Austin Collie suffered a brutal hit, but were the officials premature in throwing a flag?
We're all for safety, and we're all for the NFL's policy on protecting the players on the field, but did the officials go too far when Kurt Coleman of the Philadelphia Eagles was flagged for his hit on (see video below) Indianapolis Colts receiver Austin Collie?
There's a rule against helmet-to-helmet hits, but this appeared within the rules. Collie caught the ball, put his head down to protect himself and was hit by Quintin Mikell's shoulder pads, which then propelled Collie into Coleman. Coleman made contact with Collie's helmet, but that was due to the speed of the collision.
How can a defensive player avoid that? Coleman was penalized for the hit.