Second Thoughts

New helmet rule has some Eagles baffled

Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins is unsure if some of the hits he’s put on past opponents will be penalized under the new NFL rules which call for a 15-yard penalty and possible ejection if a player lowers his helmet to initiate contact.
Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins is unsure if some of the hits he’s put on past opponents will be penalized under the new NFL rules which call for a 15-yard penalty and possible ejection if a player lowers his helmet to initiate contact.

A presentation this week by NFL referees to the Philadelphia Eagles on the new helmet rule caused frustration among the players, according to team members, and created further confusion for some about what is expected of them.

"We were trying to ask questions to get a better understanding, and yet they couldn't really give us an answer," linebacker Nigel Bradham said. "They couldn't give us what we were looking for."

Under the new rule, a player will be penalized 15 yards and potentially fined or ejected for lowering his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent.

During the presentation, which lasted close to an hour according to Bradham, players were shown clips of what are now considered illegal hits -- some of which appeared to them as routine tackles.

Seeking further clarification during the Q&A that followed, the players showed the presenters a video of safety Malcolm Jenkins' hit on wide receiver Brandin Cooks during Super Bowl LII that knocked Cooks out of the game. The refs were split on whether it would now be considered an illegal hit.

"I'm going to make that play 10 times out of 10. If it's a flag, it's a flag," Jenkins said after practice Sunday, adding that he doesn't believe that hit would lead to an ejection under the current policy. "You can't slow yourself down thinking about rules in a split second. The game happens really, really fast, faster than the rules, I think, take account for, but I won't let it affect the way I play."

The rule applies to not only tacklers but linemen and ball carriers as well. The concern for running backs is that they are going to have to retrain themselves after years of attacking a certain way.

The meeting between the Eagles and referees was described as spirited, with the players expressing consternation over the new rule.

"[The refs] were kind of like, 'Hey, we didn't make the rules.' Because I think guys were kind of frustrated," running back Wendell Smallwood said. "Most of the defense was like, 'Man, how are we supposed to tackle?' They were frustrated."

Farewell, Nikolai

WWE Hall of Famer Nikolai Volkoff died this weekend.

His onetime ring partner, The Iron Sheik -- with whom he won the tag-team championship at Wrestlemania I in 1985 -- confirmed in a tweet Sunday that Volkoff had passed away.

Volkoff, who's real name was Josip Nikolai Peruzovic, wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1968 to 1971 where he won a tag team title in 1970. After that, he went on to wrestle singles and later returned to the WWWF between 1974 and 1980 and then again for a second time in 1984 when it was then called the World Wrestling Federation.

He wrestled in the Mid-South region -- which included Arkansas -- in the early 1980s.

Volkoff had a successful run teaming up with Sheik in multiple wrestling events between 1984 and 1987 as well as other wrestlers in the years after. He went back and forth between foreign heel and hero through the '90s and eventually scaled back wrestling through the 2000s although he did make appearances in the current World Wrestling Entertainment.

Although he was Croatian, Volkoff was portrayed as a Russian and would often rile up the crowd by singing the Russian national anthem.

Volkoff was inducted into the WWE's Hall of Fame in 2005. He was 70 years old.

QUIZ

Where did Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham play collegiately?

ANSWER

Florida State

Sports on 07/30/2018

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