Comments on: Rule book sends mixed signals on Jason Campbell hit

By: gallaghedj311

gallaghedj311 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:53:44 +0000

It was a good non call. Flagging that for 15 yards would have been an injustice simply for the fact that the Eagles shut them down on 4th down and it would have given the skins an undeserving second chance.
It makes sense that the college rules allow a WR to only get one foot down to make a catch but when you get to the pros, you need two feet down.
However, it seems backwards that the NFL has a more strict policy for tackling and QB protection than college. You can’t ask a guy who has been taught to get after the QB his whole life that he needs to make sure he lowers his intensity level when making it to the pros.

By: Route36West

Route36West — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:01:01 +0000

I think the rule is fine and makes perfect sense how its written.
The rule says you cant slam a defenseless qb to the ground and then land all or most your weight on top of him and even if you do that you have to try to hold him up and try to stop him from slamming to the ground. Which I think Parker did exactly.
He had cambell and was taking him to the ground and let it up so he didnt drive him into the ground. I dont see how that breaks the rule even if it was written they way you think it should be.
He didnt land with his wieght on Cambell and tried to slow up. I think that is exactly the way the rule is suppose to be followed. Even if the or was an and.

By: Opie

Opie — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:09:30 +0000

Just Perez Florio hating on the Eagles…..again.
It wasn’t a cheap or late hit. Put your butt in a game, run at full speed and make a play. It wasn’t dirty or ill intended. Just a player playing hard. What if Campbell pump faked and brought the ball down? Drive thru the player and make sure he’s down. According to the “rule” you can’t drive him into the ground and land on him, so grab hold and make sure he goes down.
____________________________
CtownBleedsGreen says:
December 2, 2009 11:08 AM
They should change the verbiage from “cradle” to “spoon”.
That is just plain funny right there, nice job Ctown!!
____________________________

By: SkinsFanInNebraska

SkinsFanInNebraska — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:56:17 +0000

@ Cardsfan81:
I did see the play, and you are right. If it had been Brady or Romo or a Manning, it WOULD have been called. Even if it wasn’t, by rule, roughing the passer, it could have been called unnecessary roughness. Campbell was grabbed after he threw, spun around, and slammed hard into the ground, so hard that it knocked him unconscious.
No question at all that a penalty should have been called.
Would the Skins have driven down to win or tie the game after getting the first down from the penalty? Hard to say, since Campbell would definitely have been out and backup Todd Collins would have had to come in cold. But it is the NFL, and anything can happen on any given Sunday. We’ve all seen backup QBs come into games cold and deliver amazing plays.
Just shows how pitifully inconsistent the league still is at officiating their games.

By: Cardsfan81

Cardsfan81 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:52:40 +0000

I have not seen the play. I know this. If it was Tom Brady or one of the Manning boys they would have gotten the call.
No consistentcy at all. It depends who you are.

By: Football is Warfare

Football is Warfare — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:18:05 +0000

Yep, Florio, you are still a lawyer. You can take the lawyer outta the courtroom, but you can’t take the … courtroom … out … the football? Whatever, you know what I mean. You can take the man away from studying the law, but you can’t take studying the law away from the man. (That’s better.) As a football enthusiast (obsesser), and a lawyer, I appreciate you’re attention to the “and”s and “or”s.

By: straightup

straightup — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:06:34 +0000

Hey Brewster, that ain’t true at all. Brees got smashed in the face during the Falcons game. The defender lowered his head and hit Brees in the facemask and there wasn’t a call. I agree it should have been called, but everybody can’t be Brady. And i don’t see Manning getting these calls either.

By: m2002m

m2002m — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:17:52 +0000

“I’m also surprised two years ago when Trent Cole did a textbook tackle of Matt Ryan as he threw the ball and was flagged for roughing the passer.”
He should’ve been flagged, an NFL player going to a college game and sacking the qb like that? Come on.

By: Brewster

Brewster — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:42:46 +0000

If Brady, either Manning, Favre or Brees had been the recipient of that hit a penalty would have been (and should have been) called.
It was unnecessary, as in unnecessary roughness.

By: antneejay2

antneejay2 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:34:17 +0000

I’m thinking that maybe some consistency in the calls being made would alleviate most of the controversy.
With regard to the Campbell play, it looked to me like Parker went well beyond what was necessary. However, I wouldn’t want to see the winning score come as a result of a defender not being close enough to the QB to “cradle” him, and at the same time having to pass up a sure chance to sling him to the ground for fear of drawing a wrinkling the taffeta penalty.

By: BengalFanInPittsburgh

BengalFanInPittsburgh — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:22:21 +0000

Here’s the rule for Brady…
“Instead, the defensive player must strive to wrap up or SPOON the passer with the defensive player’s body.”

By: mattitude

mattitude — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:13:55 +0000

Outsyder says:
December 2, 2009 10:42 AM
I’m surprised it wasn’t called, but I’m also surprised there was no penalty when McNabb was hit in the back late against Carolina.
I’m also surprised two years ago when Trent Cole did a textbook tackle of Matt Ryan as he threw the ball and was flagged for roughing the passer.
————————————————
You’re right on both points, but the Matt Ryan tackle was last year. It was a perfect tackle, the kind they teach kids in pop warner, but I suppose the flag was thrown because it was a strong hit and Ryan was writhing in pain on the turf afterwards.
As an Eagles fan, it’s tough to decifer what is and isn’t deserving of a roughing the passer call when your franchise QB is permitted to be crushed by a defensive tackle after he scored a TD, resulting in broken ribs, without a flag ever being thrown.

