that hit on Cousins by Matthews was completely legit. Clay even put his knee out to stop his body weight from coming down on Cousins. Terrible call. I mean it was what I thought to be a text book hit on the QB. I do believe this has gotten outta hand.
Yep. Yet the NBA not only disagreed, they doubled down, send this tape out to their officials as a textbook example of what constitutes a personal foul. Their (lame) excuse was that Matthews lifted up Cousins legs and drove him to the ground. Reality is he did neither. Yet they doubled down anyway. If their goal is to continue to bleed viewers, this is absolutely the right thing to do. I didn't really care who won that game...but I can't stand calls like this. I, and millions others, have found ourselves less and less interested in watching.
IMO, there should not be a roughing call when the QB is actually sacked (with the ball). Makes no sense. Definitely protect the knees and head from illegal hits. However, trying to protect the QB from the body weight of the defender is going too far.
Having been a fan of the Raiders when Rich Gannon was sacked in a hit that epitomizes this rule (I had thought it was the hit that led to the rule)...hits clearly intended to try to injure the QB. I didn't have a problem taking that out of the game. But the direction since then to treat the QB as if they are wearing the red practice jersey (no contact) is going way too far. The problem I had with ruling like the one for Matthews is that they clearly were NOT trying to hurt the QB. So, if you're going to flag them for trying NOT to hurt the QB...what is their recourse? MY recourse is simple...don't watch as much.
Agreed. At this point, they're getting penalized and fined for legal QB hits, so what's the difference? I understand going low for the knees and all that but it should end there. The QB is a football player just like everyone else on the field. Don't want to get hit? Get rid of the ball faster or quit football. If you're getting fined/penalized for a legal hit, might as well bull doze the QB and at least get your moneys worth. Let's just call it flag football from here on out.
A few years ago, people were saying all the same things about this change too. The reality is that it takes a few months or a season, then both players and refs adapt and everyone understands the rules, and fans and players alike will look at it as the "new normal". James Harrison railed about how it was going to be impossible for defenders to tackle one year and a bunch of people got flags in the first couple of games. A month or two later, no one thought anything of it, and not surprisingly, defenders just changed how they tackled. People don't quit watching because of rules changes like that, as much as they claim to.
you have a point here but i think this new roughing the passer point of emphasis is beyond bad if it continues. it's football and these tackles guys are making and getting penalized are mostly textbook. it's also being outspoken by players/coaches more than any other changes in recent. The one by Clay was completely terrible and basically cost them the game. That's unacceptable imo
wow matthews got hit with another absolutely terrible roughing call. nfl is stupid af. time to start playing flag football
This rule is totally stupid what the hell do they think i 250 plus lb man is going to do stop following through on a hit .
The NFL probably doesn't care, they are just trying to stay out of the courtroom. Think this is less about protecting the QB than it is about protecting the NFL itself. It is sad. And even if it's fake proactive, it is proactive given the current state of affairs surrounding the protection of your employees. When they walk into the courtroom they can at least say they did A,B,C.
This is insane. Say a guy goes and tries to hit someone like Cam or Ben... what are they suppose to do? Those guys can take a hit, bounce off and still get a run or pass of for 20+ yards. NFL definitely getting soft.
The NFL is in a real catch-22 right now. Try to make the game truly safer, which means eliminating everything but a soft wrapup tackle, at the cost of the sports violence, which is at the core of it's being. Or leave it be, and watch it die a slow death as culture overall gets softer. I don't like it either, but i realize the league is in a tough spot right now. It may simply be a choice of evolve or die, and they are evolving. Maybe into a sport that isn't as popular.
These hits aren't about concussions. Hits like these are about keeping star QBs on the field. You can't legislate out hits like this and have football as we know it.
Make a rule that a QB has a 5 count to either pass or cross the line of scrimmage after the ball is hiked or it's a spot loss of down. That will keep them nice and safe.
William Hayes tears ACL after trying to avoid flag on sack "He was trying to not put body weight on the quarterback," Gase said. "His foot got caught in the ground." According to the new NFL rule change, a defender laying their body weight on a quarterback after a tackle or sack incurs a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty. Gase was asked if he believes the rule change led to Hayes' torn ACL: "I'm just telling you what happened. ... I'm just telling you what he did." http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...ami-dolphins-tears-acl-trying-avoid-sack-flag Also, was this actually a new rule? I thought this was just a "point of emphasis" re: an existing one.
Watching this MNF game ... my God. NFL has gone totally soft. Put flags on the QBs and/or have them wear their red practice jersey -- the jersey they wear in practice because you can't hit them. That's what you really want.
I blame Aaron Rodgers. Nobody cared when it was Tony Romo getting slammed and landed on. Bunch of hypocrites!
