Should McNabb hit have drawn a flag?
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Should McNabb hit have drawn a flag?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
In our live chat, many of you felt the hit on Donovan McNabb, which broke one of his ribs, should have drawn a flag.
I decided to take a look back at the play on my DVR to figure out if it was indeed a late hit.
First, let's set it up.
The Eagles' offense took over on the Panthers' 10 yard line after Akeem Jordan intercepted a Jake Delhomme pass. On first down, McNabb threw in the flat to Brian Westbrook, who gained a yard.
On the next play, Westbrook's feet looked as nimble as they did all game as he danced up the middle to the Panthers' 3 yard line for a gain of 6.
And that's when the cloud formed over what had been a great day for the Eagles. With 7:07 left in the third quarter and the Birds up 31-10, McNabb set up in the shotgun. Three wide receivers -- Kevin Curtis out wide to the left, Jason Avant in the slot and DeSean Jackson to the near side.
Tight end Brent Celek lined up next to right tackle Winston Justice, and Westbrook in the backfield to McNabb's left.
Curtis ran a fade to the back corner of the end zone but was well-covered. Westbrook took off into his route but had a linebacker on him.
Celek covered over the middle, and Jackson and Avant with men on them to the near side.
It seemed like Celek, Avant and Westbrook all got a look from McNabb before he saw the opening to the right side and decided to take off and run. The offensive line did a nice job. Julius Peppers lined up opposite Jason Peters, but he rushed past McNabb. On the right side, Winston Justice and Stacy Andrews double-teamed the defensive end. Nick Cole and Jamaal Jackson kept their men away from McNabb also.
As soon as he saw that McNabb was going to try and run, Avant, one of the team's best blocking wide receivers, turned around, faced cornerback Richard Marshall and pushed him back just enough to give McNabb room. Marshall met him at the goal line and held him up for a brief moment, but McNabb absorbed the hit, spun off and landed in the end zone.
Perhaps for a split second, he was feeling good. That's when big 6-foot-2, 301-pound Damione Lewis landed on him. The Panthers' defensive tackle had been blocked by J. Jackson, but sprinted towards the near corner of the end zone when he saw McNabb running. At one point, it looked like he let up a little but then thought he still had a chance and resumed going full speed.
After Lewis hit him, McNabb first grabbed his lower back, then pulled both knees to his chest and rolled around the grass in pain before Rick Burkholder arrived.
I just watched the replay several times, and Lewis could have been whistled for a late hit. At the same time, I don't think it was a no-brainer call or a dirty play. His momentum was going towards McNabb, and the fact that Marshall held McNabb up at the goal line probably convinced Lewis to not quit on the play.
I'm sure some of you disagree with me so feel free to chime in with your thoughts or vote in the accompanying poll.
Comment removed.
Definitely not a late hit. Just another complaint from the McNabb apologists.— Voytas- look at how far in the end zone he is, when he gets hit. should be a fine coming.— birdfannnj
I agree with Komplex. Had this happened to Saint Brett or His Holiness Brady, we wouldn't be having this discussion. They would have assembled a firing squad in the end zone and the offender's children would wake up this morning in a Nike labor camp in Vietnam.— bigcityballer- Comment removed.
- The hit was unfortunate. Will it signal the end of Reggie Brown's Eagles career?— HandNik
- It was a play worthy of a flag but not a fine/suspension. How many times last year would Dawkins torpedo into a back or WR that was already on the ground and we'd chalk it up to his competitive fire? It was a bit late and a bit dirty, but it wasn't like the guy deliberately twisted a knee or something.... it was more like giving 5 a little something at the end of the play.— bizurk
- The problem with that, bizurk, is that you're not allowed to give the QB "a little something at the end of the play." Flags are thrown when a hand scrapes a QB's facemask, or you touch him after he's thrown the ball. It's completely inconsistent to enforce penalties on those plays but not on that late and, by your own admission, a bit dirty hit.— ChrisInVT
It was an obvious dirty play. The announcers said nothing. Imagine if it had been Peyton Manning or Drew Brees getting a knee in the back 2 seconds after the play was over. There'd be calls for a suspension. Lewis ran at full speed and drove his knee into McNabbs back while he was defenseless on the ground.- Watch when the guy slows/speeds up again vs. where McNabb is at that point - he's already in. The guy speeds up along the plane, then VEERS RIGHT (why?), goes down with no one near him, and pulls up his left knee, which lands squarely on McNabb. I can see missing this during the game, but the replay? Ridiculous. Not to mention, this is now a PATTERN with Carolina vs. McNabb. I don't know if this is the race card or the league hating on McNabb or Philly in general, but it's something along those lines.— zzmook
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