I was listening to some commentary on SiriusXM NFL Radio on my way home from work, and what they were talking about kind of makes sense.  I'm paraphrasing here, but the idea behind the commentary is that once ANY player crosses the line of scrimmage he becomes a runner and should have no protections (as with the slide rule).  I tend to agree with that.

I take back my earlier comment that the Miami player should have been ejected.  After looking at replays of the play, it wasn't a cheap shot and really had no chance of being avoided.  By the time Flacco started to slide the defender had already committed to the hit.  Look at it this way.  If you are a defender and see a player from the opposing team advancing the ball and running towards you, are you going to let up just because the player is a QB or are you going to try to make a play and prevent a first down?

I hate seeing injuries, but this is a violent sport and it happens.

---