Confused....Help!

[Guest]

I have only been REALLY watching football for 3yrs., so I don'y understand all the rules yet. I need someone to tell me why there were no penalties or anything even said about Marshall Faulks helmet being pulled off. The play was still in motion , it was clear to see, and guys were still piling on. I know we got the touchdown , but shouldnt there have been something?

[Blankman17]

There probably should have, but sometimes, there aren't. Best way I can explain it is: The rules are in place, but sometimes they aren't enforced for various reasons.

[28rulz]

You are definately right about them not being called. If thats the reason... we had tons of penalties against us that weren't called. I kept looking at My husband saying"shouldn't that have been called?" We won anyway, which is even more proof to the world we deserve the SB victory.

[Blankman17]

Just goes to show, 28, sometimes you get the calls, sometimes you don't, just part of the game

[RealRam]

Hats off...

Hi 28Rulz...

From what I understand regarding NFL rules (and believe me, I'm f-a-r from being an expert), there was no penalty against the Eagles during Marshall's TD because the helmet was,

1) Not removed intentionally: this may sound silly but just as with a facemask infraction, sometimes it is "intentional" and sometimes it isn't.

a. For a negligence tackle or malicious grab on the opponent's facemask the penalty is a stiff 15 yards.

b. For an "accidental" or quick-release of the facemask the penalty is cashed in with 5 yards.

2) Football helmets are sometimes blown away as a result of the impact during a tackle or a block. If this is the occasion, I believe the play continues u-n-l-e-s-s [??? (that is, don't quote me on this one :-)] the player left without cranial protection STOPS -- a self-protective action which obligates the officials to kill the play and repeat the down.

Again, ??? not sure if the safety of the player in this scenario MAY be determined by the player himself.

3) Case in point. During the Nov. 4 NYJets / N.O. Saints game there was a situation where a Jet defender not only grabed Saints QB Aaron Brooks' face mask, but clearly held on to it while twisting the neck as he pulled him back over the pile of fallen bodies in an effort to keep him from making a crucial first down near the Jets end zone.
That particular violation was most definitely a 15 yard penalty!* :confused:


When Marshall Faulk lost his helmet in the NFC title game,

a) it was during the struggle of getting into the end zone to score; there was no indication on the part of the Eagles of either removing the head gear negligently nor of taking advantage of him not having his helmet on;

b) he kept the ball and continued pushing against the defense, i.e., kept on playing (courageously I might add);

c) the play was being whistled dead at the same time; that is, it was finalized along with the stopping tackle which, in fact, removed the helmet accidentally. No further aggression took place.

Personally, I think penalties that are closely related to the safety of the players, such as clipping or tripping from behind below the knees, roughing the passer (a somewhat ambiguous call), and late hits or tackles out-of-bounds are usually well policed by the officials. If anything, sometimes these calls are exaggerated or, at best, overly protective.

Excellent question Ma'am!


* In this incident however, Saints tackle Kyle Turley --involved in that play-- boiled over while witnessing the provoking penalty on his teammate. Going balistic as the play was being whistled dead, he grabs the facemask of the culprit, Jet defensive back Damien Robinson (still on the ground), yanks off his helmet then launches it away like a disc thrower!

Turley was ejected from the game. He was also fined $25,000 by the NFL a couple of days later while Robinson was fined $20,000.
:p