excellent article.. Lawless... CFL needs to protect quarterbacks

[WBBFanWest]

I'm sort of in the camp that thinks that if you are afraid of getting hit, badminton or bowling might be more your thing.  In the pocket you can only hit the QB above the knee to the shoulder already, so I'm not sure what more can be reasonably done that wouldn't alter the game too much.  At the same time, it seems more than a bit disingenuous for Burris to be out there scrambling, trying to make a play and then complain when a defender is trying to do the same thing, make a play.  So maybe part of the onus needs to be on teaching the QB's to do things to avoid getting hit.  They could bring in Brock Ralph to be a special adviser to the league because there was no one better than him for that sort of stuff.

 

PS:  A football player over forty making over 400K a season whining about putting food on his table broke my irony meter.

[iso_55]

There's no room in the game for dirty hits that try to end careers & that was what Hank was talking about. I think your badminton analogy is a bit over the top, WBBFanWest. None of the players that are in the CFL are cowards as you seem to be making Burris out to be. He's no coward & playing 15 years of pro football in both the NFL & CFL proves that. I get tired of seeing defensive players take shots at offensive players in vulnerable situations & then plead the fifth when they're flagged or fined. Like somehow they had no idea  their actions were wrong when they actually were.

[Dragon37]

Except for the fact that the majority of QB's injured have been when they were outside the pocket... 

 

Hell, Durant injured himself.

So did Collaros. I completely agree there really is not much more the league can do. They already watch the QB so much that miss plenty of calls on the line/ in the backfield.

There hasn't been a QB injured this year that the rules could have prevented. You can have all the rules you want and it wouldn't prevent injuries.

Well I guess they could place the QB in one of those bubble soccer balls. That might hinder the passing game though.

[Dragon37]

I'd just make a rule that any hit at or below the knee is an automatic roughing the passer. Any kind of contact.

 

So a would be defender would be penalized for using his arms/hands to trip up a QB trying to escape the pocket?

No, only if the qb is in the process of throwing IN THE POCKET.

That will not prevent injuries to the QB. You will still have players, including their own players, falling on the QB, you will get OLinemen push more defenders down in order to get the low hit.

Right now there is already a low hit rule that is supposed to be enforced, and, in the case of Westerman, was enforced and he was fined. I think it is near impossible to know for sure whether a player was intending to injure which is why you see guys like Westerman not getting suspensions. In general it is very hard for a player to get suspended and that is mostly because of the CFLPA. They declawed that rule completely.

[Dragon37]

What Westerman did was dangerous & what Lawrence did was the same. It may have been a legal hit but it was borderline dangerous. Man, if that hit had happened to Collaros Austin would have hit the roof with anger instead of saying Burris was complaining for nothing. That it was a legal tackle. And it was as Hank was running outside the pocket.

Austin complains about even minor or non-issues. He probably gave the league an earful when Collaros injured himself.

What I find interesting is that you have nothing to say about Ottawa trying to take Nichols head off in the last game. He was in the grasp and going down and a second Ottawa player came in and hit Nichols high and was celebrating like crazy while Nichols was flat on his back and eventually had to take a knee. All I hear is how nasty Westerman is.

I most certainly do not approve of his hit but he was fined and penalized and Burris was more than able to play on. Frankly, I was more disgusted with Hank gesturing towards the Bomber bench and then the defence. Not to mention the open season on Nichols in that game.

[JuranBoldenRules]

To be honest, I think some of these QB's are so used to the protective wrap they are in that it's counter productive.  Literally from the time they are 10 years old they never get hit or learn how to.  You watch a guy like Burris running outside the pocket and he doesn't brace for contact.  Then he's mad if he gets touched.

 

The biggest problem is the crappy OL and the advantage DL's have on them with the expanded rosters.  

 

The rule on low hits already exists in the pocket.

[Dragon37]

To be honest, I think some of these QB's are so used to the protective wrap they are in that it's counter productive.  Literally from the time they are 10 years old they never get hit or learn how to.  You watch a guy like Burris running outside the pocket and he doesn't brace for contact.  Then he's mad if he gets touched.

 

The biggest problem is the crappy OL and the advantage DL's have on them with the expanded rosters.  

 

The rule on low hits already exists in the pocket.

I so agree JBR.

[JuranBoldenRules]

Should not any tackle to any players knee be illegal. If I was receiver or rb i would be pissed if only the QB's knees are protected. I also don't get why any QB would not wear some sort of knee brace at all times. I know it reduces your mobility slightly but your livelihood is dependent on that body part.

 

I think the rules already encourage form tackling and the officials can certainly apply rough play and unnecessary roughness penalties to both high (above the shoulders) and low (knees) hits.

 

It's a change in approach for the officials that needs to happen.  The rules are there.  The game is derived from rugby and if you don't form tackle in that sport it's an automatic foul.

 

A good example was that hit on Banks yesterday where he literally was clubbed in the head.  They made the right call on review, but any clubbing of the head whether or not grasping facemask should see the flags flying from any official with a view of the ballcarrier.

