Although hits to the head of defenseless players have received the bulk of the attention in discussions on player safety, the league is also increasingly concerned about low hits. And this year officials are being instructed to keep a closer eye on low hits to quarterbacks.
NFL V.P. of Officiating Dean Blandino says that although the rule hasn’t changed, the league is spending more time with officials urging them to keep an eye on low hits to quarterbacks, and more time with coaches reminding them to instruct defensive players not to go low. Blandino said in an interview with John Kryk of the Toronto Sun that low hits are among the points of emphasis the league office is reviewing with officials.
“One is low hits on the quarterback in the passing posture,” Blandino said. “That was something that we did see an increase in last year, so the competition committee wants us to emphasize that. The quarterback in the passing posture in the pocket gets protected from hits in the knee area or below — forcible hits. And it’s incumbent on the defender to avoid (that area) when the contact is avoidable. That will be an emphasis point. We’ve spent a lot of time with coaching staffs, and spent a lot of time looking at game video with our game officials.”
The NFL first cracked down on low hits on quarterbacks after the 2005 season, when Carson Palmer suffered a serious knee injury on a low hit from Kimo von Oelhoffen in the playoffs. The league then strengthened that rule after the 2008 season, when Tom Brady suffered a knee injury in Week One on a low hit from Bernard Pollard. Now the NFL is asking its officials to apply that rule more stringently.