Early on in a very key second quarter drive, which would eventually lead to a TD from Peyton Manning to Austin Collie, Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch spun out of a Tony Ugoh block and landed at the legs of Manning after Manning had released the football. Vanden Bosch hit Manning's knee, which underwent surgery last year that forced him to miss all of the 2008 pre-season.
Flag. 15 yard penalty. First down Colts.
The Colts TD drive ended the first half of the game with the score 21-9, and it seemed to break the will of the Tennessee Titans. Yesterday, Vanden Bosch received word that he would be fined $5000 for the hit on Manning, and Titans coach Jeff Fisher, who is on the NFL Competition Committee which helped to create and craft "The Brady Rule," does not seem happy about that.
Coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairman of the competition committee, said earlier this week that the rule states roughing the passer should not be called if a player is blocked into a quarterback.
Well, from what I saw, Vanden Bosch was not blocked into Manning. He spun out of a block, fell, and landed at Manning's feet with "sufficient force", hitting Manning's knee. The hit caused some concern after the game as Manning needed treatment on the knee for soreness. Jim Caldwell said the knee was fine this past Monday.
Last year, Vanden Bosch's hit would not have been a penalty. But thanks to Fisher, Bill Polian, and the other members of the Competition Committee, it is now not only a flag, it's a fine as well. And while Fisher may think Vanden Bosch was blocked into Manning, clearly the big boys at NFL HQ saw it differently. Thus, the fine.
Again, the Vanden Bosch hit was text book "Brady Rule," which is a very poorly worded penalty that will always favor QBs. Refs will always ere on the side of caution, no matter the circumstance or situation. It simply provides way too much subjective interpretation which penalizes defensive players and protects QBs.
Sorry, but if Fisher did not know that these kinds of penalties would happen as a result of this new rule, which he helped create, then Fisher is clueless.
Tip to peytonsthebest