Ref explains why he didn't eject Trevathan after helmet-to-helmet hit on Adams
Former NFL head of officials said it was the first time in 4 years that a crown-of-the-helmet flag was thrown
By
Ryan Wilson
•
1 min read
Packers wide receiver Davante Adams was taken to the hospital after a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit from Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan on Thursday night.
Danny Trevathan’s brutal hit on Davante Adams. #CHIvsGB pic.twitter.com/dRk5zA5HHl
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) September 29, 2017
Trevathan was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play. Former NFL head of officials Mike Pereira tweeted that it was the first time in four years that a crown-of-the-helmet flag had been thrown against someone, adding that Trevathon should have been ejected.
After the game, referee John Hussey explained why Trevathan wasn't tossed.
"From my perspective I just didn't see enough to rise to that level," Hussey told a pool reporter, via Pro Football Talk. "That issue I would have is a judgment call. Was it egregious, was it completely unnecessary? I didn't have enough information from my perspective to make that."
With the aid of replay, it's easy to suggest that Trevathon's hit was egregious and unnecessary. But watching the play in real time complicates things. You can see the play by clicking here.
The hit is, in fact, a rules violation because Adams had made the catch and became a runner. And once his forward momentum was stopped, he became defenseless. That's when Trevathan led with the crown of his helmet, an act itself that is illegal. In March, the owners adopted a rule on "automatic ejections for egregious hits to the head" though, as PFT points out, the 2017 rule book has no new language mandating automatic ejections for egregious hits to the head.
Even though Trevathan wasn't ejected, there's a chance the league, in reviewing the matter, will choose to suspend him.
