This. Helmet-to-helmet. End of story.

The nfl needs a new commissioner who isnt such a pussy. If that happened to us(hypothetical) in the first round of the playoffs, with the other team down 6 with a minute left and we got that call, i would ****ing explode.

On a side note, im really suprised belichick didnt make chad change his name back to johnson.

Clean hit, let them play.

It was a helmet-to-helmet (problem 1). The guy led with the crown of his helmet as if spearing (problem 2). The receiver could be determined to be defenseless (problem 3). Thus, there are probably three different penalties they could've called.

I liked the hit. It was a football hit. It was a manly hit. It reminded me of the old days. But the rules are the rules. This is the game as it's played today. If that video was grainy and from the 70s, it would've been awesome, but in the 21st century it'll get called a penalty, whether we like it or not.

Hell, even if it was illegal, I say it was worth the penalty to get a hit on that douchebag.

This x 1000. I'm severely disappointed in all my fellow planateers defending the call here. 10-15 years ago NOBODY would have accepted this. Everyone realize the refs definition of "defenseless" is as open to interpretation as judging a painting in a museum right? Yeah, I know "there's a clear set of rules that make the defintion crystal clear". Anyone who thinks the definition will be applied equally without bias or fuck up across all 32 teams in the league throughout an entire season is in severe denial, and must not have watched football in the last 5-10 years, especially the Goodell era.

This. Legal or not, I enjoyed it. :D

Bump for hilarity.

When I first saw that play It almost seemed like Brady hung him out to dry on purpose just to send him a message.

"This is my team, ****er, and I will kill you."

twitter.com/#!/ochocinco


@Mason_Foster great hit last night,if u're fined I'll reimburse u boss.That's the way the game should b played.Stay healthy n have a good yr

From the NFL films video linked by Just Passin' By: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos...ts-of-emphasis. This video very clearly explains rules changes for this year, 2011.
The ref ruled Ochocinco as "defenseless" because he was in the act of making a catch. That said, being defenseless does not mean that any hit on him is automatically illegal. The illegal hits on a defenseless player are, as stated in the video and transcribed above:

a) [Helmet/Face Mask/Forearm/Shoulder] vs. [Head or Neck],
or
b) [Crown or Forehead of the Helmet] vs. [Anything].

This is the first of those cases. Foster used either his shoulder or his head to hit Ochocinco in the head while Ochocinco was defenseless, and therefore, yes, it was an illegal hit. It may also be the second of the cases, but I couldn't tell which part of Foster's helmet hit Ochocinco.

So MagicHef was right. Smed1065 was not.

Love it. Mason is off to a ggreat start in the preseason. Love them dawgs1

Expressed written consent of the NFL?

I think kids these days should be taught to tackle not just hit. If he tries to tackle ocho right there instead of going to blast him Chad doesn't catch the ball and it is legal.