Horse-Collar Tackle Rule is Full of Dun

Dave, good ideas but I think the NFL wants to penalize it more because of the injuries. I don't know. It just makes tackling a person who is ahead of you a whole lot harder, and that seems a bit unfair.

While I think the Roy Williams tackle is illegal by the current rule, I do have to say I agree with you (believe it or not) that maybe the rule is too harsh.  What exactly does the NFL expect Roy Williams to grab onto in that situation?  Ideally, Williams or any other defender should wait another step and grab the player around the waist for a traditional tackle.  Or he could grab the shirt tail rather than the shoulder pads.  But in reality, at full speed, you grab what you can grab, and you can't guarantee you will be able to make up that step and grab him anywhere else.I am generally in favor of tilting some of the rules regarding contact back toward the defense.  And while I see the prolem with injuries from the horse collar, it is difficult to see how you can always avoid using it.  Perhaps the best thing to do is a 5 and 15 yard version like we have with facemasks.  This most recent one would be a 5 yard version the way I would envision it.-DW

Coach Wade Phillips has the last word here: "Roy’s been in on 105 tackles now, and three of them have been on
that variety," Phillips said. "I mean, a guy that does it one out of 15
plays, is he worse than Roy? Percentage-wise, certainly he is. Roy’s
involved so much in all this, and it’s not a horse-collar tackle if
you’re tackling in the line of scrimmage. But if it’s outside, it is.

"So where you are … there's a lot of factors involved in my opinion.
But that’s why they have the process. That’s why we have the appeal.
We’ll see what happens."

For the record, Williams has injured 4 players. Here is the New York Times, which you will probably say has a bias against the Cowboys.During the 2004 season, several offensive players were sidelined after being horse-collared: Titans wide receiver Tyrone Calico (sprained knees), Ravens running backs Jamal Lewis (sprained ankle) and Musa Smith (compound fracture of the right tibia), and Eagles receiver Terrell Owens (fractured right fibula and torn ligaments). All were brought down by Williams.

You certainly didn't argue the merits of the motive I bring to the readers here, PJS. You are a rabid, angry Vikings fan. Listen, I don't condone dirty play. This was NOT a dirty play. It wasn't a dirty tackle. I made the argument clear that I think it is a rule not based on science, but on judgments. Obviously, you Eagle, Deadskins and Vikings fans judge the tackle as illegal. I do not.

Oh, and to answer your question about injuries. Here is Wiki on the Horse Collar: The horse-collar tackle rose to infamy during the 2004 NFL season, in which it was implicated for six major injuries, four of which were committed by Williams (including two in one game). The injuries that season included broken legs for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens, Baltimore Ravens running back Musa Smith, and Tennessee Titans wide out Tyrone Calico. On May 23, 2005, NFL owners voted 27-5 to ban the tackle. The dissenting votes were cast by Dallas, San Francisco, Detroit, New England and New Orleans.[2] The first year of the ban, only two penalties were called by referees for the horse-collar tackle. Owners voted 25-7 in 2006 to expand the rule to include tackles by the back of the jersey in addition to tackles by the shoulder pads.[3]

Wow. Now you are assinging motives to my believe Roy committed a penalty! And in the same breath you are calling Len Pasqurerli a liar. He didn't just make that up. It's not known as the Roy Rule just to upset you as Cowboy Blogger Extraordinaire. It's not a Dallas conspiracy. The fact is, Roy Williams is clearly a dirty player. If you're vouching for dirty play, then just say that, and quit dancing around with stuff like "McNabb did some theater."

Ok PJS, whatever. The article states "Some felt that Williams was responsible for four significant injuries that season." Who are the some? And who got injured? One person Roy injured and that was Terrell Owens. I challenge you to find any other injury he caused. Now, the reason Terrell was injured was because Williams fell on the back of his legs while doing the horse collar. The tackle itself is not dangerous; falling on the legs while doing it is. Have some common sense!!! You are just attacking me because you are a Vikings fan, and Dallas beat the Vikes.

TLH, Do you realize the rule was put in because of Roy Williams, and that he has injured up to 4 players with his illegal antics? He plays dirty, and apparently you are endorsing dirty play. Check out this story from when the rule was implemented. It may as well be the Roy Rule. And guess who voted against it--Jerry Jones. Figures.    http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=306084...

PJS, I am suggesting that McNabb faked the way he fell to the ground to make the tackle look illegal. It was a good tackle. And he did some football theater, you know how soccer players do it, and fell to the ground crying about the tackle. It's pretty clear to me.
As to inside the Iggles, I have no comment.

If you want to debate the rule, fine, landry hat. But it's quite another thing to twist the words of your readers. Secondly, what is it you mean by "McNabb did some theater." Are you suggesting that before Williams tackled him via a horse collar McNabb plotted to be yanked down illegally from behind in a manner that looked worse?? Your logic is misguided on this one, and is clearly guided by pure homerism.

Dude you are the only one in the entire world who thinks this was not a horse collar. Even the Cowboy's own Troy Aikman clearly sees it as a horse collar.You think McNabb was acting? LOL PJS is right, you are being an incredibly big homer here.

You're not making sense. Donovan McNabb "did some theater." I'm not sure what that means. When Williams broke the rule and yanked him down from behind, are you suggesting McNabb knew Williams was about to violate the rule and came up with a plan for how to get tackled illegally from behind and make it look more illegal? It is my opinion that it was a violation. If you want to argue the merits of the rule, fine, but there is no need to twist one of your reader's words.

PJS, I watched the play over and over. There's nothing wrong with it. What I found was that Donovan McNabb did some theater and made it look bad. It was a fair tackle. There's no secret I am a Cowboys fan, kid-o. And this was Williams' fourth violation to correct you for accuracy. But, I agree with you, this wasn't a violation. So 3 is correct now.

I think you are being an incredible homer here. There is a reason the horse collar is illegal. The fact is this is Williams' third violation. He deserved to be penalized and to receive a suspension.I highly doubt, if say Laron Landry was facing suspension, you'd have made a post like this.