Page 22 - ARUBA TODAY

A22 SPORTS
Friday 28 September 2018
NFL sticking with officiating emphasis on quarterback hits

By BARRY WILNER That's going to be a tough
AP Pro Football Writer one for us to swallow."
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL Many of the calls have
is sticking with its officiat- been difficult for defensive
ing emphasis on quarter- players and their coaches
back hits, including those to swallow, and they've
in which the tackler uses all even gotten some support
or most of his body weight from quarterbacks.
when falling on the quar- "It helps me out because
terback. I'm a quarterback," said
NFL football operations Deshaun Watson of the
chief Troy Vincent said Texans. "But some of the
Thursday that the power- calls are just kind of crazy."
ful competition committee The competition commit-
has clarified to game offi- tee's decision to remain
cials the techniques used in with the status quo doesn't
such hits, which have been mean there will continue to
a source of debate through be a flurry of such penalties.
the first three weeks of the By clarifying the technique,
schedule. Green Bay line- the league is attempting to
backer Clay Matthews find some uniformity in the
has been called for three calls. "I think we all have felt
of them, two of which ap- like it's all gone a little bit too
peared to be normal tack- far," said Fox analyst Mike
les. Pereira, the former head of
A lack of consistency on NFL officials. "But I think it'll
such calls also has been seek a level that will get it
a source of contention back in sync with what the
throughout the league. In players think and what we
its regularly scheduled con- all think. "You know any
ference call, the commit- In this Sept. 16, 2018, file photo, Green Bay Packers’ Clay Matthews tackles Minnesota Vikings time you put a new point
tee reviewed video of such quarterback Kirk Cousins during the second half of an NFL football game, in Green Bay, Wis. of emphasis in, there's a
plays from 2017 and this Associated Press point of adjustment to the
year. players and the officials ...
"In reiterating its position on stitutes a clean hit is any- ated. veniently left out of the vid- so again, an adjustment by
quarterback protection," body's guess nowadays. " Furthermore after seeing eo." both groups, the players
Vincent says, "the com- "I don't know if that state- the video, too, all hits on Compounding the com- and the officials."
mittee determined there ment really expresses how the quarterback that came plaints: Dolphins DE William There have been 34 rough-
would be no changes to they're going to call it mov- from straight on — which is Hayes tore his right ACL ing-the-passer calls so far.
the point of emphasis ap- ing forward," he said Thurs- what they teach you since trying to avoid landing on While that works out to just
proved this spring, or to day, adding if it will be sta- peewee football with run- Raiders QB Derek Carr. one flag for every 100 pass
the rule of which the body tus quo, "If that's the case, ning backs, receivers or "He was trying to not put attempts, it represents a
weight provision has been that's truly unfortunate whatever, is to approach body weight on the quar- massive increase over pre-
in place since 1995." because I think I speak on them head on if you can terback," coach Adam vious years. There were
The inconsistency led behalf of everybody that — those were all illegal hits, Gase said of Hayes. "His foot 16 such penalties through
Matthews to suggest the doesn't like the rule and the much like the two hits I had got caught in the ground. three weeks last season
league has gone soft. He way it's being called and on Cousins and (Alex) Smith "He's one of our leaders and 20 the year before
argued that what con- the way it's being offici- last week, which were con- and best run defender. that.q

TICKET state's public officials, from ets," Pressment replied.
Continued from Page 17 the governor to the attor- The law's language also
Attorney Jonathan Press- ney general," Pressment came in for some parsing
ment said it has been said. Both sides withstood that could go a long way
known for years — includ- pointed questions from toward determining how
ing by those in New Jersey the justices, some of whom the dispute is decided.
who sought to attract the appeared skeptical of the Nagel argued that the
game — that the league's NFL's claim that the lottery law's reference to 95 per-
signature event doesn't re- wasn't a public sale. cent of "the tickets" and
lease tickets to the public "That doesn't seem to make "those tickets" referred to
in the same way as music sense," Justice Barry Albin all tickets for an event —
concerts or even other said during one exchange. in the case of the Super
sporting events. Most tick- Asked by Chief Justice Bowl, about 82,000 tickets
ets go to the league's 32 Stuart Rabner whether it at MetLife Stadium. Press-
teams plus sponsors and would be considered a ment argued the phrases
other insiders. public sale if the NFL sold referred only to the tick- In this Feb. 1, 2014, file photo, a sign for NFL football's Super
Bowl XLVIII stands in front of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford,
"What the plaintiff is really all the tickets in a lottery, ets made available to the N.J.
asking this court to do is de- Pressment said it wouldn't. public — in this case, the Associated Press
clare that the first and only "Then what is it?" Rabner 1,000 tickets in the lottery.
Super Bowl held in New Jer- asked. If the state Supreme Court judge in New Jersey had peals in Philadelphia ruled
sey was an unlawful event "It's a contest. It offers fans rules in Finkelman's favor, twice dismissed the lawsuit last December the case
that somehow unfolded in an opportunity to have a the lawsuit will proceed in recent years, but the 3rd could go forward pending
plain view in front of the chance to purchase tick- in federal court. A federal U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- the state court's ruling.q