Intentional Pounding : 49ers’ Walsh Says Most Late Hits on Quarterbacks Are Not Accidental, Hurting Players and the Game

ROCKLIN, Calif. — After all these years, Bill Walsh has found something he doesn’t like about football.

Most defensive teams are intentionally violating National Football League rules, he said the other day. And that is taking the fun out of the game.

At his training camp here at Sierra College, Walsh, who has coached the San Francisco 49ers to two Super Bowl championships in the last five years, made these charges:

--In the regular-season games of 1985, most NFL pass rushers who got to the quarterback did so late.

--They knew that the pass had been thrown before they hit him.

--Late hitting is being deliberately coached throughout the league.

--It is crippling NFL football as a spectator attraction because it takes away the advantage the offenses won in the rules changes of 1979-80 and, as a result, defenses have regained the edge in NFL games.

Jim Plunkett of the Raiders was among the quarterbacks who last season were knocked out for the season. Films show that he was the victim of a late hit by a 49er.

Few starting quarterbacks lasted all 16 games last season.

In an interview touching on this and other topics--including the effect of free substitution and minor injuries on football games--Walsh said that the NFL’s referees have the power to protect passers from dirty hits--if they want to.

Question: What should the referees do?

Answer: They should make a stronger effort to enforce the rules. An early warning in the first quarter would make a difference.

Q: Why don’t they do that? Are they intimidated by 250-pound blitzers?

A: It isn’t that so much as it is uncertainty. Referees are trained not to act unless they’re sure there’s been an infraction.

Q: So a warning is a compromise. When should they give it?

A: I’d like to see the referee warn pass rushers the first time they hit a quarterback late for any reason. Maybe it could have been incidental contact. Maybe it could have been a mistake. Whatever. They should be warned: “Next time the flag.” They should either be penalized or warned immediately.

Q: Why is there so much confusion over this particular foul? Why are so many referees uncertain whether the contact is intentional or incidental?

A: Defensive players are told (by their coaches) to make late hits look incidental. (Coaches) don’t set out to break the rules deliberately--but this is a game in which coaches have to protect themselves. (Late hitting) is so widespread in the league today that it can directly affect winning and losing and jobs.

Q: How widespread is it?

A: Two out of every three times an NFL passer is hit, the (defensive) man knows the ball has been thrown before he hits him.

Q: That’s widespread.

A: It’s appalling. And the problem is mostly in the interpretation of a rule.

Q: Why is the interpretation so difficult?

A: Because a clean hit on the passer is part of the game, as they say. And the rushers try to make (illegal hits) look legal. They use a whole bag of clever techniques, and it’s obvious to me that many of them work on these techniques as much as they do on anything else.

Q: What sort of technique do you mean?

A: As (the pass rusher) comes in, he drops his head if he has a shot at the quarterback. This is to let the referee know that he didn’t see the ball leave the quarterback’s hand.

Q: What else?

A: The guy will smash into the quarterback, and then quickly back off, perhaps holding up his arms. This is a theatrical trick to let the referee know that he let up as soon as he was aware that the ball had been thrown. But he’s already got in his lick.

Q: What else?

A: The defensive player will be looking in another direction when he runs into the quarterback. This is a way to deliver a real blow and make it look like a chance collision.

Q: What else?

A: The pass rusher will leave his feet and dive at the quarterback--knowing full well that the ball will be gone before he makes contact. He knows this is a hard call for the referee. He also knows that whatever happens, he will have his hit. That’s his objective in all these techniques--and all the other things he’s learned (about late hitting).

Q: There are others?

A: Yes, and the objective is always the same: to shake up the quarterback. After throwing the ball, passers are in a helpless condition for a moment or two. The hits they take at that instant often knock them out of the game because they can’t do a thing to protect themselves. That’s the job of the referee.

Q: But as you say, the referee can’t always be sure.

A: He’s always sure there’s a hit. What’s hard to be certain of is the intent. That’s why warnings would be effective. Referees underestimate the prestige they have. They underestimate their authority to control a game. They can set the whole tempo of the game if they get right at it--if they make a fast start with a few warnings early in the first quarter.

Q: What else does football need today to achieve a good balance between offense and defense?

A: It doesn’t need much else that can be changed--or that probably should be changed. We have plenty of good starting quarterbacks in this league--if we can keep them healthy, if we can protect them, if we can keep them on the field. The other things that are hurting offensive football today are basically just part of the evolution of the game.

Q: Meaning what?

A: The way the defenses are substituting now puts a tremendous burden on the offense. Football in recent years has become an almost impossible challenge technically. If NFL teams just played one defense--as they do in the NBA--football would be a piece of cake. But in the NFL, defensive coaches substitute to their strength on almost every play.

Q: Does this make football coaching less enjoyable than it used to be?

A: It does for me. There’s no way to practice for the defensive change-ups they make these days with all their substituting. I have the feeling that the game has become too complex for the parties involved.

Q: Present company included?

A: Absolutely. Standing around at practice watching some of the things our defensive team does, I find myself asking: How in the world am I going to deal with that?

Q: Every other NFL offense is having the same trouble with changing defenses and pass rushers who succeed by breaking the rules. Is it possible in such an era to pick the next NFL champion?

A: I don’t rule out the Chicago Bears. They’re good enough to repeat. But my guess is that injuries will decide it--and I don’t mean broken legs or torn knees. I mean rashes of minor injuries. As everyone says, the (NFC) teams with the best chance are the Bears, Rams, Redskins, Giants and 49ers. And I’d say the winner will be the team whose top players most successfully avoid minor injuries.

Q: What’s a minor injury?

A: The bad back that might keep Joe Montana out of practice for three days.

Q: Will Montana start against the Raiders at Candlestick Park Sunday?

A: Yes, we’re planning on it.

Q: He and the two other starters in your offensive backfield last winter were all hurt, but all played when you lost to the Giants in the playoffs. Is this the sort of thing you’re worrying about this season?.

A: It’s the sort of thing that makes a difference. Our 1981 and 1984 teams didn’t have that problem (when the 49ers won two Super Bowls). We’re a little older now with more experience, except at the corners, where our new starters (cornerbacks Tory Nixon and Derrick Martin) are unproven. But experience can be a two-way weapon. The older you are, the more you are subject to minor injuries.

Q: The 49ers sagged both years when they came back after winning the Super Bowl. Why is it so difficult for champions to repeat?

A: You’re spent emotionally and physically after the extended season, after doing all that has to be done to win. The euphoria of victory is enervating. In a 45-man team sport, it’s hard for all 45 players to crank up and make the same sacrifice again immediately. Some do. Most can’t.

Q: Will the Bears be the first in the 1980s to repeat?

A: The Bears are a great team. They have the resources to win again. They’re positive and adamant--that’s their strength. But they’re also the most public team we’ve had in a while, almost a commercial team. One of the things we don’t know about the Bears is how that will affect them.

Q: What else don’t we know about the Bears?

A: We don’t know if they can protect their quarterback.