PLayer safety

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Anytime a player is tackled by the head it's a foul. That was as blatant a clothesline as there ever has been, the straight arm hooked under the receivers chin and pulled him out of his cleats. It wasn't called because it was missed, but that tackle was totally illegal

That takedown happened so fast it's hard to tell exactly what happened, I've seen it 3 times but without slow motion still can't tell.  TSN of course ignored it and didn't bother to reshow or slow it down.

[dd]

Hard to tell?? How does a player completely change directions if he isn't clotheslined, it just can't happen. You hit a guy across the numbers with a straight arm and nothing happens, hook him under the chin and he flips just like Wilson did. You don't need a slo mo replay, It's simple physics and common sense man.

[TecnoGenius]

That takedown happened so fast it's hard to tell exactly what happened, I've seen it 3 times but without slow motion still can't tell.  TSN of course ignored it and didn't bother to reshow or slow it down.

I studied it in freezeframe and slowmo on my computer and 100% his arm touches the shoulders (at least the top of them).  By the rule definition I quoted, that's not a clothesline.  If it touches the shoulders at all then it is not, by definition, above the shoulders.

The rule should be changed, because we all see the end result and it's the same as (fully) above the shoulders.

[bomb squad]

I'm in favor of more rules and enforcement to make the game safer for the receivers. I think it's time to find ways to tone down the hits. Hitting on receivers in the CFL and Pro Football in general is becoming increasingly violent. It used to be that getting to the ball before the receiver was the primary goal. Now it's "separating the ball from the receiver" by hitting him full speed while he's focusing on trying to catch the ball. The d-backs are getting faster, and they're hitting harder and harder. I think we are seeing more serious injuries. We're seeing a lot more writhing on the ground after hits, by both the hitter and hittee. Sure, they may get up and walk off eventually, but those collisions are going to have a lifetime effect on the players. It's not a good trend. 

But, as long as men are willing to play this game, and the roars from the crowd continue when there's a violent collision, change is going to be slow. I'm not trying to be holier than thou here. I roar as much as the next guy, because it is exciting. But I am also becoming more concerned for the players at the same time. 

So, back to the d-backs and receivers. I suggest the d-back must either make an attempt at touching the ball or he has to let the receiver make an attempt at catching the ball, and if he does catch the ball, you have to let him take one step with ball before you can hit or tackle him. It's a start. 

[theaardvark]

I think the stupidest play that currently happens is the "pull the ball carrier backwards by his feet out of the pile" bullcrap.  A DB or LB goes past the LOS, and grabs the feet of the player after yards are gained, and tries to pull them back to chnage the spot.

This should be an immediate UR call, and a misconduct.  It is not a football play, and ankles/knees can be irreparable damaged on that play.

We saw it happen to Streveler, and I saw it at least twice this weekend on short yardage plays. 

Its just stupid.

[markf]

Ask Collaros what he thinks about this question.

2018

" TORONTO — Commissioner Randy Ambrosie admitted Monday the CFL dropped the ball regarding how it handled defensive lineman Odell Willis's helmet-to-helmet hit on quarterback Zach Collaros on Saturday.

Willis delivered the hit on Collaros in the first quarter of the Saskatchewan Roughriders' 35-16 win over the B.C. Lions. There was no flag thrown on the play, and only after the Riders challenged was an unnecessary roughness penalty called.

What's more, Collaros, who has a history of concussions, was allowed to remain in the game despite twice having to squat down to compose himself. He left later for precautionary reasons and didn't return.

The CFL admitted in a statement released over the weekend that Willis should've been flagged for the hit and the Riders shouldn't have had to use a challenge. It also added its injury spotter should've not allowed Collaros to remain in the contest and Willis could face league discipline as a result of the incident.

Ambrosie reiterated all of those points Monday, saying the league's response to the hit "was clearly inadequate."

"I am committed to removing reckless and dangerous play from our game," he said. "The fact that we did not respond adequately is not acceptable to me."

As I searched this there is another article about a different dirty hit on Zach.

I am far from an expert, but my feeling is Nothing has changed, there have been several late hits on Zach this season, no penalty.

I wonder if his struggles lately are related to the dirty hits he's taken over his career and this season.

[Blue In BC]

I studied it in freezeframe and slowmo on my computer and 100% his arm touches the shoulders (at least the top of them).  By the rule definition I quoted, that's not a clothesline.  If it touches the shoulders at all then it is not, by definition, above the shoulders.

The rule should be changed, because we all see the end result and it's the same as (fully) above the shoulders.

I agree. I've played tackle football and taken a player down in that fashion without it being a clothesline. I would like to see a few freeze frame shots to confirm.

Generally I would think a clothesline would slide up under the face mask and knock the helmet off the player. IIRC that didn't happen and therefore base the hit as across the shoulder pads.

I'm willing to reconsider that view with some video evidence to proves otherwise.

