Friday open thread: Will the new helmet contact rule be a problem in 2018?

It didn’t take long for the NFL’s new rule regarding contact to the head to make some waves. Less than five minutes into the preseason opener between the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens, a flag was thrown on Ravens linebacker Patrick Onwuasor for unnecessary roughness, use of the helmet.

The call itself appeared to be fairly straightforward. The Bears running back, Bennie Cunningham, had already seen his forward progress stopped, then Onwuasor came in and dove helmet first at him, causing helmet-to-helmet contact. Though there was helmet-on-helmet contact, a foul would have occurred regardless, as the rule states (emphasis added) “it is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and…