and hit with the shoulder

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Curtis Martin took and dished out plenty of helmet hits as he rushed for more than 14 DJ Moore Panthers Jersey ,000 yards in his Hall of Fame career.

He just wishes he didn't have to endure that.

The retired running back sees the NFL's enhanced rule penalizing players for leading with their helmets as a positive step for the sport. As a member of the player safety advisory panel, he's part of a leaguewide effort to educate the current generation on how to stay on the right side of the rule and reduce injuries.

"Hopefully we can extend careers and just have less contact to the head, which I just think is beneficial over a long period of time," Martin said by phone this week. "We're really focusing on getting the head (contact) out of the game. I wish it was like that when I was playing. I think it's something that's very positive, and I think it's important as we go forward and the future of the game."

Martin and former linebackers Willie Lanier , also a Hall of Famer, and Willie McGinest taped minute-long "NFL Way to Play" instructional videos for players stressing stance, posture and technique. For specific examples of head-contact hits that are now 15-yard penalties or possibly ejections, there are situation-specific videos narrated by coaches Anthony Lynn of the Chargers (ball carriers ), Doug Marrone of the Jaguars (offensive linemen ), Dan Quinn of the Falcons (defensive linemen ), Mike Vrabel of the Titans (linebackers ) Authentic Marcus Davenport Jersey Elite Womens Youth Big&Tall Nike New Orleans Saints NFL Shop Free Shipping , and Todd Bowles of the Jets (defensive backs ).

"I just had some things I wanted to try to share being a former player and having played that technique and coached that technique," Vrabel said. "It's what's best for the game, the fundamentals. We always try to teach the fundamentals that are good: playing with your knees bent, leading with your hands and playing with your face up."

After watching those videos, Redskins coach Jay Gruden said making sure players don't use their helmets as weapons is "a big thing we're trying to get over." That's the NFL's emphasis: a helmet is for protection and not to be used as a projectile.

"You don't necessarily want to hurt anyone," Martin said. "As an offensive player, a lot of times, especially when you see those times when a player or whoever's carrying the ball they're very close to the sidelines, but before they go out, they decide they just want to punish that (defensive back). That's where you see the helmet used as a weapon, and you want to cut things like that out of the game because it's unnecessary, No. 1 Natrell Jamerson Color Rush Jersey , and it just protects the players better."

Bowles, who played defensive back for eight NFL seasons, illustrated in his video many of the shoulder-to-shoulder hits that are legal and expected. He contrasted them with some players who made helmet-to-helmet contact. Because the enhanced rule now makes helmet-to-anywhere contact a penalty, he knows it's on coaches to give players a refresher on the proper way to tackle.

"It's really teaching football to be played the right way," Bowles said. "There are going to be hard collisions, but if the helmet's up, and you have to keep the helmet out of the way and hit with the shoulder, which most of the teams do all the time. There's an occasional head-to-head when someone's putting their head down, but we don't teach it any differently."

Martin fully understands the football mentality of pushing for the extra yard and going for the big hit, so he figures it'll take time for players to adjust. It's his hope the culture change toward understanding head injuries helps players accept the updated rule for their own good.

"As former players, we can sit back and see how this rule would've been very effective for us when we were playing," Martin said. "But when you're in the midst of something Chargers Kyzir White Jersey , it's like anything 鈥?when you're in the midst of a problem, it's hard to see the benefits of (fixing) that problem or the outcome or the potential positive things that can come out of that problem. Now that we're on the other side, we can see that maybe a little clearer than current players can and as we're able to inform them and teach, I think that they'll come around."

AP Pro Football Writers Teresa M. Walker and Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed.

Kirk Cousins was perfect in his first game for Minnesota on Saturday night, completing all four of his passes, including a 1-yard touchdown strike to Stefon Diggs in the Vikings' 42-28 exhibition victory over the Denver Broncos.

Case Keenum wasn't nearly as sharp in his Denver debut.

He completed just 1 of 4 passes for 5 yards spanning two drives that went nowhere, lamenting after getting taken out that he wanted another possession.

Cousins was the crown jewel of this year's free-agent class of quarterbacks, signing an $84 million, three-year deal in Minneapolis. That meant Keenum was out two months after leading the Vikings to the NFC championship, and he signed a $36 million, two-year deal with Denver.

After Cousins' single series 鈥?one in which he didn't have to face Von Miller 鈥?Trevor Siemian led Minnesota on three scoring drives, most notably a screen pass to Roc Thomas that beat the blitz for a 78-yard score.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) 鈥?Christian Kirk's 38-yard punt return on his first touch as an NFL player set up an early touchdown for Arizona in its preseason opener.

Rookie Josh Rosen completed 6 of 13 passes for 41 yards in his Arizona debut, playing the whole first half except the opening series.

Geno Smith, battling Cardale Jones for the right to back up the Chargers' Philip Rivers, completed 14 of 23 passes for 218 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown throw to Geremy Davis. He was intercepted once.

With Rivers sitting this one out, Jones started and played nearly the entire first half, completing 6 of 12 passes for 50 yards.

Kirk, Arizona's second-round draft pick out of Texas A&M, took the Chargers' early punt and broke free. He might have taken it all the way had he not slipped trying to make a move against punter Drew Kaser.

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