Jim Harbaugh’s Read-Option Comments Highlight NFL’s Difficulty Policing QB Hits

September 7, 2013   ·   Tyler Conway   ·   Jump to comments

Suffice it to say, San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and the NFL league office are unlikely to exchange pleasantries anytime soon.
Amid nervousness about the brazen comments made by Green Bay Packers defenders about hitting 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick on read-option plays, Harbaugh contacted the league office to receive clarification on the legalities of such hits.
The league provided an answer Thursday. In a video distributed to coaches and media members, vice president of officiating Dean Blandino explains that read-option quarterbacks are treated as runners by referees—thus, not subject to league-mandated protections enacted in recent years.
“The quarterback and the running back, they’re both treated as runners. We don’t know who has the football, we don’t know who’s going to take it, so both players are treated as runners,” Blandino said.
You'll be shocked to know that wasn't exactly the clarification Ha...

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