"The Brady Protection Rules" (1 Viewer)

[Galbreath34]

Well the Patriots' abuse of PI got 31 other fan bases upset enough that the league was forced to respond. I think that even though it's not the playoffs, the rumbling after the two horrible calls against the Ravens did change the outcome of that game are getting loud enough that the NFL will hear it. Even the NFL lap dog ESPN was actually covering it and talked about comparable hits on other QBs the same day that didn't get called. Time will tell. The commissioner's office likes to pick favorites, but it likes to remain subtle enough that it can't get called out. It's getting called out now.

 

[StJacques]

. . . b) The wildly inconsistent nature of the rules as to how they're called on the field tells me that these rules are simply not 'good'. Defensive linemen, linebackers and sometimes safetys and CBs get paid to sack the quarterback or at the very least get their hands above his head, in his face or just in front of him to keep him from making a pass. Having to take decades of accepted training on how to do this and toss it out the window is ludicrous. . . .

I think the above point gets to the heart of the issue.

The problem I have with so many NFL rules is how they're called or not called. Personally; I have little problem with the rules in place for protecting the passer, so long as they're administered fairly. But I am convinced they are not, and the quarterback's stature within the league is one of those things which does influence the attitude of officials, no matter what they say to the contrary.

It bothers me to think that when defenses prepare for an opposing quarterback they must ask themselves "How tight will the officials be with contact in the backfield this week?" That is the equivalent of asking "What are the rules this week?"

But there is another rule I see called much more inconsistently which bothers me far more than the quarterback protection rules; hand-checking of and contact with receivers in pass routes by defensive backs. This is the one they really need to clean up.

 

[SimpTown]

I think the new QB Protection rules are ridiculous, but I wouldn't mind them as much if they were called with consistency. I could hazard and say that the Roughing the Passer calls were both kind of spotty calls and ultimately had a hand in the Patriots winning that game. Now throughout the whole game the Patriots were mugging Flacco, and I even think at one point a DT took 2 steps after Flacco throw the ball completely launched himself into Flacco. Now If you are going to call Suggs for Roughing when he is falling down into the QB, then call the Patriots for it. Its that simple.

P.S. On the replay of the hit.. when Brady steps back and jumps and acts like he is throwing the flag then sees it and pumps his fist makes me sick. It's like Rodney Harrison said though, "It's time to take off the skirt and put on some slacks Tom Brady."

 

[CHI-TOWNSAINT]

I really hate any rule that protects the Qb once he crosses the line of scrimmage. If a QB can run the ball, then he is fair game once he decides to do it. The whole QB slide thing is so absurd. Why is a QB any less suited to take a hit than a RB, who takes 15-30 of them a game?
He's upright, looking downfield with the ball and running. Defenses shouldn't have to back off from that, they should be able to attack the ball carrier like any other time.

I don't understand the hands to the helmet rules either. When was this a problem? Why can't you even graze a QBs helmet with your finger on accident without drawing a 15 yarder? I mean, theres a reason they wear the thing right? Aside from getting slammed head first into the turf, helmets can stand up pretty well to most hits, definitely to anything a hand can do.

Anyway, things like this are the reason that if the Saints ever left N.O. I would never, ever watch another game of NFL football. High school football is more physical than NFL, its faster paced, and there are fewer breaks and rests. I always laugh when I hear about how a player is "gassed." They get 2-3 minute breaks between every other play for commercials. I go to games, I see them standing around with their hands on their hips, bored and waiting for the go-ahead.

Can't any player can slide as well? It's not just QB's that have that option.

 

[bobad]

The NFL doesn't realize how badly it's hurting itself by creating such stifling rules. Part of the reason we like football is that it's a combat sport. If you take the combat away, we may as well follow soccer!

 

[TheDeparted]

Let us not forget that it was one of these "Tom Brady" rules ("The tuck rule") that saved Drew Brees from having a costly turnover in the Detroit game.

The tuck rule has been on the books for longer than Brady has been playing pro ball.

 

[Galbreath34]

Um, no it was introduced around 2000 I believe, maybe as early as 1998, but it's new. It became official before the Brady call, but not by long.

EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuck_rule_game 1999, so smack in the middle, but Brady was the first benificiary of the rule in a critical situation.

 

[ALLNO]

I dont believe the NFL made this rule b/c of Brady or the Pats. Why would the NFL be protecting a team they say cheated. IMO this is just another example of Goodell trying to fix something that was not in need of fixing. Remember Goodell was not the comish. when Palmer got hurt.

 

[Jeff Miller]

I don't have a problem with the rule, but it should be applied to all players. We've all see running backs taken out below the knees, or at the knees. Defenders all the time never both to attempt a standup tackle, they go low and try to wrap up thy ankles all the time.

I ban all tackles below the knees. its footbal remember? defenses need to man up and start tackleing for real.

 

[AceTW]

Like this?

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[CantonLegend]

do kids grow up wishing they could play professional touch football? or do they grow up wanting to play the contact sport that it is?

do league officials grow up wishing they could **** up a great game?

 

[SuePrudhomme]

As others here have said, the biggest problem with the rule is with its inconsistent application. I have a real problem with seeing Brady get command performance penalties (and if you watch the tape of that Suggs hit closely, you'll see that the ref isn't even reaching for the flag until Brady demands it...and gets it, ugh) called against the opposition. His sense of entitlement is huge, it seems to me; I don't believe that any other QB in the league would be able to force the officials' hands like he does, nor do I think most of them would try. I cannot see Brees crying for a flag unless there was a clear and obvious foul, which I don't think the Suggs hit was.

At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if Brady is branching out into an acting career, because he sure puts on a show whenever anyone comes near him. That little fist-pump when he got his way and got the penalty called was just nauseating.

As another poster noted, such a rule can backfire in the long run, too. Players may decide that if they're going to get a penalty called for any tiny ticky-tack touch anyway, they may as well put a good hit to that knee or hit a QB a little harder when they do get a "clean" hit to the body. Considering we have two QBs warming benches right now with fractured ribs, I don't doubt that a hard blow to the torso can put a guy out of commission for a while too.

I never root for any player to get injured, but...well, am I a bad person for saying that I hope Brady gets a big ol' target painted on him even if that target doesn't include the knees or head? I wouldn't shed any tears if Brady woke up feeling like he'd been hit by an entire convoy of trucks every Monday morning from now until he finally retires.

 

[MisterWhodat]

Troy Palamalu is a prime example of a player that tackles at or below the knees on over 50% of the tackles he makes in a game

 

[Crowley Cajun]

Did you read the responses below the video? I like this guys post.


waxelastik (4 hours ago) Show Hide 0

" Brady is a pansy. Drew Brees would&#65279; of got out of the pocket and threw a touchdown. "

 

[Crowley Cajun]

I'm curious about the helmet to helmet rule. Wasn't Sharper penalized for that penalty in the Jets game, but replay showed he used his shoulder? Was he fined for this?