(12-06-2024, 01:00 PM)mikesez Wrote:

(12-05-2024, 11:08 PM)Jaguarmeister Wrote: Bottom line is you can't create a rule that QBs can give themselves up by sliding which makes the player down at the start of the slide without contact which is designed to protect QBs and then not protect QBs when they are hit in that scenario.  He didn't even need to be touched down.  Defenders need that drilled into their head and it probably has been already which is what makes such a hit so aggravating as a fan of the injured team and player.

Also, the league should revisit the fake slide and fake going out of bounds that Mahomes and other QBs have gotten away with and consider turning that into a penalty on the offense.  That is creating an awful precedent of allowing the offense to get away with really cheap extra yards either through the fake out or through a defender drawing a penalty for a personal foul.  That didn't apply in this case.  I saw the play live in the stadium and the replay on TV in slow motion.  Trevor's [BLEEP] was headed to the ground before Al-Shaair's legs committed to launching him forward.  It was 100% on Al-Shaair, but these QB fake out moves are going to eventually lead to some confused defenders who decide to just light the guy up rather than potentially be faked out.  If you visibly begin the process of giving yourself up and then don't at the last second, that should be a penalty.

I don't disagree with Ryans' comments in general given the above, but they were absolute trash in this instance.  It was absolutely an intentional act on Al-Shaair's part and if it truly wasn't, then he's too incompetent to be out there on the field anyway.

It doesn't need to be a penalty.  Just blow the whistle when the ball carrier does anything to give the impression that they are sliding or intentionally going out of bounds.  If the whistle is late, review it and make sure the ball is spotted back where the ball carrier did the fake.  At that point the ball carriers will have no reason to attempt these fakes.

I think it does for the reason that the QB slide is specifically allowed and designed to protect the QB.  When you then have guys using that option as a means of faking a defender out which essentially is undermining the ability of that play to offer the designed protection.  Mahomes did the fake going out of bounds and I also recently saw a clip of him scrambling up field for some decent yardage all the while he was running in a crouching stance behind and around several blockers, but his stance gave the impression that he was about to slide the entire time he was running up field.  Basically it doesn't allow the defense to properly treat the QB as a runner because he's threatening to drop his buttocks at any moment.  I think we can all agree this easily creates scenarios that are in direct opposition to the intended spirit of the QB slide rule.  It should be a penalty.  Either you're a runner or you're giving yourself up.  If there's no penalty and no risk to making the attempted fake out by putting the onus on the official to properly interpret the fake, then they will continue.  If it becomes a penalty, you'll probably never see a fake slide or fake running out of bounds again which is what we should all want.

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