By: Robert Paulson

Robert Paulson — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:13:27 +0000

@rip21
Refs should be given MORE leeway to throw flags regarding hits on the QB? Yeah, I believe there is already an intolerable amount of leeway in that area of a sport that is based around violent collisions. You want the refs to decide if the passer was hit too hard? Dude, seriously, go watch golf or cricket or bowling. As long as there is nothing dirty or late about the hit, the QB should be like every other player on the field and the defender should be allowed to wallop him given the opportunity.

By: CtownBleedsGreen

CtownBleedsGreen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:08:41 +0000

They should change the verbiage from “cradle” to “spoon”.

By: mmdd1111

mmdd1111 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:08:37 +0000

How come a player can only look at Mrs. Tom Brady funny and they get a penalty. I am so damn sick of the way the officials obviously coddle that little wuss. SICK OF IT. At least they could try even a little to hide the fact they cater to the little girl Brady.

By: Crazy Eddie

Crazy Eddie — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:03:15 +0000

Or there will be no one left to play in 20 years. That his was vicious and should have been a penalty.

By: lezmaka

lezmaka — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:57:22 +0000

Since when does what the rules say mean that’s how it’s called? The Patriots’ mauling of Colts receivers in the playoffs a few years ago is an example. From what I remember, the rules for contact were already on the books, they were just interpreted in a way that allowed that to happen. After that season, Bill Polian and the Competition Committee changed the interpretation of the rule, no new rule was created.

By: Hosstyle In Tampa

Hosstyle In Tampa — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:55:39 +0000

Good explanation Florio…I gotta give you credit…

By: OneTimeOnly

OneTimeOnly — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:54:38 +0000

Assuming that the language of the Rulebook hasn’t changed significantly since the 2006 version, which is the only version I could easily find on the web, the argument above ignores most of the relevant language that shows that what Parker did was clearly roughing the passer.
The language that Florio quotes is preceded in the 2006 Rulebook by the following operative language:
A rushing defender is prohibited from committing such intimidating and punishing acts as “stuffing” a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball, even if the rusher makes his initial contact with the passer within the one-step limitation provided for in (1) above.
Parker “stuffed” or drove Campbell to the ground by grabbing him and slamming him to the ground after he threw the ball.
Also, the one-step limitation is important. That provision says that:
once a pass has been released by a passer, a rushing
defender may make direct contact with the passer only up through the rusher’s first step after such release (prior to second step hitting the ground); thereafter the rusher must be making an attempt to avoid contact and must not continue to “drive through” or otherwise forcibly contact the passer
Parker hit Campbell after the throw and then grabbed him and slammed him to the ground.

By: leatherneck

leatherneck — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:49:47 +0000

Hey, where is the “2009 Official Playing Rules” online?
NFL.com used to have a copy of the rules, but now NFL.com/rulebook only has a dumbed-down version of the rules. I can’t find the full rulebook anywhere anymore. Do they think we’re too stupid to understand it? (Could be true for 99%)

By: reflections69

reflections69 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:47:26 +0000

Remeber former Bengal Justin Smith got a flag for taking down former Buc’s QB Bruce Gradkowski. He cradled him just like the rule says. They need to be more consistent. That play cost the game and a playoff shot.

By: Outsyder

Outsyder — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:42:52 +0000

RIP___21, are you sure? Or was he just acting? You never actually know when a player or team is telling a lie or the truth.
I’m surprised it wasn’t called, but I’m also surprised there was no penalty when McNabb was hit in the back late against Carolina.
I’m also surprised two years ago when Trent Cole did a textbook tackle of Matt Ryan as he threw the ball and was flagged for roughing the passer.
As they say in France, c’est la vie.
It all evens out in the end.

By: packerssuck

packerssuck — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:39:43 +0000

Lies. I remember the Adalius Thomas Roughing penalty earlier this year against I think the Bills and Pereira(sp?) defended the call. Do these people forget that everything they say can be logged and referenced with the click of the mouse?

By: Rev. Dr. HollywoodWags

Rev. Dr. HollywoodWags — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:39:07 +0000

It’s cuz he’s black that they didn’t call this.
Just wanted to get this out there.

By: jkidd49

jkidd49 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:35:42 +0000

Give this league about 15 years and they’ll all be wearing flags and no pads at all….

By: Bwa Ha Ha

Bwa Ha Ha — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:34:45 +0000

Sweet Jesus, is this going to mean that the Lingerie League is the hardest hitting football league?

By: RIP__21

RIP__21 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:33:02 +0000

While the tackle wasnt techinically a penalty; Campbell was thrown hard enough to the ground to cause him to blackout for about 30 secs.
When a passer is hit with enough force to merit a blackout; a rule probably should be tweaked to give refs more leeway so they can toss a flag.

By: Treezs

Treezs — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:32:36 +0000

Cradle? LOL

By: leatherneck

leatherneck — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:29:34 +0000

NFL Competition Committee agenda item, next off-season. Change “and” to “or.”

By: jeff

jeff — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:27:46 +0000

And Jared Allen gets penalized for diving at knees?!
Where is the justice!
That was a penalty on Parker.