As violent collisions become more common and discipline escalates, the NFL must come to terms with the increased risk - and punishment - to its players.
Last week, the league issued fines totaling $125,000 to two safeties for illegal hits. On Friday, commissioner Paul Tagliabue reinforced the crackdown with a memo asking coaches to police the on-field brutality.
And on Sunday, it appeared there were fewer illegal shots to the head. Seattle Seahawks safety Marcus Robertson didn't get the message, though. He drilled Darnerien McCants with a helmet-to-helmet hit in the end zone after the Washington Redskins wide receiver caught an 11-yard touchdown pass.
Robertson's late hit drew a 15-yard penalty and almost certainly will be followed by a fine later this week. McCants was not hurt, however.
This is the new face of defense in the NFL. Defensive players in general and defensive backs in particular must walk a fine line between being overzealous and not aggressive enough. Cross the line and get fined or even suspended, as repeat offenders Kenoy Kennedy of the Denver Broncos and Rodney Harrison of the San Diego Chargers found out. Both safeties were suspended for one game.
In the past month, the league has fined Dallas Cowboys safety Darren Woodson $75,000, Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins $50,000 and Tennessee Titans cornerback Samari Rolle $7,500 for illegal hits.
Not surprisingly, defensive players say the league has gone too far, even to the point of changing rules in midstream.
"It is totally a whole new set of rules," Miami Dolphins cornerback Sam Madison said last week. "You don't know what the league wants or how you are supposed to play. When they [the Cowboys] were winning Super Bowls, they were making big hits. That is how he [Woodson], Brock [Marion] and Rodney Harrison grew up. ...
"In none of these situations are people trying to hurt someone else. They are trying to make a big hit and make you release that football. They are not going out there with the intention of going head-to-head with a quarterback or receiver."
Fearing a potential tragedy, the league wants to eliminate the scenario where a defensive player leaves his feet and uses his helmet as a battering ram on a defenseless receiver or quarterback.
Kennedy left his feet to hit Miami's Chris Chambers in Week 6 and sent him to the sidelines with a concussion. Woodson's helmet-to-helmet hit on Seattle wide receiver Darrell Jackson in Week 8 sent Jackson to the hospital after he had a seizure in the locker room.
Last week, a late hit by Dawkins on an incomplete pass ended the season for New York Giants wide-out Ike Hilliard, who suffered a separated shoulder.
Dawkins is regarded as one of the league's hardest hitters, but not a dirty player.
"No one wants to see anyone get hurt," Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said. "When I'm watching TV and I see a defensive back take a shot with a helmet-to-helmet contact and leaving the feet, we never teach that; we never even speak about that.
"We know there are going to be aggressive plays and all of a sudden there is going to be a train wreck and it's hard to stop a train sometimes, just like Dawkins, and I'm not going to comment on whether that's a good play or bad play."
The league is tough on repeat offenders. Harrison has been fined or disciplined by the NFL 11 times in his nine-year career. He missed Sunday's game against the New York Jets after losing an appeal of his suspension. Despite forfeiting a total of almost $230,000 in salary, he says he won't change his physical style of play.
Kennedy was fined twice this season for helmet-to-helmet hits before he was suspended for one game.
Defensive players say the illegal hits cut both ways.
"We get hit all the time," Miami linebacker Zach Thomas said. "I got hit by [Buffalo wide receiver] Eric Moulds harder than anybody coming across the middle. I didn't see him, and I was defenseless. He lifted me off my feet.
"[But] they are not going to fine a receiver hitting a linebacker. That is just the way the league is."