Jeff Triplette usually makes bad calls against us but today he made a bad call in our favor. A commentator explained because the Eagles player who pulled Toby Gerhart backward did not put a hand inside his collar by definition it is not a horsecollar tackle. However, the only difference between that tackle and a horsecollar is which part of the jersey the Eagles player grabbed: the outside near his left shoulderpad.

 

My first thought after watching all of the replays was the NFL should expand the definition of a horsecollar tackle to include pulling the outside of the runner's jersey if the runner goes down how Gerhart did. Without wearing teal glasses, do you think the horsecollar rule is is good enough as it is?

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Player safety first so yes...

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Yes. It's good enough. That wasn't a horse collar tackle. We got lucky that we had one of the lousy officiating crews today. At least on that call.

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Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

I didnt have a problem with that call.  The whole point of the horsecollar tackle isnt that grabbing a guy by the inside of the pads is bad.  It's that those tackles often lead to the offensive player having their leg rolled up on as the defender lands on it.  Which is exactly what happened to Gerhart.  The defender did everything the rule is trying to avoid.  Just because he didnt put his fingers inside Gerhart's pads around the back of the neck as he grabbed Gerhart from behind and land on the back of his legs is irrelevant in my mind.  They should flag every defender who tackles someone like that.  

 

** anyways to answer your question, I'd have no problem if they expanded the horsecollar rule or just changed it.  Its the way the player is being tackled that is the problem.  Not necessarily grabbing the pads.

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Scouting well is all that matters.  Draft philosophy is all fluff.

If you dont grab the pads in the neck then it isnt a horse collar. Bad call.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

If you dont grab the pads in the neck then it isnt a horse collar. Bad call.

 

So the shoulderpads are not included?

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So the shoulderpads are not included?

 

The hand is supposed to be inside the runner's collar for it to be a personal foul. Here is the archetype:

 

http://youtu.be/ZxDGSbmZOJE

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato