Well, you did it. You have survived The waiting of 213 days for a meaningful football is over. The 99th season of the NFL has come in all its wonders, worries and warts.

Optimism abounds since the Super Bowl Eagles champion until the 0-16 Browns. But the same goes for the future of a league that constantly struggles against a controversy over the three-year national anthem, a decline in television ratings, a perceived shift in the quality of the game, a devastating enemy of the president Trump. and, of course, the dividing line between preserving the violence of the game and protecting player safety.

This last concern could be more difficult to manage. Especially for officials charged with implementing the new rules on helmets in a way that will appeal to both teams at the Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta on February 3rd.

Good luck.

After an inconsistent incoherent start to the season, the real impact of the rule will begin Thursday night when the Falcons and Super Bowl Eagles will kick off the regular season in Philadelphia.

Two weeks into the pre-season, concern around the league was palpable as officials remained faithful to the rule letter stating that any player dropping his helmet to contact would be penalized 15 yards and could be ejected.

"It's going to cost some people jobs," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said after his team's second pre-season game. "The playoffs, the jobs, all that, I guess. … it's hard to understand.

The safety of the Harrison Smith Vikings accumulates. When asked if he was worried that the new rule would change the outcome of the games, he said, "I do not fear it. It will happen. Without a doubt, it will happen. This will change the games.

Of course, perceptions change quickly in the NFL. The league intervened with a new language in the rule and a sense of calm was restored when the flags for players lowering their helmets to initiate contact went from 51 in the first two weeks of the preparatory matches to 20 in the last two .

"I think when [the NFL] Added Terry, adding the words "incident" and "inadvertently" for the actions that were not called, which prompted the officials to make sure that you get those who are … obvious to everyone who must be excluded. McAulay, former NFL official and first-year rules analyst for NBC's Sunday Night in America. "So, I think if that's where we're going, we'll start well early [in the regular season]. "

But that does not mean that more problems have not arisen in the last two weeks of the pre-season. In the third week of the pre-season, the Jaguars blamed Marqise Lee's new knee injury for the new helmet rule.

The safety of the Falcons Damontae Kazee fell to the ground for the tackle, striking Lee's left knee directly. Kazee was accused of using his headset to make contact, but the replays showed that it was Kazee's shoulder that made contact.

"Do not blame [Kazee]Said Jalen Ramsey, the cornerback of the Jaguars. "Blame the NFL. People are afraid to attack normal.

Consider receiver Vikings Stefon Diggs among those who are more concerned about the defeat of the defenders.

"In fact, I would prefer that someone hit me because, as a receiver, you want your legs," Diggs said. "So if you put [defenders] in a delicate position, they will have to cut the guys. I prefer that someone hit me high. I prefer to take the [head] stroke."

The NFL certainly hopes that a common ground can be found and followed. There is enough chaos to face the national anthem.

In May, the NFL owners thought they had a solution that would make everyone happy. Only that did not make anyone happy.

The new policy states that all players must remain on the field or remain in the locker room. The teams would be fined and in turn allowed to punish the offenders.

But this policy was dropped in July as part of an agreement between the league and the players union to continue discussing the issue.

And, here we are, two months later, without resolution and opening night on us. Ready or not, here's the 99th season of the NFL.