What can we do.... (1 Viewer)

[renesauz]

Seriously. I know they want to protect the QB's, but it has gotten to the point where lineman can be flagged for any lick they put on the QB, legal or otherwise.

It's as if the ref's have to talk themselves out of throwing the flag instead of into throwing the flag.

Every single week this year I've seen at least one, and usually several personal fouls for hits on QB's that are marginal at best, and scandalously BAD at worst. Today it was the call on Philly very late in the game. "Led with helmet" was the call, yet replays clearly showed that not ony did the lineman in question NOT lead with the helmet, but didn't even come close to helmet to helmet contact either.

Of course, helmet to helmet is the normal reason for a call. Pretty much arseinine when the QB's are in a throwing motion which generally puts their helmets further downfield then their bodies, making it very difficult to hit their bodies first while running forward as fast as a lineman can. (By the way, doesn't your head naturally lead your body a little bit when running forward as if to tackle?) While I agree that the rule should exist, throwing the flag for a FIFTEEN YARD PERSONAL FOUL should be reserved for only the most aggressive and egregious examples.....yet it is thrown every time the defenders helmet brushes the QB's. This is ridiculous.

Then the worst of them. The QB winds up to pass. The defender jumps up to block the pass. While coming down, his arm brushes the side of the QB's helmet. Clearly, he wasn't swingin at him, or intentionally trying to hit him at all. 15 yards....cause he brushed the QB's helmet on his way down.

Now....what can we do as fans of the game? I say this because I honestly believe that the frequecy of the call and the severity of the punishment are having a profound negative effect on the game, and more then one game has been greatly effected by bad calls in this area.

THOUGHTS?

Why don't the idiots in the NFL network studio hammer Ferreria on this in their weekly show?

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Every single week this year I've seen at least one, and usually several personal fouls for hits on QB's that are marginal at best, and scandalously BAD at worst. Today it was the call on Philly very late in the game. "Led with helmet" was the call, yet replays clearly showed that not ony did the lineman in question NOT lead with the helmet, but didn't even come close to helmet to helmet contact either.

I saw the play you're talking about, and it was horrible. The guy hit the QB cleanly, and he had is head up, seeing what he was hitting. Perfect hit, and not a personal foul in any football game at any level. Almost gave Cin the game since it set up Graham's FG attempt at the end.

 

[TakiToki]

I really think the league is trying to force defenders to have a "what can I do to make sure I don't get a penalty?" as opposed to a "what can I do without getting a penalty?" mindset, with regards to contact with the QB. It's a subtle shift, but it has pretty far-reaching effects. The NFL does not want QBs missing games. What the league is doing is pretty overboard, but they want healthy QBs.

As much as I find some calls distasteful and even downright vulgar, I can understand why the league is doing this. QB play is just so important to the "prettiness" of the product, and the most marketable players are the QBs. It certainly doesn't mean that I have to like it, but I do understand it.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

I've come to learn that there's nothing that a gathering of Hands Across America can't fix.

 

[joffer]

we can toilet paper Roger Goodell's house

 

[King of the Wolfies]

they need to turn the QB into down by touch. The stupidity of these personal fouls on QBs is getting out of hand. Or make the penalty reveiwable.

 

[Synthesizer]

I also think they've gone overboard on penalizing players for late hits out of bounds. If the offensive player's shoe even touches a blade of white grass and then they get tackled, it's a penalty for a late hit. It's tackle football and the player got tackled. Not a big deal. Plus there are so many offensive players that run towards the sideline but then turn it back upfield when they see the opportunity. It's becoming impossible for a defensive player to even make a tackle near the sideline any more.

 

[Interseptopus]

Start hiding money

 

[Anthony Borbely]

I think they should have a 5 yard and a 15 yard penalty, much like they do with roughing the kicker and running into the kicker. I can see them wanting to protect the QBs, but every penalty is not flagrant enough to be a possible game changing 15 yard personal foul. The lesser penalty for a minor infraction would work as well as anything I can think of. The way it is now is ridiculous.

 

[Seymour Corn]

I think the league realizes that there is maybe 20 NFL caliber QBs in the league, and they can't afford to lose any of them.

 

[renesauz]

I really think the league is trying to force defenders to have a "what can I do to make sure I don't get a penalty?" as opposed to a "what can I do without getting a penalty?" mindset, with regards to contact with the QB. It's a subtle shift, but it has pretty far-reaching effects. The NFL does not want QBs missing games. What the league is doing is pretty overboard, but they want healthy QBs.As much as I find some calls distasteful and even downright vulgar, I can understand why the league is doing this. QB play is just so important to the "prettiness" of the product, and the most marketable players are the QBs. It certainly doesn't mean that I have to like it, but I do understand it.

It clearly isn't working though. QB's are getting hurt just as often as before because they are rarely hurt on the types of plays where these fouls are being called. QB' s get knees blown out by other players falling on them/blocked into them, and rarely on an illegal or dirty hit. Most concussions happen when running/diving downfield. Often as not on those plays, the QB simply has no clue how to protect himself, or tries to dive/slide incorrectly/awkwardly. Qb injuries rarely happened on clean or semi-clean hits in the pocket before, and they rarely do now. The penalties are not having the desired effect, but instead are having an un-intended and negative effect on the game.I'm not saying that they shouldn't call PF's for hitting the QB late, or obvious or significant blows to the head. It's the mild glancing blows which are obviously both unintentional and incidental that are ticking me off.

 

[Cookiemonster]

Same reason defensive pass interference is called too frequently, and offensive - not enough. More points = more excitement = more fans = more advertising & revenue.