Since when are you not allowed to hit a qb in the face?

[australianpackerbacker]

What the f*** is with this rule? When was it bought in? Why is it that every other player on the field can get his head blown off, but the man making the most plays is not allowed to be smashed in the mouth?

God damn it, a couple weeks ago i saw ray lewis absolutley unload on dustin keller, IN THE FACE, helmet to helmet, and because he had his arms stretched out to potentially catch the ball, got destroyed for it. This is not a penalty on any other player than a quarterback. What the fuck gives?

Dont give me that "they are the most vulnerable to injury" speech bullshit either, no one is mkore vulnerable than a reciever going over the middle who is not looking at defenders as they are trying to catch a ball.

If that good play by Zombo stood, we win easily, even if we were trying our hardest to give the game away. Since when is it a penalty to knock the shit out of a qb?

[vince]

I think it was last year or the year before the pussyfoot rules to protect the QB were put in place.

This year they added the Favre rule about hitting the QB too low.

If you're going to hit the QB as opposed to just take him down, you pretty much have to hit him below the head and above the knees with your shoulder and you can't pile-drive him too hard or it's a penalty.

I don't like it either. Defenders have to adjust. It's as simple as that.

[MichiganPackerFan]

A Chicago DL dove onto Arod's head in the first quarter after he was tackled and down. Why no call there?

It reminds me of Urlachers trademark cheap shot on him last year when he was already down. Kharma took that bitch's wrist a few plays later.

[Cleft Crusty]

The head-shot rule has to be a frustrating play for defenders. For the play in question, Zombo did everything right. He made the play to get to the QB, didn't lead with his helmet, and disrupted the play. The angle he came in at was the factor thaat lead to him clocking Cutler in the jaw/facemask. On many plays that Crusty has seen like this, there is no way to avoid these types of hits except to make the effort to not go after the QB aggressively. It would be interesting to see whether these rules have their intended effect of reducing shots on QBs, and reducing injuries. If not - and Crusty suspects not, you're just changing the dynamic of the game towards 15 yard penalties instead of QB sacks. The NFL believes that these rules will keep QBs from getting injured and improve the quality of the game. Who, other than Pittsburgh and Cleveland wants to see the backup QB come in? It's also good for the game, since fans love penalties and hate sacks.