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Kiwanuka's Non-Tackle Posted by Charlie at 11/27/2006 9:15:00 AM View more posts by this author

I think all the people calling Kiwanuka's catch-and-release on Vince Young are missing the real story. Let's re-create... it's fourth down. He wraps up the quarterback. He goes in low, because god forbid he hits Young anywhere near the helmet. He sees Young start a throwing motion, but can't see him release the ball because his head is down. He DOESN'T drive Young into the turf, because if he had, Tennessee would surely get fifteen yards and a first down. If Young HAD released the ball and Kiwanuka HADN'T let up, he'd be the goat of the century anyway. I'm all for protecting the quarterback. Hell, I'm a Jets fan. I had to watch Vinny T and Brooks Bollinger last year -- I know it's worthwhile to the NFL to keep marquee guys in the game. But I think the notion of protection has gone way too far... Clearly, Kiwanuka was afraid of what would happen if he'd actually completed the play. That's nuts. The defenders need a reasonable amount of leeway to make a clean tackle on the quarterback -- and in today's NFL, they don't have it.

Comments....

Very true - Kiwan said later that he saw the pump fake and had no choice but to lay up or risk a 4th down penalty; he said if it happened again, he'd probably do the same thing. Last week Browns-Steelers, same type of thing happened to big Ben on the go-ahead drive. He was hit, the rusher backed off for fear of drawing the penalty, and ben kept his balance and kept the chains moving. Then there was a call in one of the Thanksgiving games, I think it was Romo, tried to duck under an oncoming lineman and got hit as he was lowering his head - the lineman was flagged with a helmet-to-helmet hit. So if you're a QB, forget about getting rid of the ball, just point your head towards anyone coming at you and you'll get the first down. Posted by stuccosalt at 11/27/2006 10:55:00 AM

That's absolutely what happened - the league has gone way overboard protecting QBs, and it leads to ridiculous scenarios like this. Ideally, he should have held onto him indefinitely, though, but still, there was no doubt he could have thrown Young to the ground had he wanted to. It doesn't make up for the complete collapse by the team otherwise, but that was 4th down, and the game was over. Posted by cliss at 11/27/2006 4:28:00 PM

you guys are probably right that the league has gone too far protecting the QB, but if it really was that bad then this wouldn't be the only incident that I can think of where a play was affected by the rule. Honestly, if something is as bad as you guys are making it out to be then it would be a chronic issue, not just one time. Here's an idea, just continue to hold onto the QB instead of getting up and turning around. Don't blame the rule on Kiwanuka not sacking Young, that's just a lame excuse. Posted by herbilk at 11/27/2006 6:51:00 PM

There's been a ton of overprotective calls on the QB, including one tonight in the Packers-Seahawks game. Jenkins by no means was unneccessarily rough. A Bengals-Bucs game was in part decided by such a call. I see one of these sort of calls nearly every week. Posted by Erickson at 11/27/2006 8:49:00 PM

Agree about the call in the Monday night game. The way the zebras are calling it these days, any contact with the quarterback once he's thrown the ball is a 15-yard penalty. Posted by czegers at 11/28/2006 7:28:00 AM

What I meant was a player not making a tackle because he was afraid of getting called. I see plays that are not roughing get called as roughing all the time, what I don't see are players letting go of the QB because they are afraid of a call. Using the "I was afraid of a call" excuse for Kiwanuka letting go of Young and then completely turning around and walking away is a cop-out. Don't let him off the hook that easily. The guy messed up, hold him accountable. Posted by herbilk at 11/28/2006 10:28:00 AM

Why else would Kiwanuka have let him go except for fear of being called for the penalty? Maybe he overreacted to being called for roughing the previous week, but that was why he let go. He should have just held onto him indefinitely, but he did have him in the grasp for about two or three seconds, and it's not like Young was even fighting to get free. The problem is not just the horrendous calls (Monday night's game changing call against the Packers is but another case in point), but also the inconsistency with which these rules are applied. Sometimes they blow the whistle in the Kiwanuka situation, but on Sunday they let the play go on. Also, other than standing there indefinitely, what should Kiwanuka have done? If he flung him to the ground, I have no doubt there would have been a flag thrown. So he's just supposed to stand still bear-hugging Vince Young indefinitely? This is what football has become? You get the quarterback, stop and give him a hug until you hear the whistle? Posted by cliss at 11/28/2006 7:10:00 PM

To me that's the issue - if you're going to be overprotective of QBs by calling almost any hard contact as roughing the passer, then the NFL should be consistent and have refs *IMMEDIATELY* blow the whistle for a sack as soon as the QB is in the grasp so that the defender doesn't have to drive him into the ground to get the call. The hypocrisy is glaring. Sure "protect" the QB from those big bad defenders, but also encourage him to twist and duck and spin away to produce those highlight reel plays. It's OK if he gets killed on an open field hit, just so long as it doesn't happen in the pocket... Posted by ESiegrist at 11/28/2006 11:36:00 PM

Here's what's coming next: Some smart quarterback -- let's say it's Tom Brady -- will get a key first down for his team by leaning into a defender, then flopping, just after he releases the ball. FIFA meets the NFL. Can't wait. Posted by czegers at 11/29/2006 1:56:00 PM

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