One game, one slight tweak.
The NFL has clarified the manner in which violations of the new “helmet rule” are called after a penalty in last week’s Hall of Fame Game was improperly ID’d.
Yes, the teaching moments extend to the men in stripes.
Beginning with the first full weekend of preseason games that commences Thursday, here’s how officials are now instructed to call violations: “Personal foul, lowering the head to initiate contact, number (of player’s jersey), 15-yard penalty, first down.”
More: Helmet rule isn’t cause for NFL players to panic just yet
Explaining the language, Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president for football operations, told USA TODAY Sports, “Saying ‘use of helmet,’ is too vague,” for announcing the penalty.
On top of that, apparent “helmet rule” violation during the sole preseason game last week was announced as “unnecessary roughness on a defenseless player” – which is also a 15-yard personal foul but doesn’t necessarily involve the use of the helmet.
Vincent said amid skepticism among some players and coaches, the NFL is looking for consistency with how the new rule is officiated.
“This preseason, we’ve got to clean up the verbiage,” Vincent said, “and they must be clear about what they see.”
Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.