WAHuskies

The big problem with the rule is that it's not called well by the officals. The rule is very clear that just grabbing someone by the collar is not a penalty. The ball carrier needs to be immediately pulled down by the collar. This is to prevent a player's head/upper back falling 5-6 feet to the ground and being the first point of contact with the ground. It's a good intention, but the officials need to be better educated on when the call should be made. In the Big 12 Championship game, it was a horrible call because not only was the Texas player not immediately tackled by the horse collar, he wasn't tackled by the Husker who grabbed him by the collar at all. Another Nebraska player (sorry not sure of the players involved) tackled the ball carrier forward. Rules intended to make the game safer are a good thing, but when those rules are called too frequently it makes them look like unnecessary impediments to good, hard-nosed football. There are several rules that fall into this category - Horse Collars, helmet to helmet contact (A good example of this was from the Washington UCLA game where Kevin Prince (UCLA Quarterback) dove forward lowering his head while running the ball. Butler (Washington LB) was trying to go under Prince's helmet but Prince kept going lower and their helmets collided. Butler was flagged for helmet to helmet, but what were his options on that play? He was already moving lower to try to get under Prince's helmet) Roughing the Passer, and Defensless Player calls are the same. If the widereceiver bobbles the ball and doesn't catch, how is a tackler supposed to change momentum in half a second? All these rules have their place to prevent or penalize eggregious and flagrant safey issues, but overenforcment creates animosity towards the rules and lessens the quality of the play.