Meriweather apologizes

PATRIOTSFANINPA · Oct 21, 2010

At least the apology did not have to include him saying he was sorry for paralyzingly Heap

That would be something that saying sorry would not help

Think before you leap Brandon and how about worry more about tackling a runner than to try flying in the air like Superman and knocking his block off

nashvillepatsfan · Oct 21, 2010

Meriweather's hit on Heap appeared to be an intentional effort to use his helmet as a weapon, and he's lucky he wasn't suspended. But his contrition comes across as genuine.

WHAT???? Florio must have watched a different game than I. It looked like a dumb move, not an intentional one. Florio seems to be making as big a deal of this as some of our posters here. The way people talk, you'd swear this was the first time anyone has ever hit another players helmet. :bricks:

sbpatfan · Oct 21, 2010

nashvillepatsfan said:
WHAT???? Florio must have watched a different game than I. It looked like a dumb move, not an intentional one. Florio seems to be making as big a deal of this as some of our posters here. The way people talk, you'd swear this was the first time anyone has ever hit another players helmet. :bricks:

Because for whatever reason, Roger Goodell decided that this week was the best time to increase the fines for helmet-to-helmet hits. As opposed to doing it at the start of the season. For that reason, the whole theme of this week has been those hits. That's the main story on ESPN, here, and everywhere else it seems.

The thing that ticks me off is he just has the power to just amp up fines on any given week without any power check.

patsfaninpittsburgh · Oct 21, 2010

PATRIOTSFANINPA said:
At least the apology did not have to include him saying he was sorry for paralyzingly Heap

That would be something that saying sorry would not help

Think before you leap Brandon and how about worry more about tackling a runner than to try flying in the air like Superman and knocking his block off

It's amazing how idiotic some of these opinions are.

Hey, thank god we didn't have the moon fall out of the sky because of the hit Merriweather laid on Heap. Makes sense if you clown with this "logic"

Heap isn't paralyzed for once simple reason.

The hit wasn't violent enough to cause a concussion much less for Heap to miss the rest of the game.

Period

A 6'5" TE went high to catch a ball. A 5'11" safety went to hit him and based on the equation of two bodies at high speed moving multi dimensional, a glancing blow was delivered.

A penalty? YES A chewing out by BB? Yes

National hysteria? Ahhh...well...no.

No wonder the NFL does this. The buffoons bite every time.

shmessy · Oct 21, 2010

patsfaninpittsburgh said:
It's amazing how idiotic some of these opinions are.

Hey, thank god we didn't have the moon fall out of the sky because of the hit Merriweather laid on Heap. Makes sense if you clown with this "logic"

Heap isn't paralyzed for once simple reason.

The hit wasn't violent enough to cause a concussion much less for Heap to miss the rest of the game.

Period

A 6'5" TE went high to catch a ball. A 5'11" safety went to hit him and based on the equation of two bodies at high speed moving multi dimensional, a glancing blow was delivered.

A penalty? YES A chewing out by BB? Yes

National hysteria? Ahhh...well...no.

No wonder the NFL does this. The buffoons bite every time.

I respectfully disagree with your post. I saw it live and on replay several times. To me, Merriwether clearly launched himself head first going high.

Even Schlereth in his impassioned rant yesterday, singled out Merriwether's hit as the one that was egregious and should be fined.

From your tone, I don't expect you to respectfully disagree with my opinion.

Just a hunch.

patsfaninpittsburgh · Oct 21, 2010

shmessy said:
I respectfully disagree with your post. I saw it live and on replay several times. To me, Merriwether clearly launched himself head first going high.

Even Schlereth in his impassioned rant yesterday, singled out Merriwether's hit as the one that was egregious and should be fined.

From your tone, I don't expect you to respectfully disagree with my opinion.

Just a hunch.

shmessy

You miss my point and this is a serious matter.

Heap isn't paralyzed because the hit wasn't hard enough to inflict a concussion much less keep Heap out of the game.

Had Merriweather decided to explicitly "headhunt" and go after Heap to paralyze; he would of and Heap would most likely be parayzed right now.

As far as "launching" goes, how exactly does a 5'11" safety make contact on a 6'5" TE leaping TE? Tippy toes? Levitation?

Please notice that I said a penalty was legit as well as a chewing out. This is because it was not smart football vs "headhunting".

If this can't be comprehended why not just blame SARS, world hunger, swine flu, bed bugs, global warming, and the Mayan calender on him?

Deal with what is and dispense with the hyperbole.

emoney_33 · Oct 21, 2010

shmessy said:
I respectfully disagree with your post. I saw it live and on replay several times. To me, Merriwether clearly launched himself head first going high.

Even Schlereth in his impassioned rant yesterday, singled out Merriwether's hit as the one that was egregious and should be fined.

From your tone, I don't expect you to respectfully disagree with my opinion.

Just a hunch.

It looked far less egregious to me on replay. Heap was in the air on his decent, Meriweather arrived and kind of leaped at a sideways angle almost as if it was a last second decision to go for the hit/dislodge rather than play the ball. The hit wasn't very powerful but it caught Heap at a bad point/time. As good as these guys are they are still human and misjudging will happen. It can't be easy to perfectly judge where your entire helmet is while moving with a receiver's helmet while moving and always avoid contact. His technique may be poor but I don't think he it was as egregious as others. I'm sure people's opinions are effected by the fact that Heap got hurt.

patsfaninpittsburgh · Oct 21, 2010

emoney_33 said:
It looked far less egregious to me on replay. Heap was in the air on his decent, Meriweather arrived and kind of leaped at a sideways angle almost as if it was a last second decision to go for the hit/dislodge rather than play the ball. The hit wasn't very powerful but it caught Heap at a bad point/time. As good as these guys are they are still human and misjudging will happen. It can't be easy to perfectly judge where your entire helmet is while moving with a receiver's helmet while moving and always avoid contact. His technique may be poor but I don't think he it was as egregious as others. I'm sure people's opinions are effected by the fact that Heap got hurt.

