytelling, fans connecting with players at the Combine and then the draft’s Green Room and on into the Hard Knocks and other views of training camp on multiple sports networks.

But we should recognize football for what it is and will continue to be.

Humans will ride motorycles and climb the Himalayas and walk tightropes and smoke cigarettes no matter how many of us die from those decisions.  Humans will play football even if they believe a fourth of them will suffer chronic brain disease by the time they’re middle-aged.   We will revel in the spectacle, so very much like ancient Romans cheering gladiators in their great oval Colosseum.  We can be free of guilt as long as all who grapple in the arena are aware of the risk.