Warren Sapp's hit on Chad Clifton
 

Is there anywhere i can see this blindside hit??

It was a nice hit, I just wish GB would get over it already.

It was a clean hit, but it was unneccessary especially since the ball was like 30-40 yds away and Clifton had zero chance to catch the person with the ball.

Just one of the many things that makes me give Sapp zero respect as a football player.

But that being said, these hits are a part of football, and this is really old news, why is it still around?

It's still around because this new rule has just been proposed. It would banish 'blind-side plays on "unsuspecting" players' according to the ESPN article.

Im not really sure I understand the definition of an "unsuspecting" player. These people get paid millions to hit/block/push opposing players, so how can you ever be deemed an "unsuspecting" player?

when the play is not even near you and you are hit from the back, I would consider that pretty "unsuspecting"

He didn't get hit from the back, it was more of a frontal/side hit than a hit from the back.

Sorry, I was just responding to what an unsuspecting player may be, since he stated he didn't know who would qualify as that. I wasn't really talking about this situation in particular.

It's cool man, I edited it to mention it was a front/side hit, I was a bit inaccurate in stating it was a straight up hit.

I am in favor of keeping the players safe and limiting the type of hits that are allowed, but I think the NFL has been going way too far lately. Unsuspecting player? I can’t wait to see the definition of that. If you step onto a football field you better suspect you are going to get hit. The Clifton hit happens all the time in football. Everyone knows that after an interception, the O players are fair game for the D players. The Williams tackle, again part of the game. That type of hit doesn’t directly injure a player. If T.O.’s foot didn’t catch on the turf we wouldn’t be talking about it. There already is a penalty for the Foster hit - Clipping. Cutting is part of the game but I do think that it does cause a lot of injuries. I’m not really sure how to clean it up though. Anyway, good to see some football talk.

Eliminate it? Cut blocking does nothing but cause injuries now. Many linemen should be able to block standing up, and if they can't, they shouldn't be in the league.

And smaller backs shouldn't be back there blocking anyway.

I'll wait and see what the Competition Committee comes up with before forming my opinion, but I've got some reservations.

What constitutes "near you?" What consitutes "the back?"

What if the guy hit is 15 yards from the play, waving at the sideline because he thinks the play is over, but gets hit from the right side?

He's close, he wasn't hit in the back, is he still "unsuspecting?"

I'm not picking on what you said, hambone, I'm just using your words to clarify the point I'm trying to make. Hope you don't mind. :)

I don't think you can just fix the problem using a blanket rule with obscure language. Unless the wording for "unsuspecting" is absolute, the enforcement of the rule is arbitrary at best.

Though I do agree that Sapp's hit was totally unnecessary and completely classless, it's "part of the game". It's an unwritten rule that when you're on the football field, you need to keep your head on a swivel because everyone is an open target from when the ball is snapped to the whistle. Sapp's hit was terrible, but putting up rule after rule like this is just going to soften a game that is based on contact. And, as many have stated, unless they specifically state who is protected by these rules and not use vague terms, this should not be put into the rule book.

There are so many different areas where cutting is used that it would be very hard to eliminate it. Also, eliminating it would have a negative affect on offenses, something I don’t think the NFL wants to see.