Quote:
Originally Posted by Bearcat
Not sure I understand "both"... I already said JJSS might be a flag by the letter of the law, but shouldn't be called. I also explained how the NFL tried to defend the letter of the law on the Frank sack, but that also shouldn't have been called.
All I'm saying is if a player breaks a rule, you should be able to point to something and say "don't do this next time".... and I just don't see what you tell that defender, besides "make a split second decision to go low next time", I guess. Just like Frank did nothing wrong on the sack; you can't tell him "don't tackle a QB".
And unlike that other hit, which was far more reckless than either of those plays, yet somehow isn't a penalty.
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Missed this - both meaning the spirit vs the letter. Either holding is holding and helmet to helmet collisions is a personal foul or it isn’t. Once you start making it more subjective than it already is you have lost the meaning of the penalty. I mean is a false start anytime an offensive player that is set makes a motion towards the line or only when it draws the defense in “the spirit” of the rule. Holding only when it effects a play or anytime a player is prevented from disengaging from a block? See how that can screw things up fast?
Penalties/rules are designed to be objective. A certain conduct is prohibited regardless of intent. Most face masks now days are accidental but are 15 yard penalties regardless. Remember when there were 2 different varieties of face mask? 5 yards and 15 yards? Seems like the league decided even accidentally grabbing a face mask was a personal foul. Same here, hitting helmet to helmet as a defender tackling a defenseless receiver, even though that wasn’t his intent (debatable) is still an infraction.