This article is dated just four days before Thursday's game. Seems to me it's pretty clear that according to 2016 rules ANY hit with the crown of the helmet anywhere on the body is a penalty, not just helmet to helmet. I assume the rationale is to prevent the defender from injuring himself as well as the person receiving the blow and by calling all of them they'll force defenders to change the way they tackle - no more head tackling ever. Maybe it was part of the recent huge court settlement but no matter the reason it makes ALL head hits a penalty. And it's a "point of emphasis" for officials this year. I have a feeling those officials are in hot water! http://www.footballzebras.com/2016/...ield-are-addressed-in-new-points-of-emphasis/ Crown hits. In addition to the rule changes on so-called crown hits (removes the criteria for a player to “line-up” a runner prior to initiating contact), the Committee also instructed officials to closely watch for contact initiated with the crown of the helmet on a runner from any angle outside the tackle box. The original enforcement, which was not included in the rulebook, required a player committing an illegal crown hit to (1) line up his opponent, (2) lower his head, and (3) make forcible contact with the crown of his helmet. The three components must be present for a crown hit on an open-field runner. One notable example from the 2015 season happened in the Steelers-Bengals Wild Card playoff game (video) when Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier hit Bengals running back Giovani Bernard, which caused a fumble late in the game. The officials correctly did not rule this a crown hit since Shazier came in at an angle. The Committee removed the line-up provision and now forcible contact with the crown from any angle outside the tackle box from a defender will be illegal. The line up requirement still applies to the runner since he is generally considered to be protecting himself from impending contact when he lowers his head rather than delivering a blow.
