I don't think this is a bad rule. What will have the potential to be bad is the judgement call on the part of the official whether the player was able to avoid the QB, and whether he was being blocked into him. I also think there is only so much you can do to protect a player in a contact sport, and they keep trying to make new rules to cover the latest thing that seems to be hurting guys. I know its an exagerration but, it on pace to become a touch league.
All players.....so apparently if you tackle a guy from behind and your hands grab him inside the neck of his jersey, but you only grab jersey, it can be considered a horse collar....
I think your misinterperting the rule. The way it was explained on the NFL network yesterday is that it is a penalty only if there is force applied to the knees( or below the kness I believe). You can grab a QB below the waist, or below the knees and even at the knees to tackle him. You just can't hit him in the knees or below with the force of your body. For example you cannot drive through a QB's knees with your shoulderpad. They have said the Kemo hit on Palmer and the Griese hit would have been legal under this rule. The only hit that they pionted out that would have been illiegal under the new rule would have been the pre-season one on Trent Green when he played for the Rams around 1999.
So, you can't hit a QB above the neck or only arm tackle below the knee? This should be huge for the bigger, more mobile QB's in the league.
Yeah due to the new rules you are going to see a lot of teams trying to get more mobile QB's that are a threat to run with it because this gives them a lot more room to make plays.
They just need to put a pink too-too on the quartersack and make it illegal to touch her. Makes you wonder how Pennington will manage to hurt himself this year ? I?m betting he runs into the 5 foot concrete wall the officials build around the quarterbacks and gives himself a concussion
i believe this rule doesnt apply if the QB is out of the pocket .. cuz if does .. then it wont be long till recievers n RBS will demand that rule too
This is such bulls*it. The NFL and the NHL are trying to become soft. The NBA also used to be physical but it has now made its way to soft.
Guys calm down a bit. You are overblowing the rule. It is meant to protect QBs, who honestly need more rule protection than other players. Come on, I know you are all football fans, you have to be able to understand this, right? QBs are the only players on the field who aren't looking at the guy coming at them. It's a dangerous position. Yes, it is full of prima donnas, but they do need the protection. This rule prevents a LB from charging through the line, and hitting a QB low. The hit on Palmer would not have been flagged. That was a freak accident, and is not subject to the rule. If a player is forced into the QB, then it isn't an illegal hit. Think about it this way. You are a NFL franchise owner. You spend $20M on your franchise QB, and some dumb schmuck hits him square in the knee, simply to prove that he can. Now you are out $20M, you are looking to your backup to play full time, and your SB hopes are flushed down the crapper. Would you be happy? As far as the horsecollar rule adjustment, I am not in disagreement with the rule. I don't have too much feeling on it either way. Basically, it just prevents a guy who has been burned on his route from reaching out and yanking a guy down by his neck. It's not a pu$$y rule, it's a decent idea. I'm not in favor of making the game easy for sissies, but the rule just helps to prevent a guy from getting hurt when it can be avoided. The NFL is just trying to protect its assets, the players. The more guys that get hurt, the less teams that are competitive. Injuries are a part of the game, but if the league can somehow reduce the number of serious injuries, then all the better for the sport. I would think Jets fans, given last year, would be more in favor of protecting the overall health of players.
Considering that the average career of an NFL player is something like 3 years, and many of these guys can barely walk by the time they're 50, I think calling them sissies (or worse) is pretty ridiculous. I have no problem with the league putting in rules to discourage players from taking unnecessary risks with other players' careers.
No you can hit below the waist just not below the knees . The new and improved horse collar rule is stupid now they cant grab the inside of the jersey . Then the celabration rule WTF you hear why they made it cause POP Warner Refs and coaches were complaining to TAG about their kids looking up to the players and they would carry out their celabrations. You know what its a coaches responsibility to teach the kids the rules of the game . And I as a coach would pull any kid doing the Tiger Woods .
The problem with all of these rules is the require judgement on the part of the officials. The addition every year of more and more of these judgement calls has had a terrible impact on the quality of the officiating. This is another rule that will have a major impact on what teams make the playoffs and what teams move on. Football is a very dangerous, high speed sport with extreme risk and reward for that risk, the NFL is trying to mitigate risk at the expense of the game.
