Was Derwin James Ejection for Hit on Ashton Dulin Legit?
The Indianapolis Colts fell to the LA Chargers on Monday Night Football 20-3, and one of the talking points following the game was the ejection of Chargers safety Derwin James.
In college football, there isn't much doubt; they have much stricter rules about "targeting" and using the crown of the helmet as a weapon. In the NFL, it can typically lead to a 15-yard penalty, but the player stays in the game.
The rule was put in place to protect both players. In this case, James didn't need to be ejected for the hit, because he hurt himself on the tackle and is in concussion protocol this week.
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley blames the injuries of James and Dulin on the hospital ball thrown by Colts quarterback Nick Foles and thinks James shouldn't have been penalized.
"I thought that he tried to lead with the shoulder," Staley said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star. "It’s a play where they obviously laid the guy out in a tough position, which is their fault, not ours, and Derwin made an aggressive play. I’ve seen him make a lot of tackles on plays just like that, and I know that his target was not above the neck. I know that."
Colts interim coach Jeff Saturday was having none of it when asked if the ejection was warranted.
"I definitely thought (it was worthy of ejection) – and it was right in front of me," said Saturday. "It definitely deserved an ejection. You can’t launch into a guy’s head, especially a guy who is turning the other way and unprotected."
"If you look at all the rule changes over the last 10 years or however long it’s been since we’ve tried to take that stuff out of the game, that will be one that they show week after week when they go to teams and say what you can’t do."
"I disagree and I thought the ejection was warranted."
