When the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl on the strength of a lockdown secondary, some accused the Legion of Boom of playing overly physical with wide receivers. Illegal contact was apparently a point of emphasis for NFL referees in the offseason. The result, however, may be a bit of an overreaction:
NFL may have gone too far to emphasize illegal contact penalties
The NFL apparently wants its refs to call illegal contact much tighter than they have in the past, but have they gone too far?
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL is really, really cracking down. http://t.co/GlPcez090I pic.twitter.com/KgHoDQsjJ4
— SB Nation NFL (@SBNationNFL) August 16, 2014 The NFL has been aggressive calling illegal contact throughout the preseason, fostering frustration from defenders and fans alike. Those frustrations boiled over in Friday night's game between the San Diego Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks, when cornerback Tharold Simon had a pick-six called back on an iffy penalty.
The Twitter reaction was harsh.
.@t_simon24 picks it off in the end zone and takes it to the house, but.... illegal contact. #SDvsSEA
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) August 16, 2014 HOORAY FOR OFFENSE! YAY NFL!
— Danny Kelly (@FieldGulls) August 16, 2014 They cant possibly call illegal contact like this.
— Stephen White (@sgw94) August 16, 2014 Penalty that just negated Simon's 105yd INT TD return for illegal contact is the biggest joke BS call I have seen yet. Terrible. #Seahawks
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) August 16, 2014 SI’s Doug Farrar HATED it.
NFL needs to step in here. This is absolutely preposterous.
— SI_DougFarrar (@SI_DougFarrar) August 16, 2014 Nice recovery, Simon. Too bad the league wants to eliminate your position completely.
— SI_DougFarrar (@SI_DougFarrar) August 16, 2014 This is total Goodell, though. Implement a rule with no detail and no consideration of effect. Ready, fire, aim.
— SI_DougFarrar (@SI_DougFarrar) August 16, 2014 If NFL referees continue to call contact tight in the secondary during the regular season, expect the backlash to be even stronger.
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