SI.com's Peter King writes letter of caution to NFL players

[*jason*]

(01-16-2016, 03:31 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I agree and have been saying this for years.  I stated this all the time on the old boards and was dismissed as a Steelers homer who only complained because his team was the one getting flagged for such hits.  I mentioned that James Harrison had his orbital bone broken when a pulling lineman speared him in the face with the crown of his helmet, no flag and no fine.  The response to that was Harrison got what he deserved.  Sadly, and I'm not necessarily accusing this of this, this only seems to be an issue to Bengals fans now because it affected them.  I don't need something to directly affect me to see how it might in the future or how it's inherently wrong.  Sadly this is not a quality that many possess.

I remember that.  It was against the Texans opening day or so.  I think that was before they really started cracking down on hits to the head (although like you said linemen seem to be exempt from that protection), but they were already starting the whole "defenseless player" thing.  It drives me crazy because refs are told to throw the flag even when they are in doubt.  If it looks bad, they will flag it. They nailed Reggie Nelson so many times for it that he started going low.  That's what happened to Bell last year, and I can see why that drove Tomlin crazy.  Anybody who has played hates being hit in the knee.  The officiating and rules have gotten to be very frustrating over the last couple of years.