A heady veteran wouldn’t make such a mistake
Does this Photoshop moment illustrate what Brett Favre will mean to Minnesota? (Photo: mtpundit.com)
Unless someone is engaging in illegal activities that are harmful to others, I do not advocate actions that would jeopardize someone’s career. We’re in the middle of a recession and jobs are hard to hold, let alone find. People are relying upon instant loans to help them through tough situations.
Yet the poster boy for NFL athletes who seem unable to function without public adoration - Brett Favre – took it upon himself to do something that could have ended the career of Houston Texans safety Eugene Wilson. It was an illegal chop block that could have caused Wilson a serious knee injury (see the video below). While these things sometimes happen accidentally in the heat of the moment, it appears that Favre was trying to go low with his block. For a veteran who has played as long as he has and been a role model to countless football fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin and beyond, Favre definitely knows better than to do such a thing.
Chop, chop Brett – cry and pay your fine
Yahoo! Sports reports that the block was indeed dirty. Is that what we should come to expect from Brett Favre as a Minnesota Viking? Will he assault the defenders of opposing teams, and then travel to their cities to sack and pillage their plunder and women so that future generations will be bereft of non-Viking children? Oh, the humanity! Instant loans will be available to help them rebuild their society from the scorched earth…
In all seriousness, Eugene Wilson could have been seriously injured. His livelihood could have been taken away by Mr. Spotlight himself. It was the third quarter of a preseason (yes, preseason) game. I’m all for giving it your all on every down, but there are rules that players are expected to follow. In cases like this, crackback blocks (or chop blocks, if you will) are illegal because they present serious safety issues to the victim.
“That wasn’t cool,” said Mike Tirico
The ESPN announcer nailed it on the head the way Brett Favre attempted to nail Eugene Wilson’s knees. I call that good, honest announcing, and I appreciate what Tirico and Ron Jaworski had to say about Favre in light of the incident. He isn’t immortal or untouchable, despite what NFL media at large would have you believe. Yes, it wasn’t after the whistle and it was in the context of a game play, but that doesn’t make it right.
Favre has thrown many blocks in his career
He didn’t have to go low. Brett Favre is well-practiced in safe, appropriate blocking technique. He could have ended Eugene Wilson’s career, and this should not be taken lightly. Because it was Brett Favre should not mollify our distaste.
Let’s go the the NFL Rulebook
For your pleasure, the official rule on crackback blocks:
An offensive player who lines up more than two yards outside his own tackle or a player who, at the snap, is in a backfield position and subsequently takes a position more than two yards outside a tackle may not clip an opponent anywhere nor may he contact an opponent below the waist if the blocker is moving toward the ball and if contact is made within an area five yards on either side of the line. (crackback)
A 15-yard penalty for posterity
Bad for the Vikings at the time, but it was one moment in an essentially meaningless game. Eugene Wilson may have had a legal avenue to pursue against Brett Favre if he had suffered career-ending injury, but I’m not sure how successful he would have been in pursuing the matter in the courts.
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The officials made the right call within the context of NFL rules. However, in everyday society, such a move would likely fall under laws against personal assault. It is accepted that football is a dangerous game. Eugene Wilson did indeed leave the game with a knee injury, the severity of which is unknown at this writing. I wish him a speedy recovery. If he needed instant loans during his next career, I hope he applies here. For Brett Favre, perhaps a trip to see Oz about a brain is in order. Beat on the down the road, tin man.
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