9 times out of 10, penalties are enhancing of the game and prolong the exciting drives that make football fun to watch. They get us all riled up and so long as the game is not decided on a questionable call, all is well. But in the rare occasion that a game is decided or even majorly altered as a result of a penalty that is either not clearly defined in the rule book or was never committed, a less than desirable stew of anger and confusion begins to brew.
Such was the case Sunday afternoon in New York as with the game trundling into overtime, the Patriots had forced the Jets into a nearly impossible 56 yard field goal. Kicker, Nick Folk came on kicking for what would, if he converted, be his longest successful kick. As the ball was pushed wide left however, a penalty was called. At the time no one knew what the infraction was. Why? Because this was the first time in NFL history that this aspect of the NFL's Rule 9, Section 1, Article 3.2 in the rule book was implicated.
Patriots special teamer Chris Jones was called for "pushing" his own player from behind while also making the attempt at blocking the kick. There is nothing wrong with the attempted block portion of that play but for the NFL it was the pushing his own player that raised eyebrows.
The rule states that “[Defensive] players cannot push teammates on the line of scrimmage into the offensive formation.” When you look at the replays, you cannot argue with the call. No for Patriots fans to find the reason for their anger they must look deeper and question the inner integrity of the NFL Rule Book and complain not about the referees but those who instated this regulation in the first place.
Over the past few years, the NFL has been making a noticeable effort to cut down on the injuries taking place on the field. They have tightened up the rules on helmet involvement in hitting and have strictly enforced rules pertaining to the hitting of a defenseless receiver. They have tweaked kickoffs and have dropped the rate of concussions suffered on such plays by almost 40%. Those rules however are just a few of countless newly put in place in order to eliminate the concussions that cost the NFL over 700 million dollars in lawsuit settlement this season.
There is no doubt that concussions must be taken out of football. The brain is an important organ and for those suffering from brain contusions it scary. Among NFL fans, there is no lament to the rules made in order crack down on concussion causing plays but when it comes to petty rules instated for the sole purpose of killing the plays at the heart of hand, foot and even selective knee injuries, the understanding on the part of fans begins to run out.
As we look back to the penalty called on the Patriots it decided the game. After the missed kick was equated and the ball was automatically moved up 15 yards on the penalty, the Jets churned out a first down and soon gave Nick Folk a much more manageable 42 yard field goal situation. He converted on the kick and the game had been won.
It cannot be stressed enough how when you operate off of the sole jurisdiction of the rule book this was the right call. But when you think it out, how many injuries will this rule's implication in 2013 prevent? In all likelihood, no more than 2 or 3. Fact is it is things like this that make you wonder, is the NFL trying to be too safe? Is it time to simply embrace their being as a contact sport and accept the injuries that come with it? Or, is the sole reason for all these questions not any that is justified but instead one born from the sore looser of the mind that is mine?
0 comments:
Post a Comment