Rules Are Rules
September 16th, 2013
Fantastic Times-Picayune photo here of Adrian Clayborn’s helmet-to-helmet drilling of Drew Brees yesterday, a sack-fumble that was negated by the personal foul call. TV replays also were pretty clear; Clayborn broke the rule.
It’s a tough and annoying rule, but it’s a rule and has been for years. You either play within the rules, or you think you’re real cool while your opponent moves the chains with a free pass and gains confidence.
Greg Schiano routinely mentions that the Bucs don’t get to practice proper hitting in practice because they don’t tackle like that in practice. Just stop that, Coach. That reminds Joe of the nonsense Raheem Morris routinely spewed that labor laws limiting in-season practicing in pads was hurting his team.
Find a way to succeed. Every good team does. No Excuses.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:13 am
BS – where on that picture is there helmet to helmet contact? there was no helmet-to-helmet contact on every video angle shown yesterday but somehow this photo from behind proves that there was?
Pure and simple, a flag was thrown here because the refs saw NFL darling Drew Brees get hit too hard. I can guarantee if the teams were reversed and that was Freeman it would have been a sack fumble.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:13 am
What does this pic prove? That his helmet is close to Brees’? So you can’t get clost to his helmet? That you can’t get close to his helmet even when falling to the ground?
That call was and is still BS!
September 16th, 2013 at 11:19 am
right on Joe. the other problem is the bucs are now being looked at closer because of the reputation. Anything close will be called and this was close but correct.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:20 am
It is the coaches decision to leave Freeman in or put Glennon in. It is the coaches decision to run the ball three straight times when only one first down, a measly ten yards away, guarantees a win.
Schiano plays scared football. He tells his players to relentlessly target the head of opposing players (it is quite obvious at this point) but when he needs to show some courage, he runs the ball three times in a row and dares a hall of fame quarterback to drive down the field.
Schiano’s conservative ways on offense will be his demise sooner or later. (I hope it is sooner.) As talented as this team is, he keeps on making bad decisions to close out games. If it takes a rookie third round pick for him to trust his QB to close out a game then so be it. I don’t care anymore. His lack of trust in Freeman is hurting us more than Freeman himself is hurting us.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:22 am
Clayborn’s hit was clean. It was a terrible knee-jerk call by the ref. I watched several replays. He led with his shoulder, Brees head snapped back from the force.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:22 am
I was watching the game. Several replies showed that Clayborn made considerable helmet-to-helmet contact. It is not even debatable.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:23 am
*Replays not replies
September 16th, 2013 at 11:23 am
CUMON GUYS, CAN’T YOU SEE HOW “DEFENSELESS” HE IS??? They shouldn’t wear pads, gettem flags
September 16th, 2013 at 11:26 am
I dont know how you watched replays and saw helmet-to-helmet contact, there was none. If there was, Brees head would have snapped to the side, it did not, Claiborne clearly hit him with his head to the right of Brees’ head.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:26 am
my thing with that one was he was so close to being out of the pocket; which would make him a runner and fair game!! How many times is that qb being in/out of the pocket going to hurt this team (thinking mostly on defensive holding calls, but still!)
September 16th, 2013 at 11:31 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGWdWVOgeuQ
^^This replay clearly shows his helmet shake violently after the hit. If you can watch this and tell me you don’t see a helmet-to-helmet hit then you need to have your eyes checked.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:39 am
The pussification of the NFL. I’d argue that’s BS even if it was the other way around. He led with the shoulder.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:41 am
The helmet to helmet came after Clayborm initially hit brees in the shoulder and then his helmet glanced of the shoulder pads and made contact with Brees helmet. It was as much Brees ducking into the hit as it was Clayborn. The people at NFL network thought it was a bad call.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:45 am
Mike Pereira breaks down Week 2 NFL calls
Play 1
A couple of plays in the New Orleans-Tampa Bay game at the start of the second quarter got Bucs fans fired up on twitter, but I have to tell you the officials got both calls right.
At the start of the second quarter, Saints quarterback Drew Brees took a hit from Tampa Bay’s Adrian Clayborn. Brees fumbled on the play, but Clayborn was called for a personal foul for unnecessary roughness.
I have to be honest, it was a close call, but officials are told to err on the side of safety on high hits. The hit was around the head and neck area so while I’m not crazy about it, the officials are doing what the league wants.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:45 am
I’m pretty sure there’s a clause in the rule about incidental helmet contact, which this was. Clayborn led with his shoulder, hit Brees on his shoulder, and just happened to tap helmets. Ticky-tack call because he’s one of NFL’s top QBs.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:52 am
i watched that play over and over. He’s at the tackle borderline out of the pocket, looking like he’s a runner and that hit was was shoulder pad to shoulder pad with very little if any incidental helmet contact. That is a great sack, fumble and a TERRIBLE CALL from the refs.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:57 am
Touching the QB is frowned upon. They will call a small breeze a personal foul if they could. They should give QB’s big air filled clear bubbles around their heads so they are safe from any harm physical, chemical or biological.
