Adam Schefter answers reader questions in his mailbag once a week during the NFL season. Got a query of your own? Submit it here.
Q: How do think the crown-of-the-helmet rule will affect the league next year? Will it impact running backs or officials more?
-- Kyle (D.C.)
A: It will affect both, Kyle. Running backs and officials each are going to have a tough time adjusting to the new rule. And here's about the frequency with which we are likely to see penalties called: Last season, the NFL studied every play from every game over a two-week span and found 11 crown-of-the-helmet penalties that would have been called. Extrapolating that over the full season would mean 88 penalties of the sort. I believe we'll see fewer than that, as officials will proceed with caution about when to call it. But it is going to take a long time for both to adjust, since running backs have been trained to play a certain way and officials have been trained to calls plays a certain way.
Q: How many suitors out there are there for Brian Urlacher? Could he go to the Minnesota Vikings or is it more likely that he just retires?
-- Wesley (Oklahoma)
To read the rest of Adam Schefter's mailbag on where Brian Urlacher could go and free agency, plus to get access to all of Insider's NFL content, sign up today.
- ESPN NFL Insider
- Joined ESPN in 2009
- Former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and the author of four books
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Adam Schefter
Adam Schefter joined ESPN in August 2009 as a football reporter and analyst. In his role with the network, he is a regular contributor to ESPN.com and ESPN Insider. He appears regularly on numerous ESPN programs. Prior to joining ESPN, Schefter was a reporter and analyst for the NFL Network, which he joined in 2004 after 15 years as an award-winning reporter for The Denver Post. He was named the Colorado Sports Writer of the Year in 2002 and 2003.
The former president of the Pro Football Writers of America, Schefter is also the author of four books. His latest, "The Class of Football," was released this summer by Harper Collins. The married father of two is a graduate of both the University of Michigan and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He resides in New York.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @adamschefter
Ask Adam a question: Schefter's Mailbag
