Breaking down the two calls against the Detroit Lions that resulted in fines, including Jack Campbell’s low hit on Jimmy Garoppolo.
On Saturday, the NFL announced the players fines from Week 8, and two Detroit Lions players were found guilty of actions requiring fines. Linebacker Jack Campbell was fined $14,871 for an illegal hit on the quarterback, while cornerback Jerry Jacobs was fined $5,229 for unnecessary roughness.
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Let’s take a closer look at each foul, and sse if the officials got it right.
In the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders, Campbell was sent on a blitz, fell, and collided with Jimmy Garoppolo right at his left knee. It’s a particularly brutal hit, and it’s no surprise it drew a flag. Honestly, it’s surprising Garoppolo wasn’t seriously injured.
But let’s take a closer look at the actual rule. Here’s the illegal quarterback hit stipulation at hand:
On the surface, this looks like a no-brainer foul. But here’s where things get a little tricky. Upon closer examination of the play, you can see that Campbell is actually tripped by the Raiders’ left guard, and as it says in the rulebook “It is not a foul if the defender is blocked (or fouled) into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him.”
It’s debatable whether Campbell had an opportunity to avoid Garoppolo, but what about Campbell, was he fouled? Tripping is a foul described as, “the use of the leg or foot to obstruct any opponent.”
A trip occurs, but it’s also clear it’s not intentional. The guard has his back to Campbell. And while there is nothing in the rulebook suggesting a trip has to be flagrant or intentional to be a foul, that is how it is commonly enforced.
So in the end, I think this is probably the right call with the way the rulebook is commonly enforced.
You may not remember, but Jacobs was penalized for one of the most rare calls in the NFL: an illegal low block on the defense.
In short, on a toss to his side of the field, Jacobs took out the lead blocker by cutting him at the knees.
After the game, coach Dan Campbell talked about the foul, and how it’s actually fairly new to the NFL.