Rule to Make Tacklers Keep Their Heads

Those popular helmet-smacking tackles might soon be as costly as they are loud.

The competition committee today will recommend outlawing the use of the top of the helmet to tackle “defenseless” players, including quarterbacks throwing a pass or wide receivers leaping for a catch, sources said.

The proposal, the biggest clarification of tackling style in years, is expected to be approved by league owners later in the week.

“This will take us back to a time when tackling was done the right way: with the shoulder up and the head to one side,” said Mike Brown, Cincinnati Bengal owner and member of the competition committee. “This will hurt those people who want to disconnect the quarterback from his senses.”

It can also be called the Wilber Marshall Rule.

Last season, Marshall, a linebacker with the Arizona Cardinals, hit Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman in the chin with the crown of his helmet after Aikman had thrown a pass. The hit, which caused a concussion and a nasty cut, did not draw a penalty.

Under the new rules, a personal foul penalty would be assessed for such a hit. Head-first sacks, head-first hits of falling wide receivers and leaping tackles of punt returners who have not started to run also would be illegal.