Hitting the defenseless receiver is a foul, however. And this is such a stupid, amorphous standard. Welker was not defenseless: he was running forward trying to get to a tipped ball. However, in a another sense, Welker could have had riot gear on and he would have still been “defenseless” against such a bone jarring hit. Stupid rule that was a knee jerk reaction to a couple WR injuries. QB is not the only position the NFL is protecting. The other big name prima donnas need protection too. Garbage call, but at least he was not fined.

As Clark did nothing wrong to deserve a fine he shouldn’t get one

I thought that was the right call on the field. If you watch the replay, it was clear that Welker gave up on the play and put his hands down. Also, T Carter, who was following the play gave up on it too before Clark nailed him.

Anyways, it was a good hit in that it sent a message. Hines hit was a cleaner hit, so he should not have gotten fined. Definately need consistancy here.

I understand the “defenseless receiver” argument. And I understand launching IS legal provided you dont initiate head to head contact.

However the only reason clarks play was away from the ball was because Troy tipped the pass. If troy doesnt touch that, Clark HAS to make a play on Welker who likely is catching the ball as Clark hits him.

For that reason, I personally felt he should not be fined. I expected one because the league never can agree on anything.

Whats sad is the refs couldnt take a minute to examine this. My thing is anymore when somebody gets decleated the refs automatically toss a flag.

It’s not the greatest set-up in the world, but it really isn’t that bad.

The first thing to remember is that the refs are making real-time judgements on the field while the NFL administration has the luxury of time to review.

A person could easily argue that, from the field, it looked like the Clark hit was unnecessary but, in fact, was a reasonably legitimate block. Additionally, a person could argue that the Ward block on Rivers looked perfectly legal in and of itself on the field, but conclude with a fine under the theory that if you’re hitting someone hard enough to break their jaw, you’re hitting unnecessarily roughly.