Minnesota Vikings defenders Andrew Sendejo and Harrison Smith may have to tweak their tackling techniques to comply with a new NFL rule.
Since Mike Zimmer was hired in 2014, part of what has made the Minnesota Vikings defense so good has been the amount of brutal hits they deliver to their opponents each and every week.
For the most part, these hits are completely legal. But there have been some in the recent past that have resulted in fines and suspensions for a few Vikings defenders.
To avoid similar penalties in 2018, players on Minnesota’s defense will have to be even more careful due to certain new rule being passed at this week’s NFL owners meetings.
The new ruling prohibits all players from using their helmet to initiate contact with their opponent. From now on, teams can be given a 15-yard penalty if one of their players breaks this rule during a game.
Depending on how severe the hit is, a player who uses his helmet to make contact with an opponent can also end up getting ejected from a matchup. Even if helmet-to-helmet contact is avoided and a player’s helmet makes contact with another part of his opponent’s body, an ejection can still be the end result.
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota’s players are pretty good at not using their helmets to initiate contact, but this new rule could have a tremendous effect on the actual outcomes of future games.
Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo has been known to deliver some pretty brutal blows to Minnesota’s opponents over the years. Sendejo was even given a one-game suspension last season for using his shoulder to tackle Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Mike Wallace in Week 7.
Even if it is unintentional, one slip-up next year by Sendejo, Harrison Smith, Anthony Barr, or someone else where their helmet makes contact with an opposing offensive player could result in them being sent to the locker room for the remainder of a matchup.
Based on the guidelines of the new rule, Barr’s infamous hit on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers last season would now likely result in at least a 15-yard penalty.
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Unfortunately, Zimmer and his staff may now have to teach entirely new tackling methods to the Vikings’ defenders this offseason in order to avoid getting penalized in 2018. He’s probably really excited about that.