The NFL passed four new safety proposals at the annual owners meetings, as part of their continuing effort to clean up the game.

While many will likely see this as just another step in solidifying their status as the No Fun League, the league’s top priority is the welfare of its players. Well…at least while they’re still in the league, it is.

I’ve watched enough Real Sports to know that a) once you leave the league, you’re on your own; and b) taking care of the players while they are still in the league will go a long way to make it easier to take care of them when they are older and injured.

From ESPN.com:

When it came to safety this year, there was apparently no debate. Starting this fall, the NFL is going to outlaw the “wedge” on kickoffs, stop the bunching of players on onside kicks, protect blockers from a helmet-to-helmet hit from the blindside and save receivers from forearm or shoulder hits to the head when they appear to be defenseless.

The “wedge” on kickoffs rule will make it illegal for more than two players on the receiving team of a kickoff to “wedge” together as a blocking unit. The Competition Committee deemed this technique too dangerous and felt that too many injuries were occurring because of it. Forming a wedge with more than two players will result in a 15-yard penalty from the spot of the foul. According to John Clayton, the penalty will be called when “three or more players line up shoulder to shoulder within two yards of each other to lead the blocking.”

The onside kick rule change will change the spacing of the formation for teams attempting onside kicks. This has always been one of the most dangerous plays in football, since one team has to stay relatively motionless, while the other team is running at them full-blast. The coaches found ways around the old rules, they’ll find ways around this one.

The third rule will probably be referred to as the “Hines Ward Rule,” in much the same way that the horse-collar tackle rule is referred to as the “Roy Williams Rule.” Ward’s block on Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers resulted in Rivers breaking his jaw, and the new rule now states that there will be a 15-yard penalty for a player delivering “a blindside block to the head of a defender using his helmet, forearm or shoulder.”

The last rule is also a contact-to-the-helmet rule, one that will further attempt to protect vulnerable wide receivers. The new rule really just expands on the old “defenseless receiver” rule, but adds in that he cannot be hit in the head or neck with a shoulder or forearm, in addition to the old helmet-to-helmet rules.

Sure, there’s bound to be some people upset on Sundays with the additional “protection” penalties, but as long as these guys are making the kind of money they make, the league will do whatever it takes to keep their investments on the field.

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