Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard may have ended the season of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady today, coming in low and hitting Brady in the lower leg as Brady released a pass.Some Patriots players -- including Randy Moss -- have already suggested that it was a dirty play, and my own informal survey of Patriots fans indicates that plenty of them agree. But the NFL says otherwise.
Cris Collinsworth reported on NBC's Football Night in America that he had been in touch with the league office, and that the league has already determined that there was nothing dirty or illegal about what Pollard did.
I agree with the league: Pollard came in on a blitz and was blocked by Patriots running back Sammy Morris, and he was just trying to fight through the block -- he wasn't attempting to take out Brady's knee. Pollard's not a dirty player.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-07-2008 @ 7:49PM
OD said...
So what's the difference between Pollard being blocked into Brady's knee, and Vince Wilfork being blocked into J.P. Losman's knee? Either neither is dirty, or they both are.
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9-08-2008 @ 10:30PM
Jett said...
Pollard hit Brady when he still had the football in his hand.
Wilford on the other hand hit Losman after the ball was release. Wilford was called for a late hit.
As for the fine, Wilford gave an extra lung and extend his elbow to make sure that there was contact. Given that there was conscious effort on Wilford's part to make contact, the league had no choice but to fine him.
9-09-2008 @ 2:24PM
NFL FAN said...
Pull your head out of your bowl of clam chowdah and watch the two clips. Pollard had Morris on his back and was therefore kept low. Wilfork had shed his block, saw that the pass was away and lunged...EXTENDING HIS ARM...into Losman's knee. Totally different situations. I feel bad for Brady but this incessant whining by Pats fans is why they are detested around the league. Don't be the myopic Mass-holes that the country thinks you are. If you have the "great team" you claim to have, you'll move on and find a way to win, hopefully, but probably not without cheating.
9-07-2008 @ 8:12PM
Enrique said...
Patriots should be the last ones talking about dirty play, cheating, etc, karma is a b***h.
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9-07-2008 @ 8:38PM
matt said...
I agree with OD what's the difference? Last year Wilfork was fined heavily for the same thing.
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9-08-2008 @ 11:19AM
rl said...
Kansas City is not a playoff team this year.
Their looking to get in the playoff picture.
This year their still rebuilding and trying to get used to playing with all their new young players.Their better off this year losing and getting a high draft choice for next year. Saying that I know that want to win.Pollard is the kind of Safety who makes plays.
Look how many punts he blocked in his career in college and pro. After the super bowl lose. It does
look like the patroits luck is starting to change.
9-07-2008 @ 8:43PM
stev said...
football is a contact sport. anything can happen its a risk that all players know but dont want to think about.. perhaps he will be ok in a few weeks
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9-07-2008 @ 9:26PM
SM said...
what OD said..... does anyone have Pollard address. i would like to send him a "care package".
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9-07-2008 @ 10:13PM
gorge said...
wilfork wasnt being dirty but i definatly think pollard was. tom bradys a big deal and all the other teams want him out for the season. no one was out to ge j.p.
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9-07-2008 @ 10:18PM
Tim@lamarproductions.com said...
I'm pretty certain if you watch the higher angle replay, it's pretty clear the back that was blocking Pollard did everything but rip his face mask off (early in the block) and then when Pollard plowed his way through (which is his job), the blocker added his weight to the force on Brady's knee.
Pollard is a hard-hitting, clean player. I would compare this play much more favorably with the hit the took Carson Palmer out 2 years ago on a season opener.
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9-07-2008 @ 11:36PM
Gary said...
I take issue with this article. Not because the hit was a cheap shot (it wasn't, it was clean) but that Bernard Pollard isn't a dirty player.
I was at Purdue for most of his career. He *is* a poor man's Rodney Harrison in every sense of the word. On that particular play though? Perfectly legit.
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9-07-2008 @ 11:50PM
Ted said...
