Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde has some interesting logic for you to ponder as it relates to player safety and helmet-to-helmet hits on plays in the middle of the field.
He thinks the NFL should fine quarterbacks for throwing into danger zones, rather than fining linebackers and defensive backs for illegal hits.
Seriously.
“Start fining the quarterbacks,” Hyde said, per Mike Rodak of ESPN. “They’re the ones who are throwing the ball right there. It’s tough for us [defensive players] to be able to adjust last second to get our head to one side, the other side — up, down. We’re trying to make a play like the receiver is. It’s the sport of football.”
On one hand, it’s really understandable that Hyde would take this tack. After all, so often on these bang-bang plays, defenders are really just trying to make a play for the ball. On the other hand, many of the big plays that leave receivers glassy-eyed and woozy could be avoided if defenders weren’t head-hunting (like this).
Most NFL defenders aren’t inherently dirty. Most of them are just trying to play the game the right way. But it’s clear that even those guys are frustrated by the NFL’s new rules about hits to the head, which could now lead to ejections almost like we see in college.