new NFL rule "adjustment"

[ZenBuc]

This is too much, in a few years we won't even recognize the game anymore...


http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/03/wednesday-eye-4.html
We wake up this morning knowing that Tom Brady and his entire fraternity are now better protected.

Maybe the new NFL rule adjustment should be named for the New England quarterback. Not surprisingly, Patriots owner Robert Kraft applauds the move but ESPN's Mike Golic, a former defensive lineman, says "it is a joke...they've gone too far."

Defenders on the ground can no longer tackle quarterbacks. That is what happened when Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard tackled Brady and tore up the QB's knee last season. (Photo by Stew Milne, US Presswire)

"We're trying to make the game safer for the guy getting hit and the guy doing the hitting," said NFL officiating director Mike Pereira.

Said Kraft:

"...So whatever we can do to protect quarterbacks and to minimize the opportunity of them being taken out with a year-ending injury I would support....It's like going to see a great movie and the star isn't in the movie. It's the same principle."

[SunnyD]

They should call it The "Brandon Pettigrew" Rule

[umguy1999]

why not just make it illegal to sack the QB?  So now we have to sit through replays to see if a players knee was down when he sacked the QB???

[John Galt?]

The fifth provision of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 12 (roughing the passer) says that: "A rushing defender is prohibited from forcibly hitting in the knee area or below a passer who has one or both feet on the ground, even if the initial contact is above the knee. It is not a foul if the defender is blocked (or fouled) into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him." link

If the defender is on the ground he can still try to arm/hand tackle the QB, but he can't "lunge" or hit his knees (or lower) with any other part of his body.

So now we have to sit through replays to see if a players knee was down when he sacked the QB???

It is an addendum to the roughing the passer rule and is not subject to review.

What I don't like is that it is very subjective on the part of the refs, they already have to much influence on game outcomes, this just puts more of the game on the refs instead of the players (you know, the guys we actually pay to see)

[ilovebeer]

The league is just pissed off at all the money they lost while Brady was out last season.  Its sad but true.

[The Q]

The same thing happened to Carson Palmer too.

[HughC]

The league is just pissed off at all the money they lost while Brady was out last season. Its sad but true.

Really?  Super Bowl ratings were highest or 2nd highest ever.  Network contracts are at all time highs.  If anything Brady being injured helped make the NFL become even more profitable last year, because it generated more interest in fan bases that there would not have been had he been playing (such as the three other AFC East teams.)

This league is about quarterbacks. Gotta keep on them on the field.

[Biggs3535]

This league is about quarterbacks. Gotta keep on them on the field.

At the expense of the game?  I don't think so.

If Drew Bledsoe doesn't get clobbered and knocked out of a game, we may never have heard of Tom Brady.
If Tom Brady doesn't blow out his knee, Matt Cassel never takes a snap.  Now he's a potential star.

Not all bad things come from injuries.  Injuries are always going to be part of the game.  Let them play.

[ilovebeer]

The league is just pissed off at all the money they lost while Brady was out last season. Its sad but true.

Really?  Super Bowl ratings were highest or 2nd highest ever.  Network contracts are at all time highs.  If anything Brady being injured helped make the NFL become even more profitable last year, because it generated more interest in fan bases that there would not have been had he been playing (such as the three other AFC East teams.)

The qbs are the faces of the franchises (for the most part).  NFL has to keep them on the field.

[Badabing]

It's really becoming a joke.

Pretty soon they are going to make it Arena Football and the scores will be like 76-70.

[rowdie]

You want to keep QB's healthy, make it easier to run the ball.