The targeting rule is killing the game of college football...
- Thread starter sadgator
- Start date
Dudes are making fine hits, not intending to hurt anyone, and they are getting tossed. It is a national disgrace. It is killing our game.
It is a good rule, though it needs to be tweaked... the booth review is a good start (though I don't remember if they can reverse the penalty yardage, as well as the ejection). They really need to exclude a few situations:
1) when the ball-carrier lowers his head/body while the defender is in motion. Too many times (like tonight) a offensive player makes a last-moment move to the ground and the defender can't react in time, and a legal hit becomes "illegal."
2) when a defender is clearly leading with the shoulder/body and there is a bang-bang helmet-to-helmet collision.
The rule is absolutely needed, however. Too many players were/are getting their "bells rung" on plays for no other reason that the defender is going for the knock-out hit. The more we are learning about the serious effects repeated blows like this have to the human brain, the more I feel that something has to change. The sport will will simply not survive. Its akin to "rubbin' is racing" in NASCAR and other motorsports. Yeah, its exciting, but these cars are going 175-200 mph nowadays. We saw what seemed to be a "routine" crash into the wall did to Dale Sr. The human body is not made to survive such trauma.
Plus, I don't agree that eliminating these types of hits is ruining the game. Too many defensive players (especially in the secondary) cannot properly tackle these days. Every Saturday (and Sunday), I watch players bounce off ball carriers because the try for the knock out (or the trip) out in the middle of the field. You can be hugely successful by playing fundamentally sound football. Its already a violent sport. These athletes are routinely bigger/faster/stronger than anyone playing 20/30/40 years ago. This bloodlust for even bigger hits might feel great in the short-term, but its going to spell the end of the sport we love.
1) when the ball-carrier lowers his head/body while the defender is in motion. Too many times (like tonight) a offensive player makes a last-moment move to the ground and the defender can't react in time, and a legal hit becomes "illegal."
2) when a defender is clearly leading with the shoulder/body and there is a bang-bang helmet-to-helmet collision.
The rule is absolutely needed, however. Too many players were/are getting their "bells rung" on plays for no other reason that the defender is going for the knock-out hit. The more we are learning about the serious effects repeated blows like this have to the human brain, the more I feel that something has to change. The sport will will simply not survive. Its akin to "rubbin' is racing" in NASCAR and other motorsports. Yeah, its exciting, but these cars are going 175-200 mph nowadays. We saw what seemed to be a "routine" crash into the wall did to Dale Sr. The human body is not made to survive such trauma.
Plus, I don't agree that eliminating these types of hits is ruining the game. Too many defensive players (especially in the secondary) cannot properly tackle these days. Every Saturday (and Sunday), I watch players bounce off ball carriers because the try for the knock out (or the trip) out in the middle of the field. You can be hugely successful by playing fundamentally sound football. Its already a violent sport. These athletes are routinely bigger/faster/stronger than anyone playing 20/30/40 years ago. This bloodlust for even bigger hits might feel great in the short-term, but its going to spell the end of the sport we love.
The player from South Carolina late in the game, I wasn't sure if he got ejected or not as they were reviewing it and I had to go walk the dogs at that moment. The UT player caught the ball, started running forward as another USC player was wrapping up on him, and then the 2nd defender was coming in to lay in a hit. The 2nd USC player was going lower, very clearly going lower so he wouldn't hit above the shoulder pads on the UT receiver. The UT player SAW the hit coming so he clenched up and prepared for the hit, thus basically balling up his torso which lowered his head and shoulders at the very last step before they collided, thus resulting in a helmet to helmet hit.
There is absolutely NOTHING that the USC player could have done to stop his momentum at that point or prevent the helmet to helmet, it was the UT receiver who lowered his upper body to the level of the defensive player. He was ABSOLUTELY not defenseless as it was quite clear his body actions were in anticipation of the incoming hit. Nothing blindsiding or defenseless about that tackle. Yet the ridiculous targeting rule states that it's all the defensive back's fault for the helmet to helmet hit and that he should be ejected.
As I stated already, not sure if the ruling was upheld and the USC player got thrown from the game or not, but if he did that was total bullshit, as about half of the targeting calls are.
