The NFL has been cracking down on some rules during the past few seasons, most notably pass interference and holding. They have also made some adjustments to some touchdown and sack celebrations. Although these have become a huge issue with fans because some of the plays are too ticky-tack, meaning they shouldn’t be called, the league continues to call them flags and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.
Reports have now surfaced that the NFL is going to be looking out for illegal contact even more than usual next season. Unlike some of the other penalties that have been called, illegal contact is something the league needs to figure out. Too many players are getting hurt because of dirty hits, which the league doesn’t want, and rightfully so.
NFL Looking at Illegal Contact More in 2022-2023 season
A league spokesperson told ESPN that they have asked officials to pay closer attention to these fouls, according to PFT.
ESPN also had the following to say:
“Another significant point of clarification for 2022 will revolve around roughing the passer fouls. The competition committee has clarified that contact to the helmet and below the knee area must be forcible, in recognition that some officials have thrown flags for minor contact in recent seasons.”
It’s going to be interesting to see this play out for a few different reasons. One, will these plays result in harsher penalities? Will these players be suspended if they get hit with an illegal contact flag? How will the fans take this? Fans don’t want to see their team get penalized for these things and there are often times when some of these plays aren’t as bad as officials make them seem.
The NFL season is right around the corner, so we will see for ourselves sometime in the near future.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
