NFL

Ref Garth DeFelice Tackles St. Louis Rams' Kenneth Darby

Posted Dec 21, 2008 6:19PM By Michael David Smith (RSS feed)

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During today's Rams-49ers game, St. Louis running back Kenneth Darby was tackled by Garth DeFelice:

No, DeFelice doesn't play for the 49ers, he was the umpire in the game. But with Darby coming at him, DeFelice delivered a forearm shiver, reminiscent of the hit that umpire Wilbur Hackett Jr., put on South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia in October.

The official play-by-play at NFL.com says 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis made the tackle. That, however, is not what happened.

Tags: Garth+DeFelice, GarthDefelice, Kenneth+Darby, KennethDarby

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-22-2008 @ 9:28AM

Lex said...

Hey, quick moving game action, an older un -padded man had to protect himself quickly from a stronger, charging professional player.In the milisecond of that brain, it's two teams not going anywhere and not close to the goal line, or maybe a first down marker as well, so...'so what.'

12-22-2008 @ 11:32AM

KS said...

It looked like he almost did it on purpose. This whole season, these Refs have been in the way of the game. I have never seen a season where the refs were so in the middle of things and so close to the players. These refs need to learn distance and control. Let the boys play.

12-22-2008 @ 12:38PM

ed said...

having been a high school umpiere for 25 years, Im can understand how myou can be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It becomes a purely reflexive reaction to protect oneself.

12-22-2008 @ 1:54PM

j gibbons said...

As an old retired player, I find it disgraceful the way the umpires have been in the way the last few seasons, both NFL and NCAA.
If these guys are too slow, fat, out of shape or unaware of what's going on. they need to retire or be fired.
Officials should be full time and paid as such. They should have to train in the offseason and pass mandatory skill levels both knowledgeable and physical.

12-22-2008 @ 1:57PM

Greg said...

I do believe that it is up the officials to get out of the way of players during a game. If the ref. is too old to move out of the way, the the doddering old fart should retire! If it were up to me, DeFelice should be arrested for assault, and darby shoud sue the guy for all he is worth.

12-22-2008 @ 7:48PM

alex said...

then an 'old fart' took down a young NFL player instead of being hit and run over by him. If a football player isn't strong enough to push an umpire to the side he should retire.

12-22-2008 @ 2:49PM

RobinN said...

If you actually watched the play, Darby was clearly using the umpire to block the San Francisco player. If you're going to use them, then you don't get to whine when they have to protect themselves.

The real problem is that teams design plays to take advantage of the placement of the umpire, that and the fact that a young professional athlete got taken out by an old man.

How embarassing will that be in the film room?

12-23-2008 @ 12:10AM

ferrari said...

That ump didn't look "old, fat, or out of shape" to me. Running backs and receivers are trained to steer around defenders, so why is avoiding a ref any different ?? It's not like they're difficult to spot ...and they are usually standind still . Refs can't predict which way a guy is going to cut