On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints came back to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 23-20, thanks to a controversial penalty that allowed the Saints to kick a field goal to tie the game.

Niner’s linebacker Ahmad Brooks was given a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty after he sacked New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.

Officials believed that when Brooks hit Brees, the point of contact was the quarterback’s helmet.

However, when one looks at the play in slow motion one can see that Brees was not hit on the helmet, but was instead struck across the chest and not the neck area. The Mr. Fantastic impersonation by Brees following the hit may be disturbing, but it also shows that he could not have been hit in the head.

I believe that the following morning Brees’ neck was sore ­— it was a big time hit.

However, he was not taken out of the game, and there hasn’t been any report of an injury.

The officials got the call wrong. As of right now, Brooks has not been fined, and I don’t expect that he will be.

However, if he does, he has former Ravens linebacker and ESPN analyst Ray Lewis to help him pay it.

“I’ll tell you this, if they fine this kid, if they go on record and they fine this kid, [Brooks], I’m gonna do something personally,” Lewis said on air Monday night. “I’m gonna pay half. Half. If they fine this kid, I’m gonna pay half of this kid’s fine, because of one reason — because of one reason — defenders have to be respected as men before anything else. […] And that man laid a clean hit and that cost the San Francisco 49ers a complete football game yesterday and could have cost them in the playoffs.”

Lewis has a point. The NFL has already handicapped most defenses in the league. When you take a look at the rules that protect quarterbacks and wide receivers, like the targeting rule, the game is geared for
offensive success.

This isn’t surprising. Offense is exciting; it sells tickets and boosts ratings. Defense slows down the game, thus making it slightly more boring.

Now, these rules weren’t put in place to make the game more exciting. They were put in place to protect players and extend the life-span of their careers.

Unfortunately, the new rules discourage players from making the ‘big hit’ because they are worried about the possibility of a fine. The result is poor defensive play league-wide and the birth of the offenses like Denver’s Mile High Express.

I’m all for player safety, but the game seems very watered down. Rarely do we see kick returns. It used to be that if you had a great special teams unit, specifically an elite return man, they could be the difference maker in a game. Now, almost every kickoff results in a touchback.

I understand the dangers of the game. I understand the long-term effects of countless hits to the head. So do the players. If they are taught the proper techniques, the level of risk involved with putting a hard hit on an offensive player is reduced. I would like to see fewer flags and more big hits.

Teniente is a junior majoring in journalism.