I really wonder if we are ever going to find a way to solve these calls? I know we have experienced call against us as well. Replays are not fool proof either. The idea of protecting players comes first, but humans and videos are not entirely the answer either.
Don one thing that article mentioned was going to a 2 level penalty. Sort of like the old facemask where there was an incidental facemask and then the one where they grab and tug. With a 2-level penalty it wouldn't mean an automatic ejection. But then of course the problem is that it will be subjective, and many calls will be hotly disputed as to whether or not the right call was made.
That's funny...if I recall the "rules expert" on the broadcast (was it Mike Periera himself?) didn't seem to think it was targeting at the time. He now calls the receiver defenseless...but they called it a catch so he had to bring it down and take a couple of steps (if indeed it was a catch). FWIW I think it WAS targeting and WAS an incomplete pass...the issue of defenseless or not was borderline. I wasn't worried about the outcome of the Minny game if they called it targeting...but would have hated to see Ransom miss the first half of the Oregon game. Saw a lot of targeting called in the games I saw this weekend. Some obvious, some borderline, some overturned. They've still got work to do to figure this out...between the refs and the tackling coaches.
I caught some of the Ole Miss game and they said Ole Miss had a bunch of targeting calls, so many that Lane Kiffin complained afterwards that maybe the Big 10 refs needed to come down and show him how to tackle or something like that. It not surprisingly generated a response from an official called Kiffin asinine to boot! Every year fans across college football shake their heads at some of the calls and the non-calls. It needs to be fixed for sure. ______________ Former NFL referee and NFL rules expert Terry McAulay, took offense to what the coach said, per On3. “It is not the officials’ job to coach players proper technique,” McAulay said Tuesday morning. “The rules for targeting have been in place for 9 years and most coaches know how to teach. What is a foul for targeting is not going to change.” Former NFL referee responds to Lane Kiffin’s comments on targeting calls
One of the big problems seems to be taking into account what the offensive player does. We had one called on our safety which was overturned... the back caught a pass out of the backfield and was heading up the sideline. Safety met him with a big hit. As the safety arrived, the RB lowered his head so a hit that would have been below shoulders initially, ended up at shoulders near head level when contact happened. Replay proved the safety had rotated his head to the side and made contact with the RB shoulder to shoulder and the targeting was overturned. BUT... had he hit the RB's helmet it would have stood, when in fact it was the RB who had lowered his head to lead with his helmet.
I have always had problems with the fact that targeting is never called on the offensive player no matter what he does.
My buckeyes averaged 10.7 yds per play in the Minnesota game, an all time offensive performance, thanks to 7 multiple scores of more than 30 yards per play. Fans still complaining about first half performance? Sound familiar to you ND fans.
Yeah in the online communities there hardly seems to be anything that appeases the ND fans. Lot's of Glass half empty. In ND's case there is a lot of animosity towards Brian Kelly and every opportunity to skewer him is taken, same for our AD Jack Swarbrick. I imagine Buckeye fans don't complain about Ryan Day much or your AD. It's probably more of what Lou Holtz once described as the stages of expectations of fans for the coach. Stage one is "Coach we just want you to win". Stage two is after the coach wins, "Coach could you win by more points" Stage three is after the coach wins by more points , "Coach could you win them all".