How about this as a deterrent to excessively violent hits.

If a player pulls a BS unnecessarily dangerous hit on another player, he then sits out the rest of the game AND THE TEAM CANNOT REPLACE HIS POSITION. That's right people, the Team plays a man short for the remainder of the game. Believe me, that would stop it very quickly.

Taking the facemasks off the helmets would probably calm players down too. Players wouldn't be as eager to smash to someone else with their head down if they might break their own nose in the process.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"