The NFL rules so that "No defensive player who has an unrestricted path to the quarterback may hit him flagrantly in the area of the knee(s) or below when approaching in any direction." Pollard was being held by a man behind him, but he had a clear path ahead of him to Brady and lunged forward and hit him below the knee. This is a violation of this rule.
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9-07-2008 @ 11:58PM
Chris said...
ted- he was trying to fight through a block and face mask and still seen brady had the ball, there is no unwritten rule about playing til the whistle blows, he was making a play on the quarterback may times a player will dive at the legs of a player to make the tackle .Pollard was trying to get up and was being blocked into Brady, maybe we should blame sammy morris for not missing the block and just allowing pollard to come through and his him straight up.
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9-08-2008 @ 12:07AM
ted ferris said...
I don't care if Pollard was blocked and on the ground....the rule says you don't hit a QB below the knee, yet alone the premier QB in the league. He's a two bit player who has taken out one of the league's stars with a b.s. play. He should be suspended and fined---heavily.
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9-08-2008 @ 12:36AM
Rick said...
This is the rule, as published in August 2006.
"If possible, rushing defenders must make a conscious effort to avoid low hits on the quarterback. Previously, defenders were not compelled to make a conscious effort to avoid low hits if momentum was a factor. Penalty: Roughing the passer, loss of 15 yards.
Reason for the change: Player safety. "
Pollard was not only not making a conscious effort to avoid a low hit, he was trying an attack that could only possibly result in a low hit. And he hit Brady low. And that may have ended Brady's season.
The hit was clearly against the rules. This should be pretty cut and dry. Pollard went after Brady's legs from a side angle. That's ordinarily considered a dirty hit.
This appears to be another case of anti-Patriots sentiment clouding judgment. Please explain the difference between this hit and the hit that took out Carson Palmer in 2005. I mean, aside from the fact that Kimo's hit was also a late hit. Since the NFL rule was specifically written to outlaw this kind of low hit to the legs, how can anybody seriously argue that Pollard's hit wasn't illegal?
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9-08-2008 @ 12:41AM
McBoston said...
NFL is shooting themselves in the foot if they don't severely fine this low hit. It is obvious according to their own rules that it was a low hit on the knee. If they don't fine him then it is open season against all QB's including the beloved Peyton Manning(can he stop doing stupid commercials already!) Does not matter how many haters cheer the injury to Brady-it hurts the league, the sport and also you don't sell as many expensive ads for less than marquee QB's in the SuperBowl. The very hatred of the Pats for their perfect regular season in spite of the microscope of Spygate helped NBC and the NFL to charge more for everything football related. Even people who never watched a game of football in their life started watching. Brady is a Superstar and if something like this ends his career shame on the NFL for doing nothing. Your biggest money train may have just left the station because of a cheap shot!
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9-08-2008 @ 12:45AM
Avsbest said...
It's funny!!!!!!!!! The Patriots have been cheating for years and they think it's ok. Thier QB gets hurt in a non dirty play and they are crying foul. Karma always comes back and bites you in the butt. All you Pansie fans deserve everything you get.
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9-09-2008 @ 11:04PM
francis said...
if it was karma, then nearly every team in the league would lose their best player to a similar injury, because nearly every team in the league was videotaping their opponents' play calls when the patriots got caught doing it.
9-08-2008 @ 2:05AM
ted ferris said...
Pollard, you suck......I hope you get hit low and have your season ended as well. When you are on the ground, as you were, you don't leap forward and hit the QB below the knee. The NFL is build around star QB's and you should be suspended and heavily fine for the cheap shot you gave to Brady.
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9-08-2008 @ 11:49PM
Mark said...
Ted, Nobody in their right mind (who is not a Patriot Fan) thinks that was a cheap hit. Watch it again, imagine it was any other qb in the league, and then come back to reality. NOTHING cheap or illegal about it. PERIOD. Geez, you Patriot fans are whiners