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Helmet Rule Will Change the NFL, But Only If the League Can Figure It Out

Let's start with something many of us can agree on: Malcolm Jenkins walloped Brandin Cooks in the Super Bowl.

It's a famous hit, and a vicious one. No flag was thrown, but the tens of millions of fans who saw it wouldn't have been surprised if there was one. It was a borderline play, the kind that should serve as a benchmark as the NFL implements its new use-of-the-helmet policy.

Under the new rules, which are meant to completely eliminate crown-of-helmet contact, the famous Jenkins-Cooks collision would appear to be a good template for an unnecessary roughness penalty.