Bernard Pollard says NFL called him to say they were wrong for flagging Eric Decker hit
By Josh Hill
The NFL has made a habit out of getting a little over protective of offensive players when it comes to head injuries, which seems like it’s supposed to be a good thing. But as we saw with Bernard Pollard on Sunday, defenders are on the short end of the stick when it comes to player safety and it’s all about protecting the offense.
Pollard was flagged for hitting Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker on Sunday but while the hit was brutally hard, it was completely legal. Pollard was still flagged and the Broncos received extra yardage on the play, but Pollard is saying now that the NFL called him to apologize. Needless to say, the Titans’ safety wasn’t in the mood to accept an apology on Wednesday for a play that effected his team on Sunday.
“They said the ref made a bad call,” Pollard said, via The Tennessean. “It doesn’t help us on Wednesday.”
The hit was hard but it didn’t mean that the hit was illegal and the flag should have been picked up. The NFL needs to start considering better compensation when it comes to referee mistakes like this, as a simple apology is short of a slapping a player in the face, saying they slapped the wrong person and then walking away.
Adding late round draft picks or giving salary relief could be options here, but something needs to be figured out after this latest referee snafu cost the Titans a chance at some momentum. Maybe they didn’t stand a chance in the game but teams need to start being compensated for these mistakes by referees when they’re as egregious as this one was, as a phone call three days after the final whistle no longer is enough.