Sat/Carolina roughing penalty
 

About 5:20 left in the game. Newton for Carolina gets tackled by a SF defender while trying to flee the pocket. I hope there is video somewhere because no one besides the R can figure out why it was a penalty.

Hated that call. Just hated it. I think the NFL is doing this partly because of the lawsuits, but all helmet contact cannot be made illegal or cause a penalty. Then again, that does not mean the Referee would be supported, but something tells me these kinds of plays have been talked about in training or video reviews.

Peace

It was ruled to be helmet to helmet contact.

I do understand that part, but it was not done without a lineman actively blocking him. All other levels do not consider any helmet contact to be illegal. I am not so sure the NFL does either, but that is often called when it is clear there were other factors to those calls.

Peace

They do when it's the QB.

I am aware of that fact, it is just a bad application of the rule if do not consider how the defender got there. Just like we would consider roughing calls (at the NCAA or NF level) based on if the contact was preceded by another block or contact before a possible foul for roughing.

Peace

Huh?

It is not illegal simply to have helmet to helmet contact at the NCAA or NF levels. Actually you will not find the terms anywhere. Targetting at the NCAA level is not about helmet to helmet contact. At the NF level, that term is also not used in the rules, it is Illegal Helmet contact, which does not have to involve any hement contact of the opponent to be a foul.

Peace

I hope to find the video, because even if there was helmet-to-helmet contact, it was very minimal. The defensive lineman was being blocked and the QB spun out of the pocket in his direction and basically fell into the D-lineman's lap and was tackled. It was about as non-violent of a football play that you'll see.

Hated this call as well. Not sure who to hate over it though - the official or the league. :)

Not this crew's best game for sure.

As is often the case, the view from, any number of cameras at different speeds, seems to paint a different picture than what the Referee saw on the field, in real time. Maybe his next game will be his FIRST perfect one.

Missed my point even with the smiley. Oh well. I'll be less subtle.

I don't blame the ref - I blame the league. The league's uberprotection of the QB is to blame for the officials defaulting to roughing when it's close - they'd rather call one that didn't happen than risk missing one.