How have the new NFL rules regarding head to head contact impacted the future wellbeing of NFL players? This question interests me for a variety of reasons. As a passionate fan of the National Football League, the new rules have changed the way players play the game. Also, I have noticed a sharp increase in low hits on players instead of hitting up top, resulting in star players frequently suffering lower body injuries which take them out of seasons and jeopardizes careers. This topic affects me as a fan because there are many times that players now suffer lower body injuries taking them out for extensive periods of time as opposed to concussions that might sideline a player for a week or two at most. In addition, players receive harsher penalties and fines for dealing out blows to the head. This affects fans worldwide because sometimes in the heat of the moment and the high speed in which the game is played results in accidental hits. I believe that the NFL should reduce the punishments that come with this penalty, it hurts the game as a whole and it is much more devastating to see a player go down for a long time with a lower body injury such as a torn ACL. Although some hits can be unintentional some players can be suspended for long periods of time regardless of the intentions of the hit, which is unfair to teams and fans who lose star players and affects the overall quality of the game. What makes me qualified to write about this is my consistent viewing of NFL games, having watched football religiously for over 10 years makes me somewhat qualified to write about the rules from a fan's perspective.


According to this article, the change in rules regarding helmet to helmet hits has changed the way defensive players tackle people. Now that helmet to helmet hits carry such a penalty, more defensive players choose now to tackle opponents low, thus putting other player's lower extremities and career's in danger. The 

There is much at stake for this article and the author. The article is written by a disability lawyer and he has major interest in career longevity of players in the National Football League. When players suffer career ending injuries, he is in the field where he can make money off of the devastating injuries. 

The credibility and bias of the author and source is definitely debatable. On one hand, as a disability lawyer he has the credentials to discuss possible career ending injuries. However, he might be putting a spin on the numbers and information in his article as he stands to make a few bucks when a player gets injured and is out for an extensive period of time or permanently.


The article, written Peter Barzilai and Erik Brady of usatoday.com, discusses the player's opinions on the new rules and what injuries they are worried about while playing the game. Also, this article discusses the statistical increase in ACL injuries since the new rule changes were implemented. USA Today surveyed 293 players on 20 NFL teams and 46% said they were most worried about their knees. From 2002 to '12 NFL teams reported 43 ACL injuries. In 2013 alone, after the changes were implemented, there were a total of 65 ACL injuries alone. The article was written a few years ago, therefore it has statistics up to a couple NFL seasons ago but not the current one.

This article and its authors do not have a lot at stake regarding this new rule change. The article is written by two reporters for USA Today. As USA Today employees, they do not have to put any spin on the numbers instead just report facts regarding the issue at hand.

The article is credible because it comes form USA Today, a well known and respected news source. However, there appears to be a slight bias in the article as it appears to be slightly argumentative. The authors of the article seem to be against the rule changes and the adverse affects it has on the game and player's futures.


This article discusses the dilemma within the NFL regarding high hits and low hits. The article interviews a handful of NFL defensive players that are consistently fined by the league for high hits. They say that they regret hitting low and ending careers, but they have to now. Shockingly, the players being interviewed revealed that offensive players have come up to them frequently before the game stating things like, "Just hit me high, just knock me out. I don't care, as long as I'd be able to play next week, I'm perfectly fine, but don't go low." These players being interviewed also discussed that offensive players have offered to pay for their fines if they don't hit low. This article was very informative, showing the real view of players regarding the NFL rule changes.

For this article, there isn't much at stake regarding values or interests. The authors write for ESPN, they don't have any motivation to lie or spin the numbers to show a certain image. However, there is a little at stake for the defensive players being interviewed by ESPN Outside The Lines because this is their careers and perhaps if they say certain things they can save themselves some money or their jobs.

The author and article is credible in comparison with other articles regarding this topic. The authors are writers for ESPN who interviewed NFL players that are currently playing today and played before the rule changes were implemented. The only bias might be from the defensive players, however this is limited because the authors interviewed an well known offensive player in the league who also backed their claims that offensive players would rather be hit high than low.

This research question is arguable on many different levels. People can criticize the wrongfulness of the new rules and argue how it makes the game less enjoyable. Critics can also discuss the negative effect of frequent head trauma with the current issue of CTE and other diseases that are a result of constant blows to the head. However, there are people who might argue that injuries to the lower body are actually more devastating to the body and to careers. Regarding the sources used, there seems to be some agreement between the first source and the last source that these head to head contact rule changes actually have had an adverse affect on the game from a player and fan's perspective. The only disagreement comes form Bill Bradley who paints the rule changes in a positive light. The different perspectives of the sources affect my own because my perspective as a fan is very different than perspectives of former players and different from the way the NFL views these rule changes. Regarding my research question, I might need to clarify the exact question at hand and narrow the scope. Perhaps discussing one potential drawback of the new rules instead of leaving it as an open question where people can discuss a wide variety of drawbacks.

