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Jerry Jones’ biggest concerns about the NFL’s new helmet rule

Jerry Jones pointed to past cases of a league rule changing players' style of play, and voiced concern over the rule's potential impact on a current Cowboys star.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has weighed in on his concerns about the NFL’s new helmet rule, which has proven controversial in the early going of preseason play.

In his first weekly interview of the season with 105.3 The Fan, Jones was asked about the rule, which calls for a penalty if a player “lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent.”

His biggest concern? Running back Ezekiel Elliott’s punishing running style, which will no doubt be the focal point of the Cowboys’ offense in 2018 and beyond.

“I’m hopeful that it won’t impact the running style of our backs,” Jones said. “That’s my [biggest] concern about the rule is those backs when they get in there and fight for those yards they put that helmet down.”

Jones said the Cowboys brass has looked at game film to gauge the impact the rule might have on Elliott and see what adjustments need to be made.

“This probably won’t impact Zeke,” Jones said. “You think of Zeke as a guy who finishes the run, and when he does, he finishes so physically. But Zeke doesn’t butt with the top of the helmet that much, he really keeps that head up.”

Hear the interview below or here.

Jones acknowledged that the practice of leading with the helmet should be a point of concern for the league, because helmets are shouldn’t “be used as an aggressive aspect to the game.”

But he expressed some worry that the new rule will impact how players play the game. He pointed to former Cowboy Roy Williams and the impact the “horse collar” rule had on the hard-hitting safety.

The NFL put a rule in place prohibiting defensive players from grabbing the inside of the shoulder pads to bring a runner down from behind. Williams infamously broke the leg of then-Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens with a horse-collar tackle during a December 2004 game.

The rule against that kind of tackle has been dubbed the “Roy Williams rule.”

“It pretty much eliminated where Roy could use his arm length to reach out and grab players to bring them to the ground, especially from behind,” Jones said of the rule put in place as a direct reaction to Williams’ tackle. “It impacted his game.”

The helmet rule has drawn the ire of players and coaches alike through two weeks of preseason play.

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman called the rule “idiotic” and said it’s “impossible” to make the league’s suggested adjustments to tackling form.

On Monday, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told ESPN the rule would cause problems across the league.

"It's going to cost some people some jobs -- playoffs, jobs, the whole bit I'm guessing," Zimmer said Monday. "We haven't had any called on us so far. It's just hard to figure out. No one has ever said to me, 'Hey. Don't worry about it, we're going to call it less or we'll get it straightened out in the regular season. Or we're going to come up with a revised rule.' No one has ever said that."

The league is expected to discuss the rule – which was approved by a vote among league owners in the spring – again before the regular season begins, according to the Washington Post.

The rule was put in place after the 2017 season, which saw an uptick in player concussions and the devastating spine injury suffered by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier during a hit in December.

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