re: Targeting rule good or bad...

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Yeah, because they aren't defenseless players there shouldn't be a penalty on the play.

There are some exceptions, like if the player launched at the side of their helmet with the crown of the head etc. But just contacting them in those cases is not targeting.

It's already in the rules properly for those hits to not be called, but so many times they just ignore the defenseless runner part.

A WR who's going up into the air to catch a ball and hasn't landed is defenseless, but soon as his feet hits the ground and he starts running, he's no longer a defenseless player.

A QB who's standing in the pocket with the ball is a defenseless player, but the moment he takes off on a scramble, he's no longer defenseless.

I wish they would put bigger emphasis on that and many of the bad calls would disappear

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I hate to say it but that attitude above is a part of the bullshyt mentality that has crept into College & NFL football

Football is a combat sport like boxing, in boxing the Ref tells you in the middle of the Ring before every bout, "protect yourself at all times", in football, from the very first moment a player steps on the field his coach teaches him "keep your head on a swivel at all times"

From the time you walk onto a FB Field you are taught that there is no such thing as a "defenseless player, violent contact can come from anywhere & at any time", it part of the situational awareness and instincts for the game that makes FB Players unique from other Athletes

Now by teaching players that the "Ref & the Rulebook" are going to protect you - the game is being changed in ways that aren't good, and they make the game less enjoyable for a fan like me

So a guy that gets the ball stripped from the blindside isn't "defenseless" but a guy that gets wiped out by shoulder to shoulder contact on a crack-back block is " defenseless", IMO that's a bunch of crap

You can't create FB where every guy that is cowardly, or scared of contact that might come from anywhere ,is able to play knowing that the Refs are gonna keep him "safe"

That sense of "impending danger at any moment" made the game more fun and exciting for both Players and the Fans

I admit that I enjoy games less due to all the artificial safety rules, punishing crown of shoulder contact is going to far IMO, all contact initiated by the crown of the shoulder pads should be deemed "clean, hard nosed FB"

You can't remove all the risk from the game