Quote:
Originally Posted by bigjohn
Then there should not be rules against helmet contact at all then. It does not get called and is not being called on hits that cause concussions and injuries. Leading with the helmet is illegal by rule but not called. It is wrong in my opinion.
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The rule is in place for player safety, as you suggest. But football is a contact sport: players get injured all the time on legal hits, most of which have nothing to do with helmet contact, legal or illegal. The rules and the traditions of enforcement aim to compromise between safety and the thrill of the game.
Your opinion seems to be that the current practices of enforcement err on the side of thrill. Most coaches and players with whom I've spoken about safety rules take the opposite view, and regard those rules as overkill. NFHS will continue to tinker with the rules in pursuit of that compromise as they gather data about the way the game is played and the injuries that are most common.
It's one thing to argue that the IHC rule is not as stringent as it should be. It's another to argue that officials aren't enforcing the rule correctly. You're entitled to your opinion about the former (and some might agree with you); you seem to be mistaken about the latter.