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- - The Hit on Michael Pittman (http://www.coltfreaks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173942)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles (Post 287197)

o

I'm not talking about the horse-collar play, I'm talking about the hit on Pittman.

If you watch the play with any objectivity, you'll see that the defender doesn't have the multiple choices that you suggest ...... he could either turn and hit the receiver with his shoulder (which he did), or he could have stepped back and hoped that Pittman dropped the ball.

Regarding defenseless receivers, the receivers themselves have a choice in the matter of becoming defenseless in the first place. They are choosing to dive across their bodies and lay out for a pass ...... the choice on the part of the receiver to do that should not therefore inhibit the ability of the defender to prevent him from catching the pass by hitting him. Just like a quarterback who chooses not to slide, lowers his shoulder, and takes on a defender in order to get the yardage needed for a first down ...... if the quarterback doesn't want to risk injury, he can slide and avoid contact. If he wants the first down badly enough, he can lower his shoulder and take on the defender to get the yardage ...... but either way, it's his choice. And in the extremely fast and violent game of tackle football, the same is true of the receiver who dives head-first and horizontally for a ball that he wants to catch ...... it's a very risky maneuver because he's leaving himself defenseless in doing so. And if the NFL were to be forthright and honest about it, they would stop pretending and just put it in the rulebook that a "defenseless" airborne receiver is not to be touched, under any circumstances.

o

So Pittman shouldn’t lay out and let the ball get intercepted?

The defensive players are at the liberty of the offensive players

Also take that individual player into consideration of the situation… not the first time he’s been involved in hits like that

Quote:

Originally Posted by apballin (Post 287199)

o

Pittman has every right to lay out and try to make the catch, and/or try to stop the defender from intercepting the ball ...... and the defender should have every right to not change his play on defense because Pittman is choosing to lay out and trying to make the catch.

The rhetorical question that you just asked me is ironic, because it's the same rhetorical question that I asked in the first place ...... and that is, should the defender not make the hit and just hope that the receiver drops the ball because the receiver chooses to lay out horizontally, and leaves himself defenseless.

o

It was dirty. When you hit the head like that it’s on purpose. He didn’t pull up, go for the body, go for the ball, he lowered his head and went for the head. He deserved to be tossed and fined. A suspension wouldn’t surprise me. Literally you can hit anywhere on a receiver except the head and neck area. He knew that and did it anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles (Post 287204)

If a guy leaves his feet you have 2 options… decide if you can get the ball before him and go for it or make sure he’s down after he makes the catch. Any tackle of an airborne WR will get you flagged and they know that

Quote:

Originally Posted by apballin (Post 287206)

A guy leaves his feet you have 2 options… decide if you can get the ball before him and go for it or make sure he’s down after he makes the catch.

Any tackle of an airborne WR will get you flagged, and they know that.

o

So if a receiver leaves his feet, he is not to be touched ...... that's exactly what I said in regard to the way in which the games are being officiated. And I explained, in detail, why I believe that that is unfair to the defender.

o

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles (Post 287207)

It’s all unfair to the defenders I agree with that but that’s the game

You know it , I know it, and the players know it

I felt the ejection was completely warranted and it's probably one of the first times I've ever felt like that when consuming the professional product.

That horse collar the series before was garbage and sent a Colt out of the game, and then they followed it up with that bullshit. They were out of control. It's like Tomlin got into their collective assess and preached urgency, and they were unable to follow through on that in a controlled manner. In my opinion Tomlin's facial expression after the hit looked as if he knew that was inappropriate and unnecessary, and that he really did not have his guys under control. The lack of discipline was clear, and probably speaks to some of the "culture" stuff I've been seeing former Steeler players whine about.

Pittman is a curious one and it looks like he's entered his peak. This is the most polished he's ever looked to me and I suspect it helps that he finally has a relatively average but at least minimally competent quarterback. I don't think he's a top 3 guy, but he does everything for Indianapolis.

Nobody should be willing to pay Pitt more than Indianapolis does this offseason.

He launched and that is a clear no-no in the NFL. You have very little control of your body when you launch.

Had he made that same hit from his feet it would've still been a penalty but probably not an ejection.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles (Post 287207)

I think we all understand what you are saying. Our point is that the guy had options besides the one he took. He could have went for the pass breakup without launching into his head and neck area. I have always said that a player who injured another player with a hit that is worthy of a penalty should have to sit until the injured player is able to return. That’s the only way to clean up dirty play.

The defender was not only ejected, but also suspended for the rest of the season. The league acknowledges that he is a dirty player.