Yep, That's A Late Hit

Crowd noise can be a problem when you're on the road, but sometimes it affects the home team as well. Like when you're blitzing the quarterback and you don't hear the refs blow the play dead and suddenly you find yourself "unabated to the quarterback." And then, maybe you break his collarbone. It happens. Such was the fate of Houston defensive end Phillip Hunt who absolutely lambasted Tulane QB Joe Kemp last Saturday night. This was one of those regional non-televised matchups that nobody cares about until someone gets hurt, so we didn't see it until just now. The best part is that everyone wants to blame the officiating crew—Houston received 143 yards in penalties, but still won easily—even though every player on the field not named Phillip Hunt stopped like they were supposed to when the whistle blew. (That's the problem.) Should they have blown harder? Not that Hunt was looking to break bones, but maybe this is the one bad thing this year that we don't blame on the refs, huh? They've got plenty to answer for already, believe me. "UH player's late hit on Tulane quarterback was ugly, avoidable" [Examiner] No punishment for player who broke Tulane QB's collarbone [Tulane Beat]