Making it impossible to play defense

[E Belichick Unum]

First, let me state up front, four interceptions lost the game yesterday, the officials played a bit part in that disaster.

It has become impossible to play defense in the NFL today. The "competition committee" has decided to take the competition out of the NFL and has turned a somewhat finesse game into a ballet. Watch any game on any Sunday and you will see the defensless reciever rule called repeatedly. The defensless reciever rule is the one that states a defensive player can't hit a reciever until after he has caught the ball and even then you can't hit him hard and dislodge the ball. The roughing the passer rule has become such a coin flip, so inconsistent, that hitting the QB might/might not cost your team the game. Pass interference, a rue that has always favored the offense, has become a game changing rule and the horse collar rule is an over reaction to an injury that happened once or twice every 5 years.

The NFL is quickly becoming too frustrating to worry about. The rules used to be consistent and logical, but not any longer. Even the tuck rule which was a mistake, took the decision out of the officials hands and codified it to remove any confusion. I blame this change on Roger Goodell and the executive committee. They are trying to protect players from getting hurt in what is essentially as violent a game as is played in America, they have taken away any defensive aggression and replaced it with a pansy approach. Their solution has been to ruin the sport instead of trying to remedy the issues that haven't really happened yet.

The NFL today SUCKS!

 

[Daigle]

First, let me state up front, four interceptions lost the game yesterday, the officials played a bit part in that disaster.

It has become impossible to play defense in the NFL today. The "competition committee" has decided to take the competition out of the NFL and has turned a somewhat finesse game into a ballet. Watch any game on any Sunday and you will see the defensless reciever rule called repeatedly. The defensless reciever rule is the one that states a defensive player can't hit a reciever until after he has caught the ball and even then you can't hit him hard and dislodge the ball. The roughing the passer rule has become such a coin flip, so inconsistent, that hitting the QB might/might not cost your team the game. Pass interference, a rue that has always favored the offense, has become a game changing rule and the horse collar rule is an over reaction to an injury that happened once or twice every 5 years.

The NFL is quickly becoming too frustrating to worry about. The rules used to be consistent and logical, but not any longer. Even the tuck rule which was a mistake, took the decision out of the officials hands and codified it to remove any confusion. I blame this change on Roger Goodell and the executive committee. They are trying to protect players from getting hurt in what is essentially as violent a game as is played in America, they have taken away any defensive aggression and replaced it with a pansy approach. Their solution has been to ruin the sport instead of trying to remedy the issues that haven't really happened yet.

The NFL today SUCKS!

Wow, what a constructive post. It makes me wonder if you think there is any good thing left in this league ?

 

[E Belichick Unum]

Wow, what a constructive post. It makes me wonder if you think there is any good thing left in this league ?

Actually it is very constructive. If you do not identify the problems, you cannot fix them. How can a game that is based on opposites survive if the defense is not allowed to stop the offense?

This new encarnation of the NFL sucks. The officiating is horrible and the rules are designed to force players into defying the physics of an object in motion. If a player is going to make a tackle and dives at a players stomach so his shoulder hits the players chest, and that offensive player ducks ( a natural reaction to an oncoming object that is going to hit you), the guy who is in the air gets penalized, as if gravity would allow him to stop and change his trajectory mid air. If a QB is hit in the pocket, regardless if he has the ball or not, a penalty will be called even if the hit isn't violent or intended to be. If a reciever is in the act of catching a ball or catches a ball and is in the act of turning to run and is hit before he fully turns, it is a penalty because he is considered a defensless reciever. The only defensless things in the NFL are the team's defenses and the fans who pay to actually see football, not pitch and catch.

 

[upstater1]

Eventually, football players are going to learn how to tackle a different way. That's where this is going. They'll probably learn to tackle the way rugby players do, which is a less dangerous kind of tackle. Not head on. It's about using the opponent's momentum against him, rather than trying to stone him.

 

[patsfan-1982]

the pats jumped out to a 21 to 0 lead the defense was stoping the bills but the pats had a few 3 and outs that put the defense right back on the field if this team starts running the football with a lead they will not have any 4QT meltdowns

 

[E Belichick Unum]

the pats jumped out to a 21 to 0 lead the defense was stoping the bills but the pats had a few 3 and outs that put the defense right back on the field if this team starts running the football with a lead they will not have any 4QT meltdowns

My frustration started with the roughing the passer call, but the rules do not work and cannot be made to work. I have to agree with some of the older players here, let's just put flags on them and have done with it.

These guys sign up to get millions of dollars and in return they take risks. If the game has become too dangerous them maybe it is time to close it down, but not allowing the defense to play defense is just nuts, and it isn't an enjoyable product to watch. Maybe it should be called the National Officiating League, because they are deciding games much more often, it seems, than are the players on the field.

 

[Patriot to the Core]

To be honest one of the main reasons I like watching the NFL is because of the no pansy approach where you have to be tough and handle it, or go home.

Now I am seeing a lot of comparisons to English football where any old tackle is getting condemmed and 9/10 the whistle get's blown for a foul/penalty.

We live in a day and age where Health and Safety comes first......

 

[patsfaninpa]

To be honest one of the main reasons I like watching the NFL is because of the no pansy approach where you have to be tough and handle it, or go home.

Now I am seeing a lot of comparisons to English football where any old tackle is getting condemmed and 9/10 the whistle get's blown for a foul/penalty.

We live in a day and age where Health and Safety comes first......

