Targeting

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

The capricious enforcement of the targeting penalty, not brain injury, will be the death of football.

 

[TheStolenT]

The capricious enforcement of the targeting penalty, not brain injury, will be the death of football.

I was just telling my dad this. They have adjust the rule to not immediately DQ a guy if the hit isn't egregious. Like a yellow card/red card kind of thing. Crazy to lose guys for hits like the Clemson hit or Gotsis vs unc a couple years back

 

[melloace]

I like the yellow card/red card system. 5 yards and a warning for inadvertent contact. If the same player does so again it's the 15 and disqualification. If it's obvious then it's instantly the 15 yard variety.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

The Zebras enforce it extremely inconsistently. Sadly I think within 20 years football wont exist anymore because it will be sued and legislated out of existence. The only sports allowed will be Soccer,Basketball,Hockey and MMA.

 

[Madison Grant]

So the rule is there doesn't have to be any intention. You just can't hit with the helmet at all. So how can you eject somebody for what the rule admits may be unintentional? Tack on the 15 for the helmet, but the ejection should only happen if replay officials determine it looks intentional.

 

[Lavoisier]

Don't lead with the crown and you won't get tossed it seems pretty straight forward

 

[Milwaukee]

Don't lead with the crown and you won't get tossed it seems pretty straight forward

Have you ever played football?

 

[CHE90]

Don't lead with the crown and you won't get tossed it seems pretty straight forward

It seems that fundamental tackling and "wrapping up" requires you to lead with the crown of the helmet. You can't tell me that the Gotsis call a couple of years ago should have been a targeting. It was a fundamentally sound football play and he gets tossed.

 

[Lavoisier]

Have you ever played football?

Yeah we were taught to look at what you tackle.

 

[melloace]

The problem is you can be looking at what you're tackling, but you need to get low to get leverage and to wrap up. All it takes for you to get called is for the ball carrier to put their head down even with yours and boom it's helmet to helmet contact even though you were just trying to wrap up.

 

[Jmonty71]

The Zebras enforce it extremely inconsistently. Sadly I think within 20 years football wont exist anymore because it will be sued and legislated out of existence. The only sports allowed will be Soccer,Basketball,Hockey and MMA.

THIS>...... I agree. Seems some teams get away with hit leading with the helmet. *cough* Bama, UGA, Michigan, USC, Ok State *cough* All I've seen players leading with the crown of the helmet, this year. Not one was called for targeting. I really wonder, at times, if targeting depends on the school and how big their bank roll is, with the refs.

 

[Lavoisier]

Targeting isn't helmet to helmet. It can involve helmet to helmet but it doesn't have to. That type of play would be targeting if the tackler led with the crown. He could put his crown into the guys shoulder or arm or whatever and it could still be called if that was what he led with.

Edit: refs miss stuff but I don't think that makes it a bad rule. Refs miss holds and PI all the time, but those should still be enforced the best they can.

 

[Madison Grant]

Targeting isn't helmet to helmet. It can involve helmet to helmet but it doesn't have to. That type of play would be targeting if the tackler led with the crown. He could put his crown into the guys shoulder or arm or whatever and it could still be called if that was what he led with.

Edit: refs miss stuff but I don't think that makes it a bad rule. Refs miss holds and PI all the time, but those should still be enforced the best they can.

I haven't read any replies arguing it's a bad rule. Obviously, there is nothing wrong about wanting to protect players from the long term effects of brain injury. The arguments I'm reading center around the consistency of enforcement and the draconian penalty of ejection, which can severely impact the outcome of the game.

 

[Lavoisier]

I should have clarified that I feel it is a good rule and well enforced. The ejection decision is based on a replay and can be reversed so you have multiple people looking at it. I also don't feel it is Draconian because I haven't seen any ejections that should not have been ejections. The rule is fine the way it is enforced even if some tackles that should be targeting might be missed the same way a hold or a PI might be.

I personally think a lot of people get upset at it because they don't understand exactly what is and isn't covered in the rule.

 

[melloace]

This one that cost us Gotsis for a game is where I think there needs to be two levels of targeting. He didn't launch, he didn't lead with his helmet, he just wrapped him up and took him to the ground and sadly they helmets hit.

 

[Lavoisier]

Its textbook targeting. He led with the crown. The area above his mask is literally the first thing to make contact with the head of a QB in a throwing motion. That's a good call and for the record I don't think one bad play by Gotsis cost us the game.

 

[CHE90]

Its textbook targeting. He led with the crown. The area above his mask is literally the first thing to make contact with the head of a QB in a throwing motion. That's a good call and for the record I don't think one bad play by Gotsis cost us the game.

Not targeting

 

[CHE90]

Its textbook targeting. He led with the crown. The area above his mask is literally the first thing to make contact with the head of a QB in a throwing motion. That's a good call and for the record I don't think one bad play by Gotsis cost us the game.

Just go on the mutt board already.

 

[Lavoisier]

Ok, I don't have the energy to argue about a call from two years ago involving guys who aren't even on those teams anymore.

 

[melloace]

Its textbook targeting. He led with the crown. The area above his mask is literally the first thing to make contact with the head of a QB in a throwing motion. That's a good call and for the record I don't think one bad play by Gotsis cost us the game.

But that's the thing, there wasn't much else Gotsis could do on a hit like that. He puts his head down and he puts his own neck at risk. He does what you're supposed and keep your head up and wrap up. If you can't tackle like that your only choice is to dive at legs.

Just an example of why I think there needs to be two versions of the call. One a 5 yard yellow/warning call and one the 15 yard ejection.