You can hit a defenseless player legally...

http://fansided.com/2013/10/13/pitt...-delivers-crushing-hit-jets-stephen-hill-gif/

 

Troy didn't tackle Hill, he knocked him on his ass by putting his shoulder into his midsection. He never grabbed him or wrapped him up after contact. If Garvin did that this wouldn't even be a discussion.

The rule sucks but it is what it is.

 

IMHO the NFL could use that as a textbook example of a legal hit.

 

Shhh... Statute of limitations may not be up yet.

 

Seems to me that Troy led with helmet just as much as Garvin did.

 

My point is that Troy laid out what the NFL considers a defenseless player and negates the comment of "if you can't hit punter because he is a defenseless player, they should kick the ball and run off the field". You CAN crush a punter, QB or WR if you do it right.

If the refs didn't throw a flag on the hit in the game, I'm not sure how you can say they would have thrown a flag if Garvin put his shoulder into Huber's gut and not wrapped him up.

Rules change and players have to adpat. It's been discussed at nauseum for the last few years.

 

Troy's head was on the side of Hill's body when he made contact, he didn't even come close to his head/neck area. Apples and oranges.

 

Apparently the NFL agrees with Scott. I like the big hits myself, but unfortunately the NFL isn't going to accept helmet to helmet in this situation. That's the rule, Garvin broke it and now he has to pay.
Ultimately these rules are probably for the best when it comes to the players health whether we like it or not.

 

Bingo.

 

LOL, weak.
That's fine until you realize that Hill is 6' 4" and Huber is 6'1" and Polamalu is 5' 10" and Garvin 6'3" AND Hill is IN THE AIR when TP hits him. Once you realize that then your example kinda falls apart. Unless of course you ignore the laws of physics.

Next.

also note that Troy delivers the EXACT SAME hit as Garvin.

 

Also, I've never heard anyone being coached to throw blocks at the mid-section. You square up on your block unless you're going for the the cut block, which in this play is a penalty.

 

So now we take player sizes into consideration? WOW! Yeah, Hill is in the air when Troy hits him which makes him more defenseless in my opinion.

Troy DID NOT deliver the same hit as Garvin. Not even close. Troy's head was on the side of Hill's body and he never came close to hitting him in the neck/chin area. Maybe you should watch the clip again.

Next.

 

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=10156783

 

Not exactly, because the NFL does not look at punters and kickers the same as they do any other player on the field. Your example was a hit on a WR. Something tells me that if that exact same hit (which is basically what Garvin did) was on a punter or kicker the results would have been a flag and/or a big fine for Troy.

Even Dean Blandino, VP of officials, said that even though the punter was pursuing the play the punter still gets defenseless player protection, which is BS imo.

 

My example is a hit on a defenseless player... just like the subject line says.

I agree that a punter being defined as defenseless is BS but the rule is the rule and Garvin broke it. He could have blocked Huber out of the play legally.

 

Same hit, different angle of attack. Hill's arm and shoulder pad prevented the incidental neck/throat/helmet/head contact that Garvin is getting dinged for. And it is much easier for a 5'10" Polamalu to target the midsection of an air-bound 6'4" Hill than it is for a 6'3" Garvin to target the midsection of a ground-based 6'1" Huber.

 

Not that it matters, but my son wears the same length jeans as me yet is about four inches shorter than me.

 

Garvin could have hit Huber wherever he wanted to. Huber wasn't looking at him, wasn't trying to avoid him and didn't duck like some players do when they know a hit is coming.

 

But my point still stands that the NFL does not look at a defenseless WR the same as a defenseless punter. You say Troys hit on the jets Wr was legal but what i'm saying is that same hit would not be considered legal if it was done to a punter.

 

Why wouldn't it have been illegal? The rule doesn't say you can't hit a punter, it says you can't hit him in the neck/head area. Punters get blocked all the time.

 

Because of todays NFL standards. You mean to tell me that all of the fines that current and past Steelers (mainly referring to Harrison) received in the Goodell era were all legitimate illegal hits and worthy of fines? I certainly don't. Anytime you get a spectacular hit like that, especially on a punter, coupled with the fact that it broke his jaw, Roger is going to be all over it with a fine. The Troy hit was completely different simply for the fact that Hill was in the air when he got hit. If Hills feet were planted Troy would have received at least a 25k fine (of course imo) and would have been called a dirty player all over the media.