Tim Dobbins

[pulse]

It's a pretty steep fine. Cutler was on the move, going towards him even, not just standing there in the pocket. A penalty yes, a sweet one though.

[carvers4math]

For some inexplicable reason, Cutler left both feet to throw the ball. Not sure there would have been any contact above the shoulders at all if he hadn't been going down when Dobbins got there.

[docholihawk]

Thanks for the video. I would say it was a borderline hit. I certainly don't think Dobbins did anything to try to hurt Cutler. The NFL has made it so hard for defensive players, if a quarterback or receiver ducks his head at the last second and there's helmet to helmet contact they flag the defensive player. What is he supposed to do, he doesn't have time to react and when the offensive player does that he shouldn't be considered defenseless because he's making a move to protect himself.

[heitclone]

You can see Dobbins decide a second too late he was going to hit him but it was just a reaction, I'm a Bears fan and I don't think it was dirty by any means. Cutler played after this hit, if he hadn't ended up being knocked out of the game I don't think the hit gets as much attention. The funny thing is, the hit was a freebie, the penalty was offset so it didn't hurt Houston one bit.

[dudeabides]

Had he hit him like that with the ball still in his hand then you may have a point. But the hit was after the throw so your point is invalid. Dobbins takes a step and a half after the ball has been released. I don't believe the hit was dirty, but according to the rules it's a penalty and fine-able.

I have to disagree, he clearly slows up as much as is possible in that split second when he sees cutler release the ball. Had Cutler kept the ball Dobbins would have finished the tackle and driven him to the ground.

[Pitt_Clone]

Cutler could have easily tucked the ball and ran, and if Dobbins had pulled up and missed everyone would be talking about what a poor tackler he is. Cutler was running wild in the middle of the field, it is Dobbins job to stop him. Jay is very fast and often runs for long gains, Dobbins stopped that from happening and does not deserve a fine.

I think 'very fast' might be a little bit of an exaggeration.

[royhobbs09]

You may be right there..are there any of those views up on youtube or anywhere? And on a side note...It may have been another hit when Cutler took one to the jaw. The helmet spins almost 90 degrees instantaneously. I'll have to do some serious Yoda thinking on this and see if I can find it. I just remember seeing it and cringing. Was there another helmet to helmet called or not called in that game? I swear it was that play because they were looking at the line of scrimmage which was why they had it on slo-mo. The announcers didn't say anything about it but you saw it just as they were cutting to a different view.

Well, when you watch Cutler's head and neck get whiplashed on the Dobbins hit, it makes me cringe. Then, about 4 plays after this one after he's already concussed, Cutler took another pretty good shot diving head first for a first down. No flag on that one though, but might be what you are thinking of.

[Erik4Cy]

He makes $700,000. He can now afford to make that same hit and fine 22 more times and still would have $10,000 left to spare!

[CycloneDaddy]

That fine is crazy ... Cutler was across the line of scrimmage so at that point he is pretty much considered a running back. They are ruining this game with all these silly rules.

[Erik4Cy]

I have no problem with that hit at all honestly....With the way the rules are today I agree you can flag it so I GET it. You can bet if i made the rulebook I wouldn't call it a penalty but that is neither here nor there. The fine is definitely on the ridiculous side...

[MaccloNe]

Fine was deserved. Cutler's foot was not past the line when the ball was released. Bad call and then a cheap shot.

[CY88CE11]

Fine was deserved. Cutler's foot was not past the line when the ball was released. Bad call and then a cheap shot.

He's past the lime of scrimmage when he got hit. This is not a discussion of whether or not it's an illegal forward pass. Dobbins can only assume he's going to run once he's past the line, and with Cutler running towards the line, that's a tough distinction at NFL speed.

[NATEizKING]

I don't think it should have been a fine. Penalty, sure. Pretty soon defensive players will be demanding that their fines be a part of their contract that the organization has to pay. Worse hits happen to receivers all the time after they miss a catch. Suck it up.

[acrozier22]

I thought the fine was spot on. It was a dirty hit to the head of a QB. The fact that he was right at the line of scrimmage is a mute point. The NFL doesn't want people going after the head and that's what Dobbins did.

[ArathornClone]

If interested - I encourage you to read the information @ this site:
Tim Dobbins Fined $30K For Hit On Jay Cutler [Updated 4:00pm CST] - Battle Red Blog

Seems pretty obvious the penalty was the right call by definition explained on that site. Additionally, the fine is probably more for his post game comments thus sending a message to players that maybe still don't "get it" about the new rules to protect against concussions. Having said all that - it kind of sucks that the game has changed in this regard but the league had to do something with players having terrible issues after their playing days and more publicity and medical data on the topic.