Removing 15-yard foul on overturned targeting flags makes sense

DALLAS, Texas — From the very first time replay overturned a targeting disqualification last season, the rule compelling officials to step off a 15-yard penalty anyway seemed completely nonsensical.

The rules committee has since made an about-turn, erasing the personal foul mark-off when targeting is overturned.

“We figured out by around Week 2 last season that that part needed to be adjusted,” said Walt Anderson, the Big 12’s coordinator of officials. “If we were going to review it anyway, we saw nothing wrong with removing the entire penalty.”

There were misgivings even before last season about enforcing the 15-yard personal foul penalty on overturned ejections, but Anderson said the rules committee ultimately sided with members “who didn’t want the game officiated from the booth.”

This season overturned DQ’s will draw no penalty, unless targeting is combined with a second foul, such as a late hit. In that event, the targeting could be nixed but the late-hit flag would stand.

How accurate was targeting administered in the Big 12 last season?

Eight targeting fouls were called and four ejections were upheld. Anderson’s only beef involved a targeting foul against a Baylor cornerback that was overturned. Upon further, further review, he said the DQ should’ve stood.

LOW HITS ON QBs PENALIZED
In what was a relatively quiet offseason for rule changes, another noteworthy modification involved penalizing defenders for low hits on quarterbacks in the pocket. It’s similar to the NFL rule that has been in effect for several seasons.

“That’s your strike zone,” said Anderson, putting one hand at the knee and another at the shoulder. “That’s what you need to be trying to hit.”

Under the new rule, defenders will be flagged for personal fouls if they strike a quarterback with force at or below the knee. However, this doesn’t mean pass rushers blocked to the ground are unable to make plays.

“You can reach out and swipe his leg or hook the leg, but you just can’t drive your shoulder and head into the knee area with force,” Anderson said.

SIDELINE CONTROL
Officials are being expected to keep closer tabs on coaches and players encroaching onto the field. This pertains to the players holding up playcards and to demonstrative coaches who argue calls.

“It’s one thing when a coach says ‘That’s a sorry call’ from his bench area, but it’s a different thing when he runs out to the numbers and gets in your face,” Anderson said.

Don’t expect a rash of flags, however, because only the egregious offenders will be penalized.

“We want to use common sense … so we want to leave the tweeners alone,” Anderson said. “We neither want to over-officiate it or under-officiate it. We allow a lot of latitude in allowing that emotion to be expressed.

“The emotion of the game is one of the reasons why it is popular. But how far do you allow emotion to go before it becomes intimidating?”







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