The SEC wants you to know it’s serious, by damn, about the new targeting rules. No, really, Mike Slive means it.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive said the idea of creating a new rule has been on his mind for some time now. Last year, he suspended two players for controversial above-the-shoulder hits. Controversy also swirled around Alabama defensive end Quinton Dial’s nasty hit on a defenseless Aaron Murray in last year’s SEC championship game. The hit appeared to be helmet-to-helmet, but no flag was thrown and Dial wasn’t suspended for the BCS title game.
No doubt you were as shocked about that at the time as I was.
Slive applied the rule arbitrarily last season, so you’ll have to pardon me if I’ll wait to see if he’s got religion this year.
Get The Picture 
The implementation of this rule is poorly conceived. We will have different officiating crews handing out the suspensions for different teams every week. That means the officiating crew for your current game could have an effect on next week’s game. It seems to me that suspensions should be handed down by a central office of the SEC to ensure as much fairness as possible. The refs could throw the flag during the game (for 15 yds) and suspensions could be determined with video review by a central office like MLB does for HR reviews during the games.
LikeLike
I still get massive heartburn over UGA’s role in the SEC’s selective rule application. Whether it’s Nick Fairley inappropriately going after Aaron Murray the whole game against Auburn in 2010, AJ Green’s ” Excessive Celebration” against LSU, Kolton Houston’s eligibility, AJ’s Jersey fiasco, or this Clinton Dial thing… we always seem to end up with the short end of the stick on all these issues. I’m not trying to start an argument here over are we too up front, forthcoming or ‘nice’ or not in many of these instances, because to me that is irrelevant. My point is I don’t believe Mike Slive for a second, even if we see something different on the field…. but yeah, I’m pretty tired of being the innovators for rule changes.
LikeLike
Or the Reggie Brown hit at Auburn in 2004.
The message is, “Tough shit Georgia. We’ll get around to enforcing the rules when WE see fit”.
LikeLike
Pretty much aligned with RP and heyberto on this issue, there is no reason to trust or have confidence in the SEC officials, or office, to issue suspensions. Competency isn’t a strong suit with either group. I just don’t think there is enough proof on “targeting” hits to justify a suspension. Only if actions occur long after a play is over, or well away from any play, can you say it was deliberately intended to do harm. Otherwise, let the penalty be assessed and move on. Perhaps you can set a specific number of PF penalties that would justify a suspension, but not any one hit during a love play….make it be a “habitual offender” type of punishment for high hits.
LikeLike
Les-man actually had a good point as well stating, “I hope that it’s done in a very moderate fashion… it’s going to be very difficult to administer because if I go to tackle you and I lower myself and you go to defend yourself from being tackled and you lower yourself and we collision at the chest and I come up and hit the head, oh my gosh. Suddenly, I’m targeting.”
LikeLike
Good communication on the subject that expresses the sum of our fears. Nice to know that’s the perception among SEC Coaches.
LikeLike
Thank you RP, Mac,Hey Berto, Bulldog Joe and Cojones. You guys state things so well. Ya’ll should make up the powers that be in CF. Of course the Senator gives us brilliant facts to discern.
LikeLike
The most glaring error in that non-call against the Murray hit wasn’t “was it head-to-hear?” The guy no longer possessed the ball, and was walking slowly off the field when blind-sided. Bitches!
LikeLike
Tray Matthews has already been suspended. They’re just waiting on him to make an appearance on the field first. I predict penalty and ejection before the first half of Clemson game is done, based on this news.
LikeLike
Who is officiating that game SEC or ACC officials or neutral? GA always gets screwed on subjective calls.
LikeLike
Everyone gets …ahem..screwed.. on subjective calls.
LikeLike