There is absolutely NOTHING that the USC player could have done to stop his momentum at that point or prevent the helmet to helmet, it was the UT receiver who lowered his upper body to the level of the defensive player. He was ABSOLUTELY not defenseless as it was quite clear his body actions were in anticipation of the incoming hit. Nothing blindsiding or defenseless about that tackle. Yet the ridiculous targeting rule states that it's all the defensive back's fault for the helmet to helmet hit and that he should be ejected.
As I stated already, not sure if the ruling was upheld and the USC player got thrown from the game or not, but if he did that was total bullshit, as about half of the targeting calls are.
The entire point of the targeting rule was supposed to protect 'defenseless' players from hits they could not defend against or even see coming. That's not what the result is. The result over the past several seasons has been nothing but players getting thrown out of games for very dubious reasons. Either we're going to continue to play tackle football or you need to start outfitting all NCAA games with flags on the player's belts now. You can't keep making up all these ridiculous rules on where a player can touch another player when both are moving at full speed in the blink of an eye.
Honestly I think it's just an effort to hamstring defenses so there will be more scoring in football games and get people more excited.
Honestly I think it's just an effort to hamstring defenses so there will be more scoring in football games and get people more excited.
Protecting "defenseless" players is one thing...but that USC player hit referred to above is another. There is no reason that guy should have been tossed...that was just football.
There was another one against FSU toward the end of that game that was bad too; however, sadgator was quite intoxicated after Tennessee lost, so admittedly he does remember that one well.
The whole concept of 'defenseless' is stupid anyway. Who determines that and when? When an offensive player gets a ball and is trying to pick up yardage he isn't defenseless, he's expecting a hit at that point. Same when a receiver goes across the middle...he's expecting a hit. What should the defender do wait until he catches it, looks him in the eye, then try to tackle him? The way they call it now is that basically any hard hit, especially where the offensive player doesn't see it coming, is targeting. And that's dumb. Meanwhile offensive players can lower their heads while running with the all to try to break tackles. Seems legit.
Excellent post - I was in the stands wondering how low do the referees expect the DB to go if the receiver is hunched over?
The ruling was upheld and he was thrown out, which I believe means he'll miss the first half of our next game.
Seems like every time I flip the channel to another game, there is an injured kid being attended to.
Live, you see more of the late hit style behavior.
Occasionally, the targeting rules seem mis applied. But so do holding calls, interference, clipping and every rule.
The idea is to have fewer kids getting unnecessarily hurt. The key being unnecessary. Injuries happen. Purposeless ones should not.
Simply disagree this is killing the game, even while understanding the overreaction to the rule at times.
Live, you see more of the late hit style behavior.
Occasionally, the targeting rules seem mis applied. But so do holding calls, interference, clipping and every rule.
The idea is to have fewer kids getting unnecessarily hurt. The key being unnecessary. Injuries happen. Purposeless ones should not.
Simply disagree this is killing the game, even while understanding the overreaction to the rule at times.
I disagree, but so what? That's what the boards for imo.
The game started with 'tackling' as the way to stop the ball carrier.
It mutated into KILL HIM, RIP HIS FUGGIN' HEAD OFF.
Maybe they should just learn to tackle correctly. Otherwise, just go ahead and issue them swords and shields so that they can have at it.
This is parallel to the guarding in the game of basketball. It started with players having a no touch bubble around them, but then it mutated into grab, slap, elbow, knee, poke in the eye, or almost anything else that you have any chance in getting away with.
I long for the days when basketball was still a game of skills, instead of a gang fight by a bunch of slap-happy thugs.
Of course the old fuddy-duddies are going to have a different opinion than the mindless young-punks have. So be it, it's your world now, so chuck-it-up however you like....
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I hate these types of judgement calls...it's like when they used to have the 5 or 15 yard penalty...the calls where always bad on those things...the thing that drives me crazy is when they review things hits and the kid still gets thrown out the game when it clearly wasn't a helmet to helmet and it was a clean hit. I mean if it's a good call then I can see them upholding call but sometime I have no idea what in the hell these people are watching.
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Hmmmmm. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Russ Westbrook, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Damien Lillard, Horford, Noah, Lamrcus Aldridge, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard. I don't think any of their games resemble a gang fight.
Agree with you on football tackling though. The NFL and NCAA are now reaping what they sowed from decades of celebrating kill shots. Turned out those "kill shots" were actually killing people. Who would have figured?
Each to his own bg, no problem here with having a different opinion.
**rollseyes**
But his rolled eyes still can't see a thing in that dark smelly place where he always keeps his head...
