Lame cuddling the QB penalties finally cost someone a game..

[Free Bagel]

Anyone catch the end of the Giants/Titans game this week?

For those that missed it, the Titans were down 21-14 with a 4th and 10. If they don't pick it up the game is over. Mathias Kiwanuka wraps up Vince Young for a sack and drives him backwards. Then, he just lets go. Why? Well as we've seen, he had the QB in the grasp and if he flattened him on the ground which he easily could have (as it was he sort of held him up) for some inexplicable reason it would be a penalty because according to the NFL rulebook QBs have about the same rules as kickers these days.

After he let go Vince Young ran 19 yards for the 1st down and the Titans ended up winning. Kiwanuka's fear of one of those bogus cuddling the passer penalties (at this point once you get near the QB you need to stop, sit down with a cup of coffee and go through a checklist to make sure your standard tackle is legal in this situation) cost his team the game.

What's my point in this post? I don't really have one, other than to again point out how terrible these rules "protecting" the quarterbacks are. And just as a disclaimer I am a Dolphin fan and had absolutely 0 stake in the NYG/Tenn game.

[fantasizing]

I saw the play. Coughlin nearly went on the field to tackle V. Young himself. I thought he was gonna choke Kiwanuka to death.

[TaDa]

I'm actually with Bagel on this. When he stopped tackling him, I thought that he either thought that he heard a whistle or was afraid of getting a roughing the passer call. Either way, he should not have stopped.

[tecmobowl12]

I saw the play. Coughlin nearly went on the field to tackle V. Young himself. I thought he was gonna choke Kiwanuka to death.

Seriously, when I watched the replay for the first time I see this guy running at full speed on the sideline...I'm like what the hell is going on! Good stuff Tom

[biju]

I didn't see the game or know about the Giants' players, but is Kiwanuka deaf or something? Was there something prohibiting him from continuing until the whistle was blown? That doesn't sound like a mistake in the rules, but rather in a player not going until the whistle was blown.

I understand what you're getting at Bagel, but I have problems believing the guy was actually thinking about not getting a penalty instead of just being a little lazy.

[steelerfan513]

although that situation is a bit questionable, i completely agree that these new rules are ridiculous.

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

this isnt finally- the bengals got a game taken away from them earlier this year by a stupid penalty, although i cant think of who they were playing

[eagles2miami]

yeah i agree i was watching the game and i thought they were gonna blow it dead as if he had the sack already but then he just let go.Coughlin was ready to kill someone right about then. I guess i would be too if my team lost the entire game in the 4th quarter. The NFL has basically become a no fun league. I mean the roughing penalties are necessary but not to the point that they have them. The No Fun League comes in during touchdowns. If you jump up and down with a teamate, 15 YARDS ON THE KICKOFF. WE ARE MACHINES AND CANNOT HAVVE FUN.

[Keyser_WV]

I didn't see the game or know about the Giants' players, but is Kiwanuka deaf or something? Was there something prohibiting him from continuing until the whistle was blown? That doesn't sound like a mistake in the rules, but rather in a player not going until the whistle was blown.

I understand what you're getting at Bagel, but I have problems believing the guy was actually thinking about not getting a penalty instead of just being a little lazy.

I think Kiwanuka thought that Young got rid of the ball and if he took him down he would get a penalty.

Not sure I would blame the loss on that one play but it definately had a huge impact.

[LukeW9027]

Completely agree with the post. The quarterbacks are getting way too much protection and this is not the first time it has cost a team the game. If youy remember back to the Bengals vs. Bucs game early on, A bengals DL had a routine sack on gradkowski but they called roughing because he threw him down too hard or some pu**y BS.

But for this specific specific situation with Kiwi, I think that he though Vince had already thrown the ball so he gave up. VY gave a pump fake while in the grasp so i think he thought the ball had been thrown. The reason why i think this is because as soon as he let go of VY, he looked instantly to the left side, which was opposite of where VY was running to.