“Dubious” to say the least
On the “Opening Drive” on NFL Sirius Radio 124 this morning, Randy Cross wanted to talk about bad calls over the weekend. The first one he mentioned? The phantom, critical, 4th quarter Illegal Contact called on Al Harris Sunday night. The Press-Gazette’s blog rightly calls it “dubious”.
Update: Kevin Seifert at ESPN’s NFC North Blog weighs in. His analysis? There is a rulebook reading that would make it a penalty, but he agrees it’s not called very often. (I don’t remember ever seeing it.) Apparently, according to the rulebook, the defender “may not make original contact in the back of a receiver” even within five yards.
I believe that Al Harris has earned the reputation for being ‘unnecessarily physical’ with receivers by NFL officials. As a result, he not only does not receive the benefit of doubt, he gets more ‘actively flagged’ by NFL officials.