On Sunday, referee John Parry threw the flag on Harrison and announced it was for leading with the crown -- or top -- of his helmet. After replays clearly showed the top of Harrison's helmet never touched Fitzpatrick, the NFL said it fined the linebacker because "he made helmet contact to the chest of the Buffalo quarterback, who was in a defenseless position." "I feel bad for him," Farrior said of Harrison. "All he does is go out and do his job and play as hard as he can every Sunday and he's getting in trouble for it now. You can fight and do a whole lot of stuff but you better not hit that quarterback hard." Farrior was not surprised that Raven linebacker Terrel Suggs came to Harrison's defense. "It's affecting everybody who plays defense. I don't blame him. He's probably not the only guy who feels that way." Ben Roethlisberger said he noticed something that others inside the organization have brought up privately. He charged that Parry, the referee, went for his flag before Harrison even hit the quarterback. "I saw the ref reach for the flag before it was even coming. It's unfortunate for him," Roethlisberger said of Harrison's penalty and fine. "We really feel bad for him." Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
I said the same in the game day thread to crowned. It looked like Parry was throwing the flag as soon as Harrison laid finger on Fitzpatrick.
technically, the flag could have been thrown even if harrison had bounced off and fitzpatrick had thrown a td pbutt. the 'result' doesn't matter. it's just the intent of the tackler. here is the nfl rule as it is written. obviously it is subjective matter, as are most penalties in this game but I'm guessing this is the area which the official felt was in question, specifically 3b, which is very vague: Subsection 3 of article 11, of section 2 of rule 12.... 3) In covering the passer position, Referees will be particularly alert to fouls in which defenders impermissibly use the helmet and/or facemask to hit the passer, or use hands, arms, or other parts of the body to hit the passer in the head, neck, or face (see also the other unnecessary-roughness rules covering these subjects). A defensive player must not use his facemask or other part of his helmet against a passer who is in a virtually defenseless posture—for example, (a) forcibly hitting the passer’s head, neck, or face with the helmet or facemask, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the passer by encircling or grasping him, or (b) lowering the head and violently or unnecessarily making forcible contact with the “hairline†or forehead part of the helmet against any part of the passer’s body.This rule does not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or non-crown parts of the helmet in the course of a conventional tackle on a passer. A defensive player must not “launch†himself (spring forward and upward) into a passer, or otherwise strike him in a way that causes the defensive player’s helmet or facemask to forcibly strike the passer’s head, neck, or face—even if the initial contact of the defender’s helmet or facemask is lower than the passer’s neck. Examples: (a) a defender buries his facemask into a passer’s high chest area, but the defender’s trajectory as he leaps into the passer causes the defender’s helmet to strike the passer violently in the head or face; (b) a defender, using a face-on posture or with head slightly lowered, hits a passer in an area below the passer’s neck, then the defender’s head moves upward, resulting in strong contact by the defender’s mask or helmet with the passer’s head, neck, or face (one example of this is the socalled “dip-and-rip†technique).
The ref can't begin throwing the flag before the hit occurs. Is there a rule that says if the ref thinks a player is going to make an "illegal" hit that he can throw the flag in anticipation of such hit?
If it's such a known dirty player....sure. **********Automerged Doublepost********** This is of course assuming it's NOT one of the ref's Pittsburgh has bought out for that week.
