Willis fined for hit on Collaros

[Fatty Liver]

The big dogs gotta hunt.. Dlineman and LBs are doing everything they can to hit a QB fairly without hurting me too seriously.. But catering to the QBs like this is pushing it.. Soon the stomach and chest pad will be the only fair spots to hit and they will have impact meters that tell the ref the defender was being too mean with his tackle..

I get it, I do.. QB driven league and we need to keep the QBs protected but at what cost? Making it impossible to sack them or hit them hard and clean? Defenders have been taught, ingrained into their psyche to get at the QB as fairly as possible but to out him down. HARD. that is football folks..

QBs need to protect themselves and offences need to protect QBs better.. We can't simply mold the game to protect QBs without ripping out some of the heart of our game..

 

It's a sad state of affairs but truthfully I can't believe any action will be taken for a long time to reduce brain concussions in pro sports.  The NFL along with the broadcast networks would present such a strong political lobby that they could easily prevent any motion they did not like from succeeding for the next 300 years.  Change would most likely have to occur in the NFL before any steps were taken in the CFL anyways. 

 

After all in our enlightened age MMA is alive and prospering, were you can watch a person with no defences get punched in the head repeatedly until he's knocked unconcious.  It almost makes me nostalgic for wrestling were as a kid I got to witness Mad Dog Vachon bite off another guys ear.   Yay Mad Dog!

[iso_55]

It doesn't matter that Odell Willis turned his head. He still hit Collaros high. As Matt Dunigan explained so well, there is a zone where you can hit a defenseless player & even though Willis hit Zack in that area he decided to go high & as a result his helmet made contact with Collaros's jaw & face area. And, as Dunigan explained, these defensive players know exactly what they're doing & where they are going to strike. Especially in that situation. Willis saw Collaros coming & decided to line him up for a wicked shot. Odell could have gone lower but didn't. It was the right decision to fine him. The CFL needs its qbs to play & not being held out of games for concussion protocols or injuries. 

[Mike]

I still maintain that Willis didn't hit Collaros in the head.

[gbill2004]

I still maintain that Willis didn't hit Collaros in the head.

 

 

Did you see this:  @CFL_News: By the way, the #CFL has changed their criteria from head shots being soley to the head to being above the shoulder. Thus the Willis fine.          . 

[Brandon]

I still maintain that Willis didn't hit Collaros in the head.

He clipped his chin, I don't think it was intentional though like Kyries.

[Mike]

 

I still maintain that Willis didn't hit Collaros in the head.

 

 

Did you see this:  @CFL_News: By the way, the #CFL has changed their criteria from head shots being soley to the head to being above the shoulder. Thus the Willis fine.          . 

 

 

Yeah. So I agree with the fine, I suppose, but I don't agree with people calling it a head shot.

[17to85]

I still maintain that Willis didn't hit Collaros in the head.

He clipped his facemask that's pretty undeniable, now do you consider that hitting a guy in the head?

[HardCoreBlue]

 

Based on the speed of the play, there was no way for Willis to do any more than he did to avoid a bad play. The legal area to hit a guy is getting so small, there's almost nowhere to hit the guy that doesn't result in a penalty...

 

You can always form tackle someone who has the ball.  

 

It's not that hard, can't hit anyone above the shoulders, can't hit a QB standing prone in the pocket in the knees and below.  Somehow not being able to hit above the nipples works for rugby, problem in football is that the helmet has become a weapon and a tool for tackling, some guys like Willis have terrible habits and barely even use their arms to tackle, which is why RB's are usually flying by him into the 2nd level.

 

Yes it would be nice to see form tackling more often from Williis (and most other players for that matter) and Willis doesn't have the greatest reputation.

But I did not see him leave his feet, he did lead high but did lead with his shoulder with incidental contact of the helmets. On this particular play, I really don't think there was intent, other than poor form tackling and a chance to hit the QB. It was a bang bang play in a close game.  

[bearpants]

I was torn on this one when I first saw it.... I definitely think Odell did a good job to lower his shoulder and try to avoid head contact... IMO the head contact was incidental.... but since Collaros was hurt on the play I'm not surprised there was a fine... 

[TrueBlue]

I was torn on this one when I first saw it.... I definitely think Odell did a good job to lower his shoulder and try to avoid head contact... IMO the head contact was incidental.... but since Collaros was hurt on the play I'm not surprised there was a fine... 

 

Incidental head contact is still head contact.  

