"Name something that's less NFL than that," San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman told reporters on Wednesday while discussing the NFL's new helmet targeting rule. "That's what the NFL is known for. That's what the league is known for."
Needless to say, Sherman is not a fan of the rule. He has already called it "idiotic." While critics of the rule aren't necessarily against removing a violent aspect of the game, many of the penalty calls during the preseason have been headscratchers. Even NFL refs appear to be trying to figure out what is a legal tackle and what is not.
That has left many coaches, like Kyle Shanahan, unsure what a legal tackle is anymore.
"I know what I think is a legal tackle," Shanahan said on Tuesday. "Then, I know what the new rule articulates with the words, so then it makes it hard to figure out how much we're following that exactly and how much we're not. I think that's what everyone is in between, trying to figure out. I don't think people know that exactly yet."
Sherman doesn't believe it is possible for players to adjust the way they are tackling while running at full speed to make a play.
"To ask people to do that at full speed, it's just ridiculous," Sherman said.
While the NFL is trying to make the game safer, Sherman believes the rule unfairly targets defensive players.
"I saw one (play) with (Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback) A.J. Bouye and a running back where the running back literally plowed his head into his chest, and then they somehow called the penalty on A.J. Bouye," Sherman explained. "He got ran over."
Sherman will have an opportunity to try to figure out the rule on Saturday. He told reporters that he plans to play during the 49ers' exhibition game against the Colts. Sherman missed the first two games due to a hamstring injury but was a full participant during practice on Tuesday.