I Might Be The Only Person On The Planet That Rightfully Blames The NFL For Jerry Tillery's Sideline Hit on Justin Herbert

I have two NFL takes that I will absolutley die on whatever hill I need to on. One is that runners (particularly quarterbacks) should not be allowed to slide. That's a battle for a different day. But the other is that the NFL needs to give defenders the ability to tackle on the white out of bounds line. I covered both takes last year and we now see this situation rear it's ugly head again.

Look at Herbert slow down before just barely grazing the white line. It's like he thinks this is thrid grade again and the white line is some magical safety zone on the playground. Was he hit late? Absolutely. Is it the NFL's fault 100 billion million percent for this situation occuring? Absolutely. 

Here's the thing. If you think this hit was done on purpose with bad intentions I would like to respectfully inform you that your brain could fit in a snail shell. Don't feel bad. You're in good company because the NFL is right there with you. The speed of the game is so much faster than what we see on TV. 

This is such an easy fix. Give a grace zone of the entire white line for a defender to make a play. It's still out of bounds just like it is now - it's just a grace zone that recognizes that defenders can't look at who they are trying to tackle while at the same time look at the white out of bounds line when an offensive player is tip-toeing the sideline. It's absurd. The NFL thinks defenders can have eyes in both places. Why? As I said, because the NFL has snail brains. And apparently, they think defenders should have snail eyes that can see both things happen at the same time. 

You know what doesn't happen if that's a rule? Justin Herbert doesn't stupidly slow down to granda speed (like all grandmas do when they know someone is behind her in the hallway) before going out of bounds at the SLIGHTEST angle possible. Instead, he's taking 90 degrees like he should to avoid any contact and not risk injury.

Rant over. Feel free to disagree. #HealthyDebate! Promise I won't squish you when I walk my dog next. 

- Jeffro