Targeting calls are out of control

CrimsonForce said:

I'm not sure where you are going with this comment. A person has an abundantly higher probability to get concussed or paralyzed in car accident than playing football. Playing football is a choice. All players, especially the way head injuries and concussions are covered today, know the risk of playing football..

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I know it can't be totally prevented but in general I see no reason to ever hit anyone above the shoulders e.g. a receiver going over the middle looking back for the ball. Hard form tackle to separate him from the ball. No problem. Launching yourself to hit him under the chin w/helmet, shoulder or elbow? Why?

dvldog said:

I know it can't be totally prevented but in general I see no reason to ever hit anyone above the shoulders e.g. a receiver going over the middle looking back for the ball. Hard form tackle to separate him from the ball. No problem. Launching yourself to hit him under the chin w/helmet, shoulder or elbow? Why?

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but what about like in this tackle, where the offensive player lowers HIS head when he sees the defender coming. Defender shouldn't be accountable for that when he was aiming for chest level and the receiver ducks into it.

gtgilbert said:

but what about like in this tackle, where the offensive player lowers HIS head when he sees the defender coming. Defender shouldn't be accountable for that when he was aiming for chest level and the receiver ducks into it.

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Don't disagree w/your logic at all.

B1GTide said:

I think that it is fine as written. I see this as a human issue, not a rule issue.

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The rule isn't "fine as written" because more players are becoming "defenseless."

We see a guy trying to go make a tackle get decleated on a block, but the blocker gets ejected for targeting a defenseless player. How is that fair?

We see a DB get ejected for targeting because the WR is ruled defenseless because he was still reaching for the ball. Again, how is that fair?

Holding rules are very clear and applied differently from one official to the next.

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And we all complain when we see an official miss a blatant holding call, do we not?

B1GTide said:

But they have a huge impact on the game, as does the enforcement of all rules.

IMO, far more players should be ejected than are, rule or no rule.

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BamainBoston said:

Soccer is particularly bad when it comes to CTE, because of the repetitive impacts over the course of a career. It's one of those seen/not seen things. Football looks more violent, so people pay more attention to it. And then parents put their kids in soccer, thinking it's safer. It's the same kind of mentality that leads parents to put their guns in a safe--not in of itself a bad thing--while leaving the pool wide open.

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Yep. Soccer can be very dangerous to a player's head if the player doesn't know how to correctly head a ball. It's why US Soccer released new guidelines in November.

Following 15 months of litigation, U.S. Soccer announced on Monday a brand new series of initiatives designed to reduce the number of concussions suffered by youth soccer players, including the limitation and/or outright banning of heading the ball for players under the age of 13.

Per the new protocol, children 10 and under will be barred from heading the ball during any official session — practice or game — while players ages 11 to 13 will have heading limited during training sessions.

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B1GTide said:

Not trying to change your mind. Football is a dangerous game that kills people. To save the sport we are going to have to continue in this direction.

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Driving a car is a dangerous activity that kills people. Swimming is a dangerous activity that kills people. You can say this about just about anything. If people CHOOSE to play football, they should be allowed to play the game. The problem I have is when someone tries to dictate to others what they can and can't do based on his/her opinion. To some, football is a barbaric sport that shouldn't be played. To others, it is a wonderful game that develops teamwork, discipline, and toughness. To some, our society is so ridiculously out of whack these days that we are now a joke. To others, we have become a more tolerant and understanding society. It's all opinion, and I'm sick of other people's opinions being rammed down my throat when those same people certainly can't handle it when people have opinions that are different from theirs. It really seems that life as we know and love it is changing. Football is just another example. When will it be enough?

Many want to keep football the way it is even though the players are demanding reform. They should decide this issue, not the fans. If they are happy with the risk, so am I.

B1GTide said:

Many want to keep football the way it is even though the players are demanding reform. They should decide this issue, not the fans. If they are happy with the risk, so am I.

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I agree with this; however, this targeting rule reminds me of how many lawmakers celebrated their passing of hate crime bills. It was just stupid. Is it more illegal to kill someone because of race or religious beliefs than to just kill them for money? Abusing or killing a person was already a crime so why waste time creating stupid new bills that cover the same thing? We already have unnessasary roughness, and it could be applied and lead to ejections or suspensions as far as I'm concerned. However, a player should not get a 15 yard penalty and get kicked out of a game for a solid form tackle or because the offensive player lowered his head to brace for impact. Of course, this is merely my humble opinion. Have a great day, everyone.

B1GTide said:

Many want to keep football the way it is even though the players are demanding reform. They should decide this issue, not the fans. If they are happy with the risk, so am I.

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Are you referencing the lawsuits that include former players that tell people they are only in it for the money and don't have any issues?

Mike Golic went on a rant about it a few weeks ago. A few points he made:


1. Hard for parents to decide to allow a child to play football or not when doctors are refuting each other. (Greeny made the comparison to how one study shows food x is good for you while another study shows food x is bad for one's health.)


2. These studies primarily focus on guys that played numerous years in the NFL, not kids playing pee-wee football or high school. (Think percentage of kids that will make it to the NFL that are playing pee-wee right now.)


3. Headlines read "Frank Gifford had CTE," yet he lived to be 85 and had a pretty great life. He didn't shoot himself like others, but he's thrown into the "had CTE" crowd like the ones that took their own life.

I have a huge problem with the flag even being thrown. That was a textbook tackle and if the refs can't see that then they are crappy refs.

I'm also getting tired of this defenseless player bs. The point of the game is to tackle the guy with the ball, how can the ball carrier ever be deemed defenseless. Mind as well make a rule saying you can only tackle someone if they are looking at you and grant you permission.

Folks also need to stop calling this a player safety rule. This is a "we don't want to get sued like the NFL" rule. If there was zero chance of litigation then this rule would not exist.

If this is the path that football will continue down then we might as well jump straight to flag football.

It's a bad rule and needs to be adjusted.

Agreed, I couldn't be more upset at the Refs for turning this easy call into a circus call! It is shameful!!! Seeing the Nebraska kid getting kicked out of the game yesterday for as text book tackle and play was beyond ridiculous! To me, I worry about this crap ruining the game more than any BS schedules, BS fans, BS Finebaum, or any scandal! I think the refs in the box who watch the replay's and still kick a young man out of the game should be held accountable.

CrimsonForce said:

Just curious. Did you watch the play posted in the OP? If so do you think it warranted an ejection?

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I did and it did not warrant a flag, but humans play and officiate the game. Mistakes happen. Should we end the forward pass because QBs throw picks?

CrimsonForce said:

That's a really bad analogy for a multitude of reasons. You do understand how the targeting penatly process works, right? Not only did multiple officials completely miss the call on the field but then it was reviewed and confirmed by the replay official. The call wasn't missed but butchered twice. Inexcusable when the end result is player ejection..

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Yep. I was disappointed and got over it.

B1GTide said:

Yep. I was disappointed and got over it.

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So you're fine with just accepting garbage officiating? Don't want to bother trying to fix it?