I disagree. Strongly.
The QB has the ball and was looking at Gotis. He was not in the act of throwing and was braced for the hit. How is a 'defenseless player?'
That was a BS call. Throw the flag if you must...if you are a weak ref and can't see it live time like the rest of us that were there.
But upon review that should have been thrown out and the ref given a quality control demerit.
Your memory is faulty. Gotsis drilled him just as he released the pass. The rulebook states that:
Defenseless Player
ARTICLE 14. A defenseless player is one who because his physical position and
focus of concentration is especially vulnerable to injury. When in question, a player is
defenseless. Examples of defenseless players include but are not limited to:
a. A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass.
b. A receiver attempting to catch a forward pass or in position to receive a
backward pass, or one who has completed a catch and has not had time to
protect himself or has not clearly become a ball carrier.
c. A kicker in the act of or just after kicking a ball, or during the kick or the return.
d. A kick returner attempting to catch or recover a kick, or one who has completed
a catch or recovery and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly
become a ball carrier..
e. A player on the ground.
f. A player obviously out of the play.
g. A player who receives a blind-side block.
h. A ball carrier already in the grasp of an opponent and whose forward progress
has been stopped.
i. A quarterback any time after a change of possession.