The wussification of American sports has crept all the way to the top. The NFL. It's utterly ridiculous that you can't tackle a qb. They're 6-5 240lbs. WTF. You have to be running hard and hit them hard to bring them down. NFL fans poke fun at soccer fans about players flopping around and faking injuries. Well, with the rules about hitting a qb and defenses faking injuries to stop the no-huddle. It sure looks more like the World Cup than the NFL I grew up with and loved. I'm 49. It's tackle football. It's not flag football. Sadly, I see it getting worse. The networks want 34-31 games. Not a 13-10 slobberknocker.

 

[borg]

I hate today's NFL. I hate watching the QB go back to pass every play. I hate watching midget scatbacks on the field 1st and 2nd down. I'll root for the Pats because they are my team...but I don't even bother going to sports bars when their games aren't on TV in my state. Red zone gives me the good/bad of Pats games and I'm happy. I used to watch all the games Sunday and Monday...no longer. QBs chucking it around to wide open WRs...it bores me now. The NFL is arena football and the CFL as well. The Pats used to be able to morph into any type team they needed to that week....Pass vs Pitt, go heavy on the run to close out games, top 5 D. Now chuck and duck=suck....but I sure enjoy watching the Raiders and that running game.

 

[cavtroop]

I hate the 'roughing the passer' calls more than anything. Late hits? Sure, flag em. Hands to the helmet? Thats SUCH a BS call. Unless the guy slugs the QB, calling that just pisses me off. The rushing defender has his hands in the air trying to disrupt the pass, and he happens to glance off the helmet on the way by. 15 yards? Bull****. The QB is a football player for gods sake.

And don't get me started on the 'helmet to helmet' hits when the receiver ducks. Happens once a game at this point, and there is nothing the defender can do about it - his form is great. 15 yards can be a game-changing penalty and to see it happend 3, 4 5 plus times a game is killing it for me.

Why are there no 'helmet to helmet' penalties on a RB when he lowers his head into a charging defender? Why no 15 yard facemask penalties on the same RB when he grabs a defenders mask and twists? Double standards.

 

[Haley]

It didn't seem to me that the Bills had a problem shutting us down yesterday for the entire 2nd half. Apparently defense is only impossible if you are in New England.

 

[condon84]

The Colts defense played a hell of a game yesterday with basically just two guys (Freeney and Mathis) dominating the game.

Defense can be played if you put enough pressure both in the passing game and running game.

 

[E Belichick Unum]

It didn't seem to me that the Bills had a problem shutting us down yesterday for the entire 2nd half. Apparently defense is only impossible if you are in New England.

You saw defense being played yesterday?

 

[borg]

Defender can't shoulder tackle for fear of helmet initiating first contact.

Defender must remain verticle in an upright position to tackle losing all leverage advantage. If RB/WR is upright as well, defender likely to have facemask to facemask contact which is illegal as well.

Defender not allowed to leave feet to tackle...launching.

Defender not allowed allowed to grab jersey neck from behind...horse collar.

Defender not allowed incidental contact in secondary...but a blind eye is turned on offensive pick plays.

If I'm a DB, I'm tangling my feet with a WR every chance....seems like the only contact that doesn't get a flag

 

[E Belichick Unum]

The Colts defense played a hell of a game yesterday with basically just two guys (Freeney and Mathis) dominating the game.

Defense can be played if you put enough pressure both in the passing game and running game.

A perfect example, Rothlesberger was getting crushed yesterday, no roughing calls. If you look at the roughing call on Fitz yesterday, he wasn't even hit that hard. It is impossible to play defense today, impossible to stop anybody from catching a pass and impossible to hit somebody after they catch a pass. I repeat, this new NFL sucks.

 

[Haley]

You saw defense being played yesterday?

On the Bills, yes.

Do you really think that if the defense of the Bills had instead sat on the sidelines during our offensive play it would have made no difference?

 

[condon84]

A perfect example, Rothlesberger was getting crushed yesterday, no roughing calls. If you look at the roughing call on Fitz yesterday, he wasn't even hit that hard. It is impossible to play defense today, impossible to stop anybody from catching a pass and impossible to hit somebody after they catch a pass. I repeat, this new NFL sucks.

What I've noticed is that the games the Pats are playing are being called a lot more tightly than other games. I think it's mainly because of Brady. They protect Brady but they also at least call it consistently and protect the other QB too thats in the same game as Brady is in. Brady gets a lot of calls so I'm not gonna complain about the penalty because Brady gets those types of calls.

 

[E Belichick Unum]

On the Bills, yes.

Do you really think that if the defense of the Bills had instead sat on the sidelines during our offensive play it would have made no difference?

The Bills played no defense yesterday, they got three balls thrown to them by Brady, a roughing the passer call and a pass interference call. The Patriots racked up 500+ yards on them, the only reason that the Patriots lost was because they played less defense than the Bills and Brady kept confusing bills players with Patriots players.

 

[Haley]

The Bills played no defense yesterday, they got three balls thrown to them by Brady, a roughing the passer call and a pass interference call. The Patriots racked up 500+ yards on them, the only reason that the Patriots lost was because they played less defense than the Bills and Brady kept confusing bills players with Patriots players.

I could not disagree with you more. 4 interceptions don't catch themselves. And isn't it always our argument that volume stats like yards mean nothing, only points matter? Besides, we WERE playing some offense out there too. Why is the cup always half empty? Why is it easier for you to believe that no one is doing anything out there rather than the obvious fact that they were simply getting beat!!

I thought this was quite an insightful post on what the Bill's D was doing:

I think Buffalo was flooding the intermediate zones like the JETS tend to and challenging Brady to find a way to beat that absent Hernandez. He did early on, largely because Welker is a pit bull and a PITA even to double cover and Gronkowski is just a beast....

 

[IllegalContact]

wow......sounds like alot of people are pissed off because the pats simply don't have a defense