Poll: Targeting Rules

What should the targeting rules be?

  • Eliminate the rule. Nobody seems to know what targeting is anyways.

    Votes: 8 7.8%
  • 15 yard penalty. No ejection

    Votes: 15 14.7%
  • Degrees of targeting: Targeting 1 - 15 yard penalty only; Targeting 2 - 15 yard penalty and Ejection

    Votes: 75 73.5%
  • Keep current rules as is.

    Votes: 4 3.9%

  • Total voters
    102

SCNCY

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I to am an Petras fan, your to dumb too recognize there ability too grow QBs. Petras four Heisman!

Well that makes zero sense.

I think they did that due to the same issue were discussing now, it was lack of consistency from game to game. So they just got rid of the lesser penalty and made it all 15 yards.
 

JM4CY

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Aug 23, 2012
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I get the leave it alone crowd's argument but it doesn't take a lot brainpower and commonsense to make reasonable adjustments to it that allow the rule to apply punishments that actually fit the crime.
 

Drew0311

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Nov 7, 2019
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Norwalk, Iowa
Targeting 1 equals 15 yards
Targeting 2 equals 20 Yards
Targeting 3 equals 20 yards plus ejection.

Targeting 3 would have to be a receiver coming across the middle and the defender launches into the receiver
 

ScottyP

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Jan 24, 2007
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In addition to the player being ejected, having to stop the game to spend 5 minutes looking at a replay gets a bit old. I understand wanting to get it right when you are dealing with a player ejection, though.
 

CRcyclone6

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Bookie
Dec 27, 2007
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Cedar Rapids
Eliminate it all together. Football is a contract sport.
That's what I voted for. Too much inconsistency. Did anyone watch the FL TN game? There was a TD I think and one player shoved another hard after the play right in front of the official. The player that got pushed pretty much slapped the other in the helmet. No flag on either. Ridiculous.
 

isutrevman

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2007
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Ames, IA
Changes I would make:

1.Go back to targeting is only a foul when it's made against a defenseless player

2. Targeting has to be helmet to helmet, non of this crown of the helmet to someone's shoulder crap.

3. Only eject if a player gets called twice in one game.

I'd also like to see the face mask penalty reduced from 15 yards to 5. It's always incidental, is rarely "dangerous", and doesn't really give the player an advantage. It's a defender just trying to grab on to whatever he can.

When I see a facemask called against the other team I never go "yeah! they got caught trying to get away with one there". It's always "That's unfortunate for them, but I'll take it". It almost feels lucky to have the other team grab a facemask and get the free yards/ first down.
 

DeereClone

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Nov 16, 2009
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Eliminate targeting as-is but install a head-hunting penalty where you get ejected for making a "non-football move" that is very blatant launching/spearing towards another player.

At bare minimum we have to quit kicking kids out of games for making football plays that have incidental helmet contact.
 

shadow

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Apr 11, 2006
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Put this in another thread and I'm not sure if it's possible to find out, but it'd be great if @JStanz51 or @ChrisMWilliams could get some insight as to why the rules committee hasn't adopted the college basketball flagrant foul model. Looks like it has been brought up every year since 2015 to no avail.

Reviving original targeting rule thread from 2013 for fun.

Apparently, they've been looking at the college basketball flagrant foul model since close to its beginning. Below are articles from 2015 and 2016. Not sure why this hasn't been adopted yet. I was unable to find an explanation from the rules committee on that.

Below that is a good history on the targeting rule as it has changed over the years.





 

JUKEBOX

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Oct 27, 2008
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I'm sure everyone will be satisfied if the rule gets made even more subjective.
I would prefer they just call targeting for the obvious headhunting, but I doubt they will stop calling a penalty for incidental contact (for player safety), so probably the best choice is just to try to tier that out so the player doesn't get kicked out for the incidental contact.
 

Cyinthenorth

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Mar 29, 2013
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The instant ejection seems pretty harsh for what stems from, in a lot of these cases, incidental contact. I'd be ok with a one-strike rule at least, though I'd be tempted to get rid of the ejection part of it altogether. Maybe have to sit out the rest of the quarter, or the following quarter if it happens with under 5 min left.
 
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3TrueFans

Just a Happily Married Man
Sep 10, 2009
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Ames
I would prefer they just call targeting for the obvious headhunting, but I doubt they will stop calling a penalty for incidental contact (for player safety), so probably the best choice is just to try to tier that out so the player doesn't get kicked out.
That's fine, but we're going to end up in the same place eventually, one of our guys gets kicked out and we're all screaming about how it was incidental, or the other way around for the other team.

I think maybe something like every targeting penalty is 15 yards, but the first for each team is a warning for the entire team, every subsequent targeting for that team is 15 yards and an ejection.
 

alarson

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Mar 15, 2006
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I'm sure everyone will be satisfied if the rule gets made even more subjective.

The thing is, it probably wouldn't.

We're probably getting more inconsistency now because of how huge the penalty is.
 

madguy30

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Nov 15, 2011
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RE:face masks. If someone grabs hold and rips the opposing players' helmet off, that's probably an ejection, correct?
 

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