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.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by 1:18
It is illegal to hit a defenseless player in the head or neck area with the helmet, face mask, forearm, or shoulder, or to make contact with the crown or forehead hairline parts of the helmet to any part of his body. Players in a defenseless posture [include, among others] a receiver in the act of making a catch, or who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a runner.
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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.