Eagles coach nicks officials; now, Cowboys must be careful about hitting Michael Vick

[Bonecrusher#31]

Eagles coach nicks officials; now, Cowboys must be careful about hitting Michael Vick

Posted at 9:46 AM on Wed., Dec. 8, 2010 | Permalink | Yahoo! BuzzGerry Fraley / Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips


Do not be surprised if the Dallas Cowboys are called for at least one personal foul on a late hit to Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick in Sunday's game.

Eagles coach Andy Reid has set the stage for that.

After last week's win against Houston, Reid said he was concerned with the increasing number of what the Eagles believe are late hits on Vick during his runs. Reid said Vick is entitled to the same protection all quarterbacks receive when running.

Reid added that he would ``deal with the people I need to deal with on it.''

That means the league office. And the inevitable reaction when an established coach raises a point of contention is an over-reaction by officials.

``That bothers me,'' Reid said of the hits on Vick. ``I see the same thing you're seeing and it bothers me. He does run, but he's still the quarterback and you can't treat him like he's a running back there. That's not what the rules state.''

The Cowboys have been called for only one defensive personal foul this season. In the opener, Jay Ratliff was called for going at the knees of Washington quarterback Donovan McNabb. It was a debatable call. A blocker pushed Ratliff from behind, and he pulled back before touching McNabb.

 

[sbk92]

QB protection is in the pocket only. I don't know if he's talking about those hits or when he's across the line and running.

Vick can't slide. He's never learned how. It's been talked about around here. Like Zoolander can't turn left. He can't do it. If you watched the Texans game you saw his version of a slide, which is basically dropping to the ground.

If your QB happens to be capable of running the football like the best running backs, and he doesn't know how to give himself up and slide, then you're fair game for anything the other skill positions players face every week.

 

[SixisBetter]

QB protection is in the pocket only. I don't know if he's talking about those hits or when he's across the line and running.

Vick can't slide. He's never learned how. It's been talked about around here. Like Zoolander can't turn left. He can't do it. If you watched the Texans game you saw his version of a slide, which is basically dropping to the ground.

If your QB happens to be capable of running the football like the best running backs, and he doesn't know how to give himself up and slide, then you're fair game for anything the other skill positions players face every week.

I believe you are correct,sir.

As a side note,I spent awhile searching,in vain it turns out,for an online copy of the NFL rulebook.Don't anybody waste their time looking at the "rules digest" on NFL.com.It's useless to a seasoned fan.

But I did run across this quote from Jerry Markbreit:

The NFL does not sell the official rule book to the public. I assume that the market for the book is not large enough for public sale. The rule book is very complicated and the officiating staff spends years learning everything about the rules. The Digest of Rules is a simple explanation of NFL rules, and in my opinion, is sufficient for those watching the game, not officiating it. I would suggest writing a letter to the National Football League office in New York, in care of the public relations department, asking if you can purchase the National Football League Official Rule Book.

Re the bolded text:WTF?Does this mean they study for years to be an official?Or game officials don't now all the rules yet?Or what?Anybody?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Usually the overreaction is the coach getting fined. I wonder what makes Reid so special to escape that fate?