Great post. The part about it being "unrestricted" is BS but, well done. Are you a lawyer by any chance? Let's face it, most that are arguing that VW's hit on Lossman was NOT intentional would be arguing the exact opposite if the same thing had been done to Brady. If Wilfolk did the same thing to an opposing QB that Pollard did to Brady, many here would be arguing that it not only wasn't dirty, it was downright legal. Objective analysis is hard to find on a team's message board, eh?
You have to assume that neither Wilfork or Pollard were intentionally trying to
hurt the QB. That would be evil and we have enough info to know Vince isn't evil...and we have no info to indicate that Pollard is.
This is where the situations differ. Vince had no intention of attacking the QB falling down at that particular angle. He ended up in that position, essentially out of control, and reacted in such a way that ended up hurting the opposing QB in the pocket. He was found to be responsible for his actions and fined. I actually don't have a problem with that because it sends a statement of how serious the situation is. You have to be amazingly careful around the QB in the pocket.
Pollard found himself in a different situation. He was on the ground by the QB's legs in the pocket and faced a choice. The fastest and easiest way to get to the QB would be to launch his body at the only part of Brady that he could reach...his stride leg. He chose to do exactly that and Brady is gone for the year.
The league's inaction says that when a pass rusher is faced with the exact same situation against Goober, Palmer, McNabb, Rivers, etc, he should do exactly the same thing that Pollard did. It stopped the play (or should have since the pass came up short), took the opposing QB out of the game and gave the Chiefs a chance to win against a vastly superior team on the road. If you are a bad team in the same situation, why wouldn't you send a middle blitzer diving on the ground and launch himself at the opposing QBs knee? The league is implicitly encouraging this behavior.
For those that think the Pollard hit was legal and just the nature of football, how would you feel if the exact same situation happened every game against every team? Not every QB would be lost for the season, but a good number would and most would be lost for the game. If Pollard's actions were "just football", you should have no problem seeing it happen all the time.
That is why I can't understand the response from the league. They shouldn't be advertising situations where it is OK for a defender's helmet to contact a QB's knee while a QB is in the pocket. It is never OK for that to happen. When it does happen, the league should assess the risk of it happening again and take appropriate action.
The hit on Palmer? Players need to know that you have to be controlled when a QB is in the pocket and you need to pull up if you aren't.
The hit on Losman? If you are out of control, you still have the responsibility to know where the QB is and avoid his legs at all cost.
The hit on Brady? As long as you are on the ground near the QB and a blocker is near you, take your shot.
Makes perfect sense to me.
