Burfict's penalty???

[*ochocincos*]

(11-27-2017, 11:29 AM)740Bengal Wrote: Un-needed and away from the play, the WR he hit was not a factor.  He has to be smarter than that.

This is where there's a discrepancy with the illegal contact rule. The rules state that a defensive player can interfere/hit an offensive receiving player within five yards of the LOS. If it's beyond five yards, it's considered a penalty. Burfict tries to light up anyone coming across him as long as it's under five yards. According to the rule, it should be allowed as long as contact is not made to the head/neck area.

The league is essentially flagging/fining Burfict for hitting too hard even though he's not hitting right in the head/neck and making contact within the legal five yards to the LOS.

Was this illegal contact rule changed in this past offseason or are the refs just being too focused on player safety because a 255 lb linebacker is trucking down a player 50+ lbs lighter than him? Because to me, this comes down to Burfict establishing intimidation if a (much) smaller player is going to try to cross him within those five yards prior to illegal contact.

If it was changed, can someone please provide a link? I cannot find a reference to such change.