mikeak":1nbwmpbg said:
McG":1nbwmpbg said:
LOL that wasn't even a penalty. Even in slow-mo it is a bang-bang play. Factor in the QB moved after Bennett jumped, it just seems like the NFL is getting back at him for acting a fool over the last 6 months (end of SB included). I miss the game I grew up with, I understand player safety and all. I also understand earning what equates to a winning lottery ticket every year. Football players know what they sign up for, it's a violent game. The fact that this play is what is considered "dirty" by todays NFL standards just makes you wonder how "real" football players from, "back in the day" feel about getting paid next to nothing (by comparison) to ruin their bodies and then at the same time, seeing the current players playing what equates to two hand touch.
My only issue with this is they don't say that it is dirty or not a bang bang play
What they say is that it is a hit to the head which is not legal and which is fined. Inadvertent / intentional is irrelevant....
So if he rule is no hit to the head do you still think it is not a penalty? Regardless of how it happened does he or does he not contact the head of Alex Smith?
From what it appears, yes... maybe? I can't tell 100% honestly, maybe I just waiver on the side of it having to be a blatant shot to the head, apposed to a slight or grazing shot to the head. The main flaw I find with this rule is, offensive players can use it to their advantage in order to get a 15 yard penalty when it is desperately needed. Sure, it would be stupid and dangerous, but that option is there and it often works in the offenses advantage, even if it's not intentional. Although as an offensive player, you have the option to recognize a big hit coming and just lower your head. I (and I'm sure you) have seen it happen quite a few times, maybe not on purpose, but when the defender lays out for a hit and the offensive player lowers his head to "protect" himself and it's 15 yards the other way. Players on both sides of the coin have said they really can't control those type of situations because it's just part of the game.
Now those may be considered poor examples, considering it's mostly receiver v. DB/LB's and not QB v. DL/LB, but is an example of how I feel the rule as a whole is flawed. With that said, I know it's not going to change. The NFL is backtracking and overcompensating for years and years of negligence in regards to player safety, most obviously concussions. I just think those type of penalties that cheapen the game, a good pressure play (like Bennett's on Smith) which would have netted, I believe an incompletion and a 4th down, is then a free 15 yards and a first down. Also, it keeps drives alive and either gives teams momentum or can completely deflate a teams confidence. It's just annoying overall to see this happen, game after game, especially with the way our defense plays. I know this is spoken like a true homer, but at the same time as a fan of the game, it's just disheartening to watch a game and constantly disagree with the way it's being played/officiated. Sometimes, it feels like I'm not even watching the same game I played and grew up with, because in all reality it's not.