Noting that it wasn't called and it wasn't challenged?

EDIT: just re-watched the play 32 or 4 times. It happens so fast and nothing is evident live. Didn't see any adjustment of the helmet or any reaction from Wilson indicating pain, injury or being upset in the manner taken down. You'd think at least some of that would have happened with a blow above the shoulder pads.

[Pete]

Agree with Bombf the hits on recievers are becoming excessively violent,
I reiterate there needs to be an excessive force penalty, it borders on intent to injure when a player isnt in position to brace or defend himself and a tackler hits him full speed.
  The game has changed with the added athletiscm, the emphasis of safety and this also needs adjusted

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Agree with Bombf the hits on recievers are becoming excessively violent,
I reiterate there needs to be an excessive force penalty, it borders on intent to injure when a player isnt in position to brace or defend himself and a tackler hits him full speed.
  The game has changed with the added athletiscm, the emphasis of safety and this also needs adjusted

Agree, the DB's are ganging up to bully and intimidate individual receivers as a group.  You could see it with Schoen, first year nobody paid much attention to him, second year each reception was met with a maximin force smackdown, sometime from multiple DB's. End result by season's end he was physically too beat up to play. See if the same strategy isn't employed to knock the vinegar out of Pokey. One solution is to find more receivers like Manny, Nic Lewis and Bailey who can give back more than they receive.

[Blue In BC]

Agree, the DB's are ganging up to bully and intimidate individual receivers as a group.  You could see it with Schoen, first year nobody paid much attention to him, second year each reception was met with a maximin force smackdown, sometime from multiple DB's. End result by season's end he was physically too beat up to play. See if the same strategy isn't employed to knock the vinegar out of Pokey. One solution is to find more receivers like Manny, Nic Lewis and Bailey who can give back more than they receive.

I don't think that is new. Every team wants a " run to the ball " attitude. The more success a receiver has, the more attention he'll get.

Bombers do the same thing. It's not unusual to see 2 or 3 DB's or LB's arrive at the same spot on the field. They aren't there to congratulate the receiver. They are there to prevent a reception.

Now I'm not condoning dirty, late or unnecessary hits. But when the ball is in play, maximum effort will be given to prevent a reception.

Receivers elevate and leave themselves exposed, often from behind. It's the nature of the game and I don't know what else a DB is supposed to do. If he doesn't hit a receiver in mid back ( for example ), if he goes low then we see an Acklin or Lawler type landing on the head / neck.

Ultimately it's not a soft landing in either scenario.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I don't think that is new. Every team wants a " run to the ball " attitude. The more success a receiver has, the more attention he'll get.

Bombers do the same thing. It's not unusual to see 2 or 3 DB's or LB's arrive at the same spot on the field. They aren't there to congratulate the receiver. They are there to prevent a reception.

Now I'm not condoning dirty, late or unnecessary hits. But when the ball is in play, maximum effort will be given to prevent a reception.

Receivers elevate and leave themselves exposed, often from behind. It's the nature of the game and I don't know what else a DB is supposed to do. If he doesn't hit a receiver in mid back ( for example ), if he goes low then we see an Acklin or Lawler type landing on the head / neck.

Ultimately it's not a soft landing in either scenario.

True enough but the CFL has to protect their assets, nobody buys a ticket to watch a DB play.  Put an excessive force penalty in place and defenders will think twice before smashing a player at full speed.  They used to allow that in hockey too, but now they don't.

[Blue In BC]

True enough but the CFL has to protect their assets, nobody buys a ticket to watch a DB play.  Put an excessive force penalty in place and defenders will think twice before smashing a player at full speed.  They used to allow that in hockey too, but now they don't.

I'd be in favour of some sort of limit on those kinds of tackles where a player is particularly vulnerable. The problem is it becomes a grey area that the ref has to determine. Some tackles from the front or from the side in traffic are also not always seen by the offensive player.

[The Zipp]

Those of an older generation will remember this intro:

https://x.com/super70ssports/status/1828169464082489662?s=46&t=8CnDJGqaCBCZBxQBGwVX4Q


Player safety - what's that?

[DM83]

Look,  football appeals to the violence, people crave to see.
It really is human nature.

[TecnoGenius]

I think the stupidest play that currently happens is the "pull the ball carrier backwards by his feet out of the pile" bullcrap.  A DB or LB goes past the LOS, and grabs the feet of the player after yards are gained, and tries to pull them back to chnage the spot.

But I've never seen anyone get injured by the SY pile pull-back trick.  They are just trying to stop forward progress.  Often the refs will let that SY play run for ages before a whistle and any extra inch the QB gets could put them over the line.

If you don't wrap up and stop progress, how many times have we seen a QB roll off or spin move or go to the edge to get the yardage?

However, purposeful twisting of ankles a la Wynn/Strev should be penalized.  They did that to Kenny on the last drive of the last game, go check it out.