Should this hit be penalised?

[RamFan503]

 

[shaunpinney]

I don't even really blame Matthews all that much. Sure he made an illegal hit and should have been flagged and BETTER receive a fine. But these freaking refs need to catch a damn clue. And also, there is absolutely no reason these kinds of offenses can't be reviewed by either coaches or the eye in the sky. Give the coaches a yellow and red hanky they can throw directly at the POS ref that missed the call. These guys are supposed to be the best, yet are worse than college refs. I watch a lot of college ball and don't see near the missed calls I see in the freaking NFL. There is no excuse for this pathetic level of competence.

This is done well in the RWC15, you get the TMO, basically an official that just watches the whole game on screen from various angles, he has a direct link to the ref via audio in his ear, sometimes refs just can't watch everything, but they can take advice from their assistants and the TMO (eye in the sky) and often asks for particular plays to be reviewed on the big screen, I'm sure if this hit was reviewed the outcome could have been different, if not only on this drive, it could have changed the momentum of the game...

Folks must have been shit scared he was going to get another big hit like that every time he held the ball, and knowing that they just get away with it just puts a player on edge, if they would have been penalised, I bet their defence would not have remained so aggressive throughout the game...

 

[jsimcox]

Just seen on twitter that Matthews has been fined $17,000 for this hit.
Damn right too.

Edit:

View: https://twitter.com/robdemovsky/status/655106700974948352

 

[RamBill]

LB Clay Matthews fined $17,363 for hit on Rams QB Nick Foles
By Rob Demovsky
ESPN.com

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...s-fined-17363-hit-st-louis-rams-qb-nick-foles


GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews was fined $17,363 for his first-quarter hit on St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles, the NFL announced Friday.

Matthews, who was not penalized, was fined as a first-time offender because his 2013 fine, which also was for roughing Foles, then a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, was rescinded upon appeal.

Former NFL head of officiating Mike Pereira said during the game that Matthews should have been penalized for the hit because it came against a defenseless player and with the crown of the helmet. Rams coach Jeff Fisher also felt there should have been a penalty called on the play.

Matthews said earlier this week that a fine wouldn't cause him to alter the way he plays.

"You play hard," Matthews said. "I play hard. What happens is what happens. I don't think anybody in this league, hopefully, intentionally goes out there to break the rules. You know, when you play hard, you have no regrets. That's how I play, whether it's a facemask or a low hit on the quarterback. I don't think anybody intentionally, especially myself, goes out there and tries to inflict illegal hits or pain or whatever you like to call it. It's just a byproduct of playing hard, I believe."

Matthews has also been fined in the past for hits on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, but neither was for roughing the passer. The fine against Kaepernick was for a late hit out of bounds. The hit against Wilson, which was for an illegal blindside block during an interception return in the NFC Championship Game last season, cost him $22,050.

 

[Mikey Ram]

So, it seems as though it was bad enough to warrant a $17,000+ fine, but not serious enough to warrant a 15-yard penalty...I'll file that way for reference when a Rams rusher gets hit with a penalty as well as a fine for a much less brutal roughing penalty...If he hits Brady like that it's a mammoth fine, penalty, ejection and suspension...But I wouldn't think of mentioning the possibility of any favoritism or uneven playing field involved...That would be another fine...I really, really don't believe in the conspiracy stuff, but this is just bullshit...

 

[LACHAMP46]

I believe that the hit was meant to send a message....And it affected Foles play...for $17 grand, they intimidated our QB....okay....shoulda did the same to Rodgers.

 

[RamFanWA]

What Mikey said. msg received. Hopefully, saved away for later use.

 

[Amitar]

Penalized and fined.

Agree

 

[LesBaker]

I'm reminded of the Brockers hit on McCown
http://www.thesportsbank.net/st-louis-rams/gif-rams-michael-brockers-734/

and the Sims hit on Romo
http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/18/the-ten-worst-roughing-the-passer-plays-of-the-2014-nfl-season/

The Sims hit was brutal, that kind of shit can end a career. He's lucky they didn't suspend him indefinitely for that. You can't just go around touching guys shoulder pads like that.

 

[LesBaker]

I believe that the hit was meant to send a message....And it affected Foles play...for $17 grand, they intimidated our QB....okay....shoulda did the same to Rodgers.

Yup, I would have to agree.

The fines need to be bigger. Like a quarter/half/full game check, then these guys will pay attention. And I don't mean the unintentional stuff, but this was FAR from unintentional. If he was getting fined 400K I bet he wouldn't do that. But 17K to a guy making millions is nearly meaningless.