Ellis Hobbs Hit Shows Huge Flaw in League’s Helmet-to-Helmet Rules

If you happened to catch the Eagles-Giants game last night (since it was the primetime game, I’m sure you did), you saw Asante Samuel pop Derek Hagan after he made a catch in the flats. Samuel led with his shoulder, but was unlucky enough for his helmet to collide with Hagan’s and was flagged 15 yards.

There was nothing malicious or dirty about the hit. It was a guy trying to take a clean shot and just got unlucky that their helmets happened to hit. No flag was thrown initially, but once Hagan crawled on the ground for a little, the official threw the flag.

If it was such a blatant helmet-to-helmet shot, shouldn’t the flag have come out immediately? Instead, officials are waiting to see if guys get hurt. Had Hagan hopped up and run back to the huddle, nothing would have ever come of it.

But, that’s not even the point.

Later in the game, Ellis Hobbs was returning a kickoff and took a helmet-to-helmet shot from the Giants reserve defensive end Dave Tollefson. This hit was not flagged because Hobbs is not a “defenseless receiver,” but anyone with two eyes could tell the hit deserved a flag.

Unlike Samuel, Tollefson ducked his head and intentionally led with the crown of his helmet. When he hit Hobbs, he was looking down at the ground and using his helmet as a weapon. He made no attempt to use his shoulders or to get low and hit Hobbs in the NFL’s imaginary “strike zone.”

The two hit right on the sweet spot of the helmet, and it was just dumb luck that Hobbs was the guy who got knocked out cold.

But Samuel will likely get a fine in the mail. Tollefson won’t.

It should be guys like Tollefson who are targeted by these newly-enforced rules. But instead, guys who just happen to get unlucky and collide with the other guy’s helmet are being flagged and often fined. Kurt Coleman was flagged a couple weeks ago, Dunta Robinson’s hit on DeSean Jackson was clean, James Harrison’s hit on Josh Cribbs was unintentional (his hit on Mohamed Massaquoi, however, deserved a fine and flag), and the list goes on.

The league is targeting the wrong guys and when hits like Tollefson’s go unpunished it shows a clear bias towards defense and nothing more than an attempt to keep NFL games high-scoring and in the offense’s favor.