[WBBFanWest]

There's no room in the game for dirty hits that try to end careers & that was what Hank was talking about. I think your badminton analogy is a bit over the top, WBBFanWest. None of the players that are in the CFL are cowards as you seem to be making Burris out to be. He's no coward & playing 15 years of pro football in both the NFL & CFL proves that. I get tired of seeing defensive players take shots at offensive players in vulnerable situations & then plead the fifth when they're flagged or fined. Like somehow they had no idea  their actions were wrong when they actually were.

Couple of points:

1) concerning Lawrence, it was a legal hit, so that means, by definition, it wasn't dirty.  

2) he's running in the open field and clearly sees the defender coming.  That's hardly vulnerable.

3) if Burris has concerns about his career (which is already long by any standard) then either throw the ball away or hook slide.  You don't attempt to make a play and then whine afterwards that the big meannie had the audacity to do what he's being payed to do.  That has less to do with courage than it has to do with "star" entitlement.  He wants to try and make the big play and then gets mad because someone on the other side doesn't let him.  

 

Boo hoo Hank, boo hoo.

[bearpants]

I saw the Lawerence hit and I have no problem with it... if Hank hadn't jumped as he was throwing the contact point would have been exactly in the hip/waist area... the timing was fine...

 

the Westerman hit was much worse... though likely unintentional... but he got a 15 yard penalty on the play and a max fine... he "did the time" so to speak...

[Fatty Liver]

 

Should not any tackle to any players knee be illegal. If I was receiver or rb i would be pissed if only the QB's knees are protected. I also don't get why any QB would not wear some sort of knee brace at all times. I know it reduces your mobility slightly but your livelihood is dependent on that body part.

 

I think the rules already encourage form tackling and the officials can certainly apply rough play and unnecessary roughness penalties to both high (above the shoulders) and low (knees) hits.

 

It's a change in approach for the officials that needs to happen.  The rules are there.  The game is derived from rugby and if you don't form tackle in that sport it's an automatic foul.

 

A good example was that hit on Banks yesterday where he literally was clubbed in the head.  They made the right call on review, but any clubbing of the head whether or not grasping facemask should see the flags flying from any official with a view of the ballcarrier.

 

 

 

I agree, the promotion of form tackling is necessary for the good of the game, take the notion of using excessive force and punishment right out of football before medical science does it for them.  Hockey allows body-checking but they penalize any hits that are excessive with boarding or charging penalties.  They need to do the same thing in football and not only for the QB but for the RB's and receivers as well.  Every game there are at least a couple of missile launch "hits" were the defender leads with his helmet with the sole intention of punishing the ball-carrier.   Rugby got it right from the start, a return to arm tackling is needed.

[DR. CFL]

My concern is in a game that is already riddled with excessive penalty calls we are now going to introduce the potential for 8-10 more. The only penalties that may have proven as a real deterrent have been the one's for players mimicking throwing a flag for PI or the unsportsmanlike calls for removing your helmet.

[Doublezero]

Drew Willy broke his leg after jumping in the air and landing awkwardly, while in the grasp. Look at the video. It was not a low hit or illegal contact. There was no penalty on the play, nor should there have been. So any rule making it illegal to hit a QB low or on the legs would not have changed anything in Willy's case. He just jumped in the air and, upon landing, his right leg buckled backwards at the knee. A very unfortunate and weird injury.

[Mark F]

Willy took countless hits, some of them I remember being after the ball was gone, a helmet to helmet, and in a few cases, no penalty called.

 

Whether or not some football fans are ok with the hits on the quarterbacks, doesn't matter. If you're ok with it, your in the group that doesn't mind watching

 

mediocre backups play boring football for most of the season. Cause that's the result, legal or not.

 

Look at the trouble NFL teams have getting decent quarterbacks. CFL has it worse.

 

If they don't do something, the league will be gone soon enough, cause it sure as hell is boring watching the games this season.

 

And I'm a fan of the league. I can imagine what

 

luke warm fans think watching some of the worthless games we've seen this year.

[Dragon37]

Willy took countless hits, some of them I remember being after the ball was gone, a helmet to helmet, and in a few cases, no penalty called.

 

Whether or not some football fans are ok with the hits on the quarterbacks, doesn't matter. If you're ok with it, your in the group that doesn't mind watching

 

mediocre backups play boring football for most of the season. Cause that's the result, legal or not.

 

Look at the trouble NFL teams have getting decent quarterbacks. CFL has it worse.

 

If they don't do something, the league will be gone soon enough, cause it sure as hell is boring watching the games this season.

 

And I'm a fan of the league. I can imagine what

 

luke warm fans think watching some of the worthless games we've seen this year.

The teams with mediocre backups are responsible not the rules. IMHO I truly believe there enough rules protecting the QBs. The majority if not all injuries came on perfectly legal hits and a few on no hits at all. The only way to truly protect the QB from getting hurt is to make all contact on them illegal and just how fun would that be? Even if they did this QBs would STILL get hurt.

Teams now, especially Winnipeg, should know they cannot expect their starter to last every single offensive play. As such they need to have a competent back-ups and give them reps in real games to get more experience.

[Mark F]

24   Starting quarterbacks this season after Hamilton goes with Jacory Harris or Jeremiah Masoli

 

 

 

Penton article