Wyman’s Football 101: How some penalties may hurt the game’s future
Jan 26, 2021, 4:29 PM
Like many, former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Wyman and Bob was glued to the television on Sunday for the AFC and NFC Championship games. And after watching both games, one play from each contest stood out to Wyman so much that he made those two plays the topic of his latest Football 101 video breakdown.
Clayton: Critics of Pete Carroll’s desire for Hawks to run miss the point
In the NFC Championship between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers, star Green Bay receiver Davante Adams caught a pass and was tackled by Tampa Bay cornerback Carlton Davis. Adams put his head down and Davis’ helmet hit Adams’ helmet. Davis was then flagged with a 15-yard personal foul for a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Meanwhile in the AFC Championship, Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire caught a swing pass and while Bills safety Jordan Poyer made the tackle, he hit Edwards-Helaire in the helmet with his own helmet. Unlike in the Green Bay-Tampa Bay game, this wasn’t called, and it resulted in a fourth down.
With the inconsistency between the two games and how those specific plays were called, Wyman questions whether the rule should be in place. In the video, he also discusses how those kinds of calls and non-calls can harm football, especially as the NFL’s biggest game of the year is coming up in the Super Bowl between the Buccaneers and Chiefs. As a former defender, Wyman takes some issue with the rule and its implementation, and he questions if the NFL can continue to officiate games and those types of penalties as the league and referees currently do.
“Do you understand how difficult it is to tackle someone with just your shoulder and your head not getting in the way, when the two are about eight to 10 inches apart?” Wyman asked. ” … I think it’s a tough call.”
Watch the video here or at the top of this post, and for all of Wyman’s Football 101 episodes from the entire Seahawks’ 2020 season, click any of the links below.
More Seahawks Football 101
• Week 1: Adams, Dunbar solve a play that has been Seattle’s problem
• Week 2: How Bobby Wagner helped seal a win on the final play vs. the Patriots
• Week 3: Team effort results in a safety against the Cowboys
• Week 4: How K.J. Wright and the defense solved Seattle’s big-play issues
• Week 5: How the defense came up clutch against the Vikings
• Week 7: Rookie LB Jordyn Brooks’ promising plays in Arizona
• Week 8: Why Bobby Wagner is the NFL’s best blitzing LB
• Week 9: What Carlos Dunlap adds that the defense needs
• Week 11: How K.J. Wright outplayed Kyler Murray
• Week 11 bonus: Proof that the defense’s new success is sustainable
• Week 12: Chris Carson is back, and this is how to use him
• Week 13: The defense’s crucial adjustment to Giants’ run game
• Week 14: The emergence of Ugo Amadi
• Week 15: Jamal Adams does it all for Seattle at safety
• Week 16: Everyone played a part in keeping Rams out of the end zone
• Week 17: Rookie standout Jordyn Brooks flattens George Kittle
• Wild Card round: How much did Jamal Adams’ injury limit his play?