 

Plenty of options for how Willis could have taken down Collaros on that play.  Football is partly about making the right decisions.  He made the decision to aim above the chest the way he did.

 

To me, if Willis runs at Collaros the same way but secures him using his hands in some way, maybe the league doesn't fine him.

[iso_55]

 

I still maintain that Willis didn't hit Collaros in the head.

He clipped his chin, I don't think it was intentional though like Kyries.

 

In the NHL, you're still penalized if a stick clips a player even accidentally. Even if it was unintentional on Willis' s part (which I doubt) it still happened.

[Tehedra]

The issue with incidental head contact is some of the fault could be on the quarterback; perhaps he ducked when he shouldn't have.  There are so many things that could happen to cause the head contact that it just doesn't seem fair.  I watched the hit and to me it looked like it was a clean and fair hit, if accidental contact is made sure flag it if it deserves a flag but fining a player because of an accident when they did their job and attempted to tackle properly doesn't seem right.

 

Unfortunately in this game people will get hurt; it happens.  It's part of the sport and we should attempt to mitigate it but not by changing the rules so much as to change the sport itself.

[Fatty Liver]

The issue with incidental head contact is some of the fault could be on the quarterback; perhaps he ducked when he shouldn't have.  There are so many things that could happen to cause the head contact that it just doesn't seem fair.  I watched the hit and to me it looked like it was a clean and fair hit, if accidental contact is made sure flag it if it deserves a flag but fining a player because of an accident when they did their job and attempted to tackle properly doesn't seem right.

 

Unfortunately in this game people will get hurt; it happens.  It's part of the sport and we should attempt to mitigate it but not by changing the rules so much as to change the sport itself.

 

Try to think of it this way.  Only one or two CFL teams have backup QB's that are competent enough to lead their teams to victory.  If starting QB's end up on the injury list the games become far less entertaining, casual fan interest for that team wans when they tail-spin and ticket sales drop.  If protecting QB's is not a priority for the league perhaps they should think of it more in terms of lost revenue.  Any mention of how much Willis was fined?

[iso_55]

 

The issue with incidental head contact is some of the fault could be on the quarterback; perhaps he ducked when he shouldn't have.  There are so many things that could happen to cause the head contact that it just doesn't seem fair.  I watched the hit and to me it looked like it was a clean and fair hit, if accidental contact is made sure flag it if it deserves a flag but fining a player because of an accident when they did their job and attempted to tackle properly doesn't seem right.

 

Unfortunately in this game people will get hurt; it happens.  It's part of the sport and we should attempt to mitigate it but not by changing the rules so much as to change the sport itself.

 

Try to think of it this way.  Only one or two CFL teams have backup QB's that are competent enough to lead their teams to victory.  If starting QB's end up on the injury list the games become far less entertaining, casual fan interest for that team wans when they tail-spin and ticket sales drop.  If protecting QB's is not a priority for the league perhaps they should think of it more in terms of lost revenue.  Any mention of how much Willis was fined?

 

Half a game cheque, probably. THE MAXIMUM! Joke. 

[iso_55]

CFLPA is such a clown act of an organization. They campaign for like 60% of the league revenues. Fail. Threaten to strike, then turtle. Fail. Want a neurologist on the sidelines. Fail. Then negotiate fines & suspensions into the CBA that are barely a deterrent & do nothing to stop this kind of behaviour.. EPIC FAIL. Most fans want to see some kind of fair justice dispensed  when players do the wrong things on the field. Expect to see more of these types of hits to come.

[JuranBoldenRules]

 

I was torn on this one when I first saw it.... I definitely think Odell did a good job to lower his shoulder and try to avoid head contact... IMO the head contact was incidental.... but since Collaros was hurt on the play I'm not surprised there was a fine... 

 

Incidental head contact is still head contact.  

 

Plenty of options for how Willis could have taken down Collaros on that play.  Football is partly about making the right decisions.  He made the decision to aim above the chest the way he did.

 

To me, if Willis runs at Collaros the same way but secures him using his hands in some way, maybe the league doesn't fine him.

 

 

This is absolutely on target IMO.  A tackle is a hit and a wrap.  That was a hit and a launch through the player, not a tackle.  If you rise up in your wrap and make head to head contact, that's incidental, when you rise through with your head tucked and crown launching up and forward, that's an attempted kill shot.  You just don't tackle with the crown of your helmet forward like that and your chin tucked, that's extremely dangerous for the defensive player too.