NFL Wild Card Running Thread

Contact was made at the same time as Wentz knee touched. Meaning Clowney was already in the process of hitting him. He didn’t slide, it was not late.

 

Clowney speared the shit out of him. Leading with his helmet.

 

My argument was that it wasn’t late, I said it was helmet to helmet.

 

Is there a substantive distinction?

 

"I meant to hit him helmet to helmet, but not after he was down."

 

The rule says unnecessary contact.

Wentz was going down. That hit was not necessary.

The same applies if Wilson gets blasted the instant before his knee hits the ground on a slide.

 

Rather than debate whether he was going down/giving himself up, I would just look at the initiating of contact with the helmet by Clowney.

Gronk got knocked out of a Super Bowl a couple years ago by a helmet to helmet hit. Don't believe it was called then either

 

The rule isn’t, in retrospect and in slow motion, would the player have gone to ground anyway. He begins the tackle before he goes to ground — for all that he knows, Wentz could have regained his balance and kept on going. Those sorts of tackles happen all of the time and the only differences here are that it was a QB and he unfortunately was knocked out of the game.

I think the helmet to helmet is borderline but would have been justifiable if called. I think he initiates contact first with his right shoulder but he certainly didn’t seek to avoid the head to head contact.

 

This is bullshit. Watch it a full speed. He’s in the process of starting the hit before Wentz is down. These guys are pretty fast you know. Nobody is talking about this without the head contact meaning it want’t late or unnecessary as you claim. Wentz is a runner at this point and this happens on every god damn play.

The he is going down is ridiculous, Wentz easily could have fumbled prior to his knee hitting. Should players not try to create turnovers when a player is “going down”?

 

If he’s a runner, I believe you can hit him however way you want (except horsecollar etc).

 

"Lowering the head to initiate contact with the helmet is a foul." It is intended to remove unnecessary use of the helmet. The hits don't have to come to the head or neck but anywhere on the body. Players cannot use their helmets to "butt, spear or ram an opponent."

 

Damn that was a fun weekend of football. Compelling games and storylines. Great weekend to be an NFL fan.

Credit to Cousins for a couple of nice throws but as a 49er fan he doesn't scare me (i.e. he's not Wilson).
Titans winning at NE on Sat night was epic; what a setting and confluence of factors, Belicheck and Brady vs Vrabel and Tanneyhill's resurgence and Henry just looking like the 2020 Beast-mode.
Texans comeback
Eagles-Hawks was at least close.