Bucs Fans Are Mad At Saints For “Dirty” Hit On WR Chris Godwin
The New Orleans Saints took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday night and won in primetime 9-0. The game was a defensive shutout and a great performance from the Saints' defense; however, the game did have some controversy surrounding events in the game.
Chris Godwin's Injury
Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin went down with a torn ACL after a "low" hit from PJ Williams. On the broadcast, Cris Collinsworth went on to say how the hit was a hit on a defenseless player and how hits like those need to be banned. This led Bucs fans to get extremely heated and go so far as to say PJ Williams was dirty.
Buccaneers Fan's Reaction To The Godwin Injury
Was The Hit On Chris Godwin Dirty?
That hit was not dirty. It was a result of a rule that is broken. PJ Williams had nowhere else to hit him because if he goes higher due to helmet-to-helmet rules and the rules about hitting a defenseless player it would've been a flag. The NFL is at fault here due to the wording of their rules. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians even echoed this sentiment by saying the hit wasn't dirty and it was by the book.
It is funny that Bucs fans are quick to jump on the Saints for a legal hit but quickly forget what happened with Jameis Winston early in the season. Devin White's horsecollar tackle 100% was the cause of Jameis' injury and that hit was dirtier and less legal than the PJ Williams hit.
SOCIAL MEDIA'S REACTION TO THE GODWIN INJURY
The NFL's rules on protecting your upper body and specifically the head have made defenders shift to tackling the lower body. The issue with that is so many players rely on their legs to do their job. And by aiming at their legs it has resulted in more lower body injures. However, the flip side to that is, that it is so hard on the defense to play their position because of all the rules made for the offensive players. The NFL wants to see more points and explosive plays but that has hindered defenses and how they can play defense. Thus we are where we are now. Minka Fitzpatrick Safety for the Steelers went on the Rich Eisen Show to discuss how hard it is on defenders now and how it is a result of the rule.
Now I never want to see players get injured and I wish Chris Godwin a speedy recovery. As well as I hope he gets the bag because he is playing on the franchise tag. But to say PJ Williams is dirty or made a dirty hit is just wrong. He made a legal football play. The issue is with the NFL, not the Saints, and the NFL needs to re-examine the rule as a whole.
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