Tonight, I Applaud Ed Hochuli

One of the major stories of last Thursday night's NFL game was of Cam Newton remaining on the field and not undergoing concussion protocol after sustaining multiple hits throughout the Panther's 20-21 loss against the Broncos. The media and countless fans vocally criticized the NFL's actions during the game, it's likely that last week's failures influenced referee Ed Hoculi's swift actions tonight as he forced Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor to be removed from play after Taylor sustained a hit to the head by multiple Jets players.

Click here to watch the hit

As the announcers mention, the hit was audible from quite a distance from the field and can be heard in the audio of the video. Unlike Newton after getting hit by Stewart last week, Taylor seemed to be cognizant after the getting hit, and he returned to his feet soon after the blow of the whistle. Nevertheless, Ed Hoculi stepped into the Buffalo huddle, removed Taylor from play, and physically walked him to the Bills sideline where he could be evaluated for symptoms of concussion, much to Taylor's chagrin. 

Hochuli's actions may go relatively unsung, but they were undoubtedly brave and heroic. I'm extremely certain that Hochuli was nervous about his decision, especially given a close game between two rival teams, and hearing boos from the home crowd as their quarterback is removed from the game, not to mention Taylor's physical resistance to Hochuli's actions. All in all, Taylor was checked, cleared, and back out on the field after only a few plays. 

I sincerely hope that fans, players, coaches, medical staff, and most importantly officials around the league take a moment to understand and appreciate Hochuli's actions. We can learn a lot when things go wrong with concussion protocol, such as they did in Denver last week, but we can learn even more when they go according to protocol, like they did tonight. It's easy to criticize poor decisions, but it's more difficult to recognize and applaud good ones. And tonight, Ed Hochuli made a great step towards implementing the concussion protocol on a consistent basis.