The NFL rulebook states that “there shall be no unnecessary roughness.” It goes into specific instances of what unnecessary roughness includes. In Rule 12, Section 2, Article 8 of the NFL rulebook, unnecessary roughness shall include, “but is not limited to:” the following:
(f) If a player uses any part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/”hairline” parts) or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily.
(j) if a player illegally launches into a defenseless opponent. It is an illegal launch if a player (1) leaves both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent, and (2) uses any part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/”hairline” parts) to initiate forcible contact against any part of his opponent’s body.
Note: This does not apply to contact against a runner, unless the runner is still considered to be a defenseless player, as defined in Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9.
The following is a portion of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9:
It is a foul if a player initiates unnecessary contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture.
(a) Players in a defenseless posture are:
(1) A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass;
(2) A receiver attempting to catch a pass; or who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a runner. If the receiver/runner is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent, he is no longer a defenseless player;
(3) A runner already in the grasp of a tackler and whose forward progress has been stopped;
(4) A kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air;
(5) A player on the ground at the end of a play;
(6) A kicker/punter during the kick or during the return;
(7) A quarterback at any time after a change of possession, and
(8) A player who receives a “blindside” block when the blocker is moving toward his own endline and approaches the opponent from behind or from the side.
(b) Prohibited contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture is:
(1) Forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him; and
(2) Lowering the head and making forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/”hairline” parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body.
Note: The provisions of (2) do not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or helmet in the course of a conventional tackle on an opponent.
Also note that there are zero provisions in the rule books regarding fining a player for these actions. Much of the crackdown against unnecessary roughness penalties came thanks to, you guessed it, James Harrison, after the Steelers’ week 6 game against the Cleveland Browns. I attended that game in person, and it made headlines for all of the wrong reasons (that game was Roethlisberger’s first back after a four-game suspension for player conduct).
Early on, Browns’ wildcat QB Josh Cribbs ran for a short gain, was being held up by a defender, and as he was going to the ground Harrison came in and made helmet-to-helmet contact with Cribbs, causing a fumble that the Steelers would recover, and knocking Cribbs from the game. No penalty was caused on the play, and because Cribbs was a runner and not a defenseless player (he was a runner who was still moving forward), no flag was thrown and none SHOULD be thrown if the same play were to happen today.
Later, after catching a two-yard cross, Mohammad Massaquoi became a victim of James Harrison, who laid him out in a tackle, again making helmet-to-helmet contact. Again, no flag was thrown on this play (well, minus a delay of game penalty on a Browns lineman for kicking a ball 20 yards into his bench). This one is up for discussion, only on whether Massaquoi was defenseless. He had made the catch and taken two steps. He ducked his head in preparation for contact. As I watch the replay, I see no unnecessary roughness here as, again, the player is not defenseless. Even for argument’s sake that Massaquoi is considered defenseless…I don’t see how you can flag Harrison for helmet-to-helmet contact when the contact is made a mere two feet above the ground. If an offensive player ducks his head down to the level where the defender is making a tackle, he deserves no sympathy from the referees. Sorry.
Harrison was fined $100,000 (later reduced to $75,000) for his NON-PENALIZED actions on the field. Again, I see nothing in the rule book regarding fines against players for non-penalties.
Now, let’s flash forward just under 14 months to another Pittsburgh/Cleveland matchup. Colt McCoy is flushed out of the pocket and begins to scramble to his left, and last second before tucking and running the ball he flips the ball forward to a receiver about five yards away. As he lets go of the ball, Harrison begins the process of the tackle on the quarterback. His helmet makes contact with McCoy’s, and the result is an unnecessary roughness penalty for helmet-to-helmet contact with a defenseless player: a QB after throwing the ball. McCoy would return, though he suffered a concussion and should have not been allowed back into the game.
Let’s dissect this hit even further. At the time that McCoy releases the ball, his head is fully above Harrison’s. In less than a second between releasing the ball and the players’ helmets making contact, Harrison’s does not change the level above the ground while McCoy’s drops down to Harrison’s level. Did he lead with his helmet? Eh, maybe, it sure looks like he does slightly. Does he attack the head of the opponent? Certainly not. Is McCoy a defenseless player? I don’t know how you can say that he is. He is in full run mode with no look to pass. Any eligible receiver has the exact same right to throw a ball like that. If a RB gets hit in the same way, though, is that a penalty? No. And McCoy’s shouldn’t be a penalty for defenseless player either. If you want to call for helmet-to-helmet in general, that’s fine. But you cannot call a scrambling QB who just flips a ball forward “defenseless” at all.
Had McCoy not lowered his head, Harrison would have hit McCoy square in the chest with his helmet. Supposedly, according to the rules of the game, Harrison should be penalized for this because he led with the crown of his helmet and made forcible contact on a defenseless player. Trust me, had this happened, the penalty would NEVER have been called. It should be, according to the NFL rule book, but it never is called and never would be called. If it should be called a penalty, call it a penalty, don't make up your own rules.
After the week ended, Roger Goodell announced that Harrison would serve a one game suspension for the hit on McCoy. Where does the rule book say that on field incidents that don’t result in ejections can be subject to suspension later on? What about the dozens of other helmet to helmet hits, especially on QBs (I saw at least two on Kellen Clemens for the Rams this week, neither penalized or even DISCUSSED by commentators) that go without penalty?
Let me end you with the contradictions of Goodell and the NFL rule book. I already mentioned the two Clemens hits that went unpenalized. That make any sense?
What about Tim Tebow after handing a ball off getting absolutely decked helmet-to-helmet? Trust me I’m glad this one isn’t penalized, but it seems very contradictory to all of the QB protection we see around the league. Any other QB gets hammered like that after getting rid of the ball and it’s an automatic 15 yards. (I cannot find the video anywhere from this play...anybody who can help it'd be greatly appreciated!)
What about Ray Lewis going crown of the helmet first into a defenseless Hines Ward last year? According to the rule book, even though he appears to grasp at Ward with his arms, he still makes prohibited helmet-to-helmet contact. Not only does this knock Ward out of the game, it prevents him from extending his unbelievable and well-deserved streak of consecutive games with a catch. This was one of the saddest nights as a Steeler fan, not because of the outcome of the game, but because a great man got knocked out on a plain-as-day penalty that is not called and loses his chances at a record because of it.
What is a player supposed to do to legally hit a QB? He goes high, he hits helmet, it's a penalty. He goes low, he's attacking the legs, it's a penalty. He goes for the midsection, the QB lowers his head to initiate helmet-to-helmet contact, it's a penalty.
In the end, all of these rules just make the game more confusing. What is defenseless? What is leading with the helmet? What helmet-to-helmet contact is allowed, and why should it be different for different players you hit? The NFL is full of contradictions in how the rules are written, but the contradictions in terms of how the league enforces the rules is even worse. And honestly, I’ve about had enough.
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