KD in CA Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 On 11/3/2017 at 7:36 AM, The Frankish Reich said: I used to much prefer the NFL "down by contact" rule. What could be more exciting than a player stumbling and falling, streaking defender blowing past him and missing him, and the player getting up like a zombie and running it into the end zone? But it's time to move on. In this age of (alleged) concussion syndrome awareness, in this age of QBs "giving up" and going into slides and then getting hammered while lying on the ground ... it seems the most obvious rule change to make for player protection. And in this age of ridiculous crowd noise pumped up by huge scoreboards exhorting fans to MAKE SOME NOISE, do we really want to base player safety considerations on whether everyone heard the whistle? O'Leary last night was ridiculous. Everyone around him seemed to assume the play had been blown dead. He gets off the ground looking like he's going to toss the ball to the ref. And then ... did the ref wave him off? He gets up and hesitantly starts to run, and just as hesitantly tries to tuck the ball away. The Jets defenders notice what's going on and go straight into ball stripping mode. And a fine catch is turned into a disastrous outcome. So was this thrilling? Or just kind of stupid? I've disliked the college "down is down, whether by contact or not" rule for a long time. But it's time for the NFL to move on. In 2017, we're seeing too many injuries and absurd outcomes from the old rule. Quick whistles prevent injuries. Disagree. O'Leary made a mental error, simple as that. You don't hesitate when it comes to protecting the football. Ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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