The NFL has been trying unsuccessfully to legislate helmet-to-helmet hits out of its game.
Flags are occasionally thrown -- as they were Thursday night in the NFL's season opener and Super Bowl rematch of Carolina vs. Denver. The NFL's reigning MVP Cam Newton took a beating in both meetings. Three times he was drilled helmet-to-helmet in the opener by Denver defenders Brandon Marshall, Von Miller and Darian Stewart without any penalty yardage assessed.
"We wanted to make sure it got to [Newton], so every time he ran, we tried to put a helmet or shoulder pads on him," Denver safety T.J. Ward said after the game.
Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News writes that the threat of a penalty is not getting the job done in the NFL and that the league needs to adopt the college rule.
"I can buy putting shoulder pads on a quarterback. But a helmet?," wrote Gosselin. "That's a penalty any way you look at it. Either it's spearing to the body or a helmet-to-helmet to the head. And that's what Newton took in the closing minutes from Stewart. The helmet is supposed to be for protection, not aggression.
"Flushed from the pocket, rolling to his left, Newton's legs were in the grasp of Broncos linebacker Shaquil Barrett. Stewart then arrived like a scud missile -- launching himself head first at Newton, his helmet tucked into his shoulder pads and arms at his side.
"Marshall also launched himself at Newton's head earlier in the game, his arms along for the ride. Only Miller of the three made any attempt to use his arms in the tackle of the Carolina quarterback.
"Whatever happened to form tackling? Remember how you were once taught -- see what you hit, wrap your arms around the ball carrier?
"But contact has been all but legislated out of training camp and practice for safety reasons by the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. Thus, tackling has become a lost art. Tackling is now all about the shoulder pads and helmet rather than the arms.
"That leaves the NFL one option -- adopt the college rule. Eject those whose idea of tackling is launching head-first into ball carriers and quarterbacks. No ball carrier, much less a quarterback, should have to endure the punishment that Newton endured Thursday. His night did not become one of success or failure. It became one of physical survival."
Versatile ride
Jerry Jones has a new helicopter with the Cowboys logo on it, mostly to use to get him to and from games without traffic. But Jones told a reporter, "You can shoot out of it. You can shoot pigs out of it. You can do a lot of things in this helicopter."
"Ah yes," wrote Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com, "just another example about why the Cowboys franchise is so 'beloved' outside of Dallas."
Driver wanted
NBC IndyCar commentator Paul Tracy is not impressed with Andretti Autosport driver Marco Andretti's skill set: "The only other ride I could see him getting is maybe with Uber."
Sports quiz
Which NFL team was flagged for the most unnecessary roughness penalties in 2015?
Sports answer
The Baltimore Ravens with 14.
Sports on 09/11/2016