Like I said, Zog, after looking at the video repeatedly from every angle, my best guess is that by the time is was clear that Lawrence was sliding and not going to do something else, the defender was already launched in the air committed to making the stop. But these are pros and pros ought to have an emergency out to ditch the hit at the last instant knowing full well this is a QB and that the NFL puts a hands off sign on them, so I would have at least hit him with an Unnecessary Roughness 15 yard penalty, because I don't think it too unreasonable to expect that he could have avoided the hit.
But human nature is that these guys are amped up and get it in their mind to stop a guy, a guy who is challenging you to stop him before he makes a first down and sometimes people get so caught up in the adrenaline of the moment that they carry out a hit even after the player is going down or out of bounds before they realize it. This stuff often happens too fast before players have time to think things through.
I expect that Lawrence will be just fine and back on the field in 1-2 weeks and the NFL will drop a hammer on that defender, probably a HUGE penalty and maybe suspended for some games! I guess it depends on the guy's history.
Lawrence is already home and feeling fine, and I'm seeing the media already lying that Azeez Al-Shaair smashed his helmet into the ground when he clearly was aiming to hit the QB in the chest. Azeez Al-Shaair has already apologized stating everything happened ”in the blink of an eye.” “To Trevor, i genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening,” Al-Shaair’s statement reads. “Before the game, we spoke and I told you how it was great to see you back out on the field and wished you well. I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them, especially one that’s deemed ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary.’”
Apparently the ruckus is over the fact that Lawrence had just returned from a shoulder injury. Like I felt from the beginning, it was just one of those things that happened in a split second that nobody planned. Al-Shaair got carried away and Lawrence was anxious to show what he could do and went down late.
Al-Shaair has had a few other late hits so this one will weigh heavier against him I expect.
Meanwhile, the Texans head coach after reviewing the film had this to say: "It’s two-fold,” Ryans said. “A lot of the quarterbacks, they try and take advantage of the rule where they slide late and they try to get an extra yard. A lot of onus is on the defender. Whether it’s on the sideline or whether it’s on the quarterback, you don’t know what a guy is thinking. You don’t know if a guy is staying up. And then you get a late slide and hit the guy.”
Al-Shaair apologized to Lawrence on social media Monday morning, saying that he truly didn’t know the quarterback was getting down.
Video of the play showed it happen in a split-second, but has since been removed from Fox’s NFL social media account.
I expect Al-Shaair, due to his history, due to it being a QB and one that just got back from an injury, will be dealt with severely by the NFL. Politics and insurance attorneys will force them to make a big show of the affair by "getting tough" on these "dirty players."
