Fixit

In response to this article: Week 5 preview: Is this flag football? - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN

Kevin, I normally don't classify you with the rest of the national idiots, but your account of the Suggs hit on Brady is ridiculous.

Suggs took three steps and went low on Brady's knee. He wasn't pushed. He didn't stumble. The only reason we're not talking about Brian Hoyer starting for the rest of the season is because Brady was fast enough to move his leg and minimize the contact. If he wasn't, you'd be screaming about Suggs' dirty hit. It's a penalty, and it's been a penalty for years...WAY before the "Brady rule" that no one in the media apparently understands.

Also, your timeline is a little off. The official is reaching for the flag as soon as contact was made. By the time Brady turned around (as ANY QB would have) the flag was already being thrown. Watch the replay, because it's painfully obvious that you haven't.

By the way, Harrison already said that he was joking. He even told Brady about it beforehand, and Brady thought it was funny. See, you learn these things when you actually pay attention to a story that you plan to write about. Just a thought.

But if everyone wants to get back to "real" football, I suppose no one will have a problem with removing the penalties for crackback and cut blocking, for example. Enough babying these defensive guys.

I just can't let this issue go, it seems.

BradyManny

Yeah, I don't get what people are seeing. Mike Mayock was saying he thought it was a bad call, which surprised me - granted, he might've just been trying to appease his co-host of Playbook, former Ravens coach Brian Billick. It was blatantly obvious that Suggs was diving at his knee - intentional or otherwise - and if it weren't for Brady moving, there probably would've been an injury. As Synovia wisely said in another thread, you have to penalize the action, not the result.

mayoclinic

Imagine how Peyton (and the media) would have reacted and how Polian would have howled if that had happened against the Dolts ... just wait, the Ravens and Colts play each other later this season.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

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Wolfpack

This incident reminds me a bit of the tuck rule. All the constant whining and moaning from the media will do nothing to change the rules or how they are applied because the powers-that-be in the NFL are 100% behind the rules and the reasoning behind them.

olschool

The NFL rules are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

If it hadn't been flagged, we'd all be screaming about the blind ref's, bending over backwards to not appear biased.

The best teams, with the best players will always be in the spotlight, and will always be hated by someone. They can't all be loveable underdogs.

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BSR

I don't know. After a week of arguing this position all week I am starting to see the other side of the coin. I still certainly think Suggs is guilty of a dirty play and was intentionally going for Brady's knees but I am just not sure if there was a penalty there.

We say you penalize the action, not the result and we make the case that Brady is only still standing because he was fast enough, but what if brady was even faster? What if he moved fast enough that he totally avoided contact? Do we still penalize the action? I don't think so. I think the relevant issue here is contact and the rule states that it needs to be forcible. Was it forcible? Probably not and as such I am thinking the penalty should not have been called.

That being said, I still think it was a dirty play and should have been fined because the intent was there to hurt another player. That is where I think the league is messed up on this issue by doing the total oppisite.

As for all the hemming and hawing in the media they are totally missing the boat. At worst this is a bad ticky tacky call on a miss applied rule. At its core the rule is sound and is seeking to prevent forcible contact with a QBs knees which is consistent with rules seeking to protect other players knees.

Jackson 2

Well-said. I can't let it go, either.

patsfaninpittsburgh

The problem here is where were the media monkeys after week one when we got called for the Wilfork/Thomas penalties? Those two were worse than either Ravens calls.

This is only a problem because it's Brady.

Notice nobody mentiond the Mike Wright penalty. Can anyone guess why?

The danger here is that the league caves and it becomes open season on Brady'd knees.

BradyManny

I disagree - I stand by the notion that you have to penalize the action and not the rule, especially when it comes to a rule designed to protect a player. Suggs dove right at Brady's knees - to me, what happens after that just doesn't matter.

letekro

Let us know what he says. I can't imagine this joker gets more than a handful of emails per day.