Sheppard said the league wants “to make sure you’re punching the ball and not a player”
During his press conference on Friday, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator mentioned that the league has distributed a communique to all teams that uses Lions LB Jack Campbell as an example.
Sheppard brought up that the league sent a memo regarding punch-outs by defenders, where the defensive player throws a punch directed at the ball and trying to force a fumble. It’s a common practice around the NFL, widely taught and practiced as a requisite tool for a defensive player trying to make an impact play.
This particular memo, which has not been made publicly available by the NFL, apparently cites Jack Campbell and his punch-outs.
“They want to make sure you’re punching the ball and not the player, whatever that means,” Sheppard stated.
There have been several instances around the league of defensive players attempting to punch out the ball but missing. One prominent example comes from the Rams-49ers game in which an errant blow caused a goal-line fumble by Rams RB Kyren Williams after he was punched in the helmet. No flag was thrown on this play:
Campbell forced a fumble in the Lions win over the Bengals with a perfectly placed punch to the ball after RB Chase Brown made a catch. The Bengals recovered the ball.