September 16th, 2013 at 11:59 am
Mike Perreria’s views are worthless, he agrees with the league and his former coworkers 99.9% of the time. Actually, his comment saying it was a close call is about as close as he will come to saying it shouldn’t have been called.
September 16th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
they should be able to review calls like that and get reversals.
@westcoast – what the hell are you seeing? The helmet moves so it’s a penalty? That is the problem with all these calls.
helmets are attached to the body via the neck – so when the body gets hit the helmet jerks. no spearing, crown hit or even helmet to helmet blow.
Bulls(p)it call
September 16th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
You can’t judge the hit by a freakin picture. On the replay, AC’s helmet made contact with Bree’s shoulder pad from an angle, not even head on. Your stupid pic shows after that part when they are falling to the ground.
You might want to re-read what Joe actually posted here. –Joe
September 16th, 2013 at 12:35 pm
if you want to complain about a blatant penalty, post something about Black hitting graham, then walking off like a hard a**. You’re riding Bree’s jock just like the league. What QB has the most roughing the passer penalties? My money is on Brees. It’s like when the yuppie mom tries to make the kids include her retard son in the street ball game, but making special rules that only apply to the retard.
September 16th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
That pic looks just like the sack he had on Matt Ryan when you look at it still vs still. Just matt ryan is taller and doesn’t get special rules.
September 16th, 2013 at 1:19 pm
This rule will be amended to include an incidental contact clause, there is no way a 6’4″ 280 lb guy can tackle a 5’8″ (maybe if he’s lucky) QB and not make contact with his helmet, not at the level (not talent level, but actual body level) the play was made at, there was no forethought of malice therefore the contact is incidental, now if you can prove he purposely led with his helmet that is different.
September 16th, 2013 at 2:00 pm
The way I see it, AC’s head was up. He was looking at what he was tackling. Isn’t that what’s on the damn commercial? I just don’t understand how you are supposed to hit the QB if you can’t do this. Are you only allowed to arm tackle? If you hit him low, you will get a penalty for that too. How exactly are you supposed to hit someone in the midsection without having a little contact with your helmet? Last I checked, your helmet is connected to your body.
September 16th, 2013 at 4:11 pm
Maybe someone who understands the new rules (if there is anyone), can explain how there was no flag when Freeman ran up the middle, slid to the ground, and took a shoulder to the side of his head. Last I checked, you couldn’t touch a sliding quarterback. Or how Jackson wasn’t a “defensless receiver” when he got hit and lifted off the ground a split section after catching a pass.
Just call it fair.
September 16th, 2013 at 7:20 pm
Good point Zbuc if they are going to it tight, call it tight I can live with that what I can’t stand is calling every little thing on one team and nothing on the other. I rather them call the Black shot and let the others go because they were clean tackles. You would think if one team was going to be looked at more closely it would be the Saints due to their recent history. I think the Refs don’t like Schiano every since his first game when he rushed the ball on the kneel down.
September 16th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
It’s getting hard to watch, really. We have a bunch of guys flying to the ball hitting people and it seems like everytime we get somebody in a 3rd and long situation and the opposing qb tries to exploit the deep middle they’re getting bailed out by the refs. This, in itself has cost the Bucs 2 games thus far. Now, you get a decent pass rush and lay wood on the qb and again get flagged. Adrian made a great play and if you slow it down frame by frame his pad level is directly in line with Drew’s name plate. Adrians head upon initial contact is on the front side of Drew’s body. Since they’re reviewing everything these days they need to stop and review every one of these type plays and make a ruling fom the booth during the game. It’s crazy, you grow up watching compilations put together by NFL films called “NFL’s Hardest Hits” and now every time somebody gets rocked they throw a flag.
September 17th, 2013 at 9:11 am
I don’t know why you are carrying the “this is clearly” helmet to helmet. Initial contact was on shoulder pad, then helmet. You have a 6’3″ guy putting his head on a 5’11” guy’s shoulder who then compacts, to protect himself upon impact. You are just wrong on this one. This was and is a call encouraged. Promise free will get worse hits this year uncalled. This is more backlash fron schiano’s disrespect of the refs from last year.
October 10th, 2013 at 8:51 am
“TV replays also were pretty clear; Clayborn broke the rule”
Someone’s not good at watching football. Shame on you for not taking the Buc’s sides.