Schlereth, Merrill Hoge, and Rich Eisen disagree with you.

Therefore, you are 100% correct.

shmessy · Oct 21, 2010

patsfaninpittsburgh said:
shmessy

You miss my point and this is a serious matter.

Heap isn't paralyzed because the hit wasn't hard enough to inflict a concussion much less keep Heap out of the game.

Had Merriweather decided to explicitly "headhunt" and go after Heap to paralyze; he would of and Heap would most likely be parayzed right now.
_______________
Shmessy: What are you talking about - -the fact that Heap isn't paralyzed is only because of a matter of inches - - a couple of inches one way or another and a helmet to helmet hit can be paralyzing. Do you think Brandon Merriwether or any other player can calculate how to hit in a paralyzing fashion versus not? Are they doctors working in an operating room? I'm sorry, but what you just wrote is simply ignorant.
________________

As far as "launching" goes, how exactly does a 5'11" safety make contact on a 6'5" TE leaping TE? Tippy toes? Levitation?
_______________

Shmessy: Watch the replay. You don't think Brandon Merriwether can jump 6 inches? Please, stop the drivel. Further, if the TE is falling back and going down, as happened, it's VERY possible for a 4 foot high player to do it.
________________

Please notice that I said a penalty was legit as well as a chewing out. This is because it was not smart football vs "headhunting".
_________________

Shmessy: Malpractice isn't always intentional. Plenty of professions, mine included, have severe penalties for people who screw up because of poor fundamentals. Tackling in mid- air with your eyes not on your target is poor fundamentals.
____________
If this can't be comprehended why not just blame SARS, world hunger, swine flu, bed bugs, global warming, and the Mayan calender on him?
_________________

Shmessy: Grow up. Players' lives depend on this stuff, and it's more important than your weekend entertainment. Darryl Stingley and so many others should be example enough. As I mentioned, even Mark Schlereth in the midst of his rant said that he supported a fine for Merriwether because that was egregious. Merriwether has apologized like a real man and has vowed to work to be better - - unlike the James Harrisons of this world.
_____________

Deal with what is and dispense with the hyperbole.
____________

"Deal with what is"????? That is what Brandon Merriwether did yesterday, and what you should do if you want to deal with "what is". "What is" is that the NFL has the rule and will be enforcing it. Whining and moaning about it now is a big waste of time.

Ten characters.

shmessy · Oct 21, 2010

emoney_33 said:
It looked far less egregious to me on replay. Heap was in the air on his decent, Meriweather arrived and kind of leaped at a sideways angle almost as if it was a last second decision to go for the hit/dislodge rather than play the ball. The hit wasn't very powerful but it caught Heap at a bad point/time. As good as these guys are they are still human and misjudging will happen. It can't be easy to perfectly judge where your entire helmet is while moving with a receiver's helmet while moving and always avoid contact. His technique may be poor but I don't think he it was as egregious as others. I'm sure people's opinions are effected by the fact that Heap got hurt.

He leaped helmet first and his eyes weren't on Heap, they were pointed towards the ground. Once again, EVEN SCHLERETH made that hit the exception to his rant.

As noted, you can say that about plenty of surgeons, etc. If you cause physical harm to someone because of your shoddy work that is outside of the rules, then you have to take the consequences.

He should work hard, sharpen his technique and avoid malpractice. BB's reaction to him on the sidelines was indicative - - I bet they've tried to work with him before this ever happened and the guy just hasn't been disciplined. It has been a series of this kind of thing and has cost him playing time before this ever happened.

If yesterday is any indication, he now gets it. Good for him, he may be on his way. Some here don't get it as well as Brandon Merriwether seemed to yesterday.

emoney_33 · Oct 21, 2010

shmessy said:
He leaped helmet first and his eyes weren't on Heap, they were pointed towards the ground. Once again, EVEN SCHLERETH made that hit the exception to his rant.

As noted, you can say that about plenty of surgeons, etc. If you cause physical harm to someone because of your shoddy work that is outside of the rules, then you have to take the consequences.

He should work hard, sharpen his technique and avoid malpractice. BB's reaction to him on the sidelines was indicative - - I bet they've tried to work with him before this ever happened and the guy just hasn't been disciplined. It has been a series of this kind of thing and has cost him playing time before this ever happened.

If yesterday is any indication, he now gets it. Good for him, he may be on his way. Some here don't get it as well as Brandon Merriwether seemed to yesterday.

Just watch it again, OK... it's seriously not as terrible as you are making it out to be.

YouTube - Cheap hit by Meriweather on Heap

Brandon is moving LATERALLY. As Heap leaps the ball hits the top of his hand, Brandon plants his foot to change direction and jumps towards Heap's chest. He lowers his head at the LAST instant while turning his entire body and it seems as he's trying to roll his head and get the shoulder there. He catches Heap on the way down in a bad position.

Meriweather had to stop, turn and jump at an awkward angle after an instantaneous decision, no doubt influenced by results in practice, to go for the hit to dislodge a potential catch rather than his initial decision to go for the ball.

Brandon's actions were far less dangerous than some of the "legal" hits from guys coming full steam at a receiver with their back turned to them going for a ball. Add in the fact that Mayo's hitting from the other side of Heap pushed Heap more into Brandon and it becomes a much more innocent happenstance than egregious dangerous hit.

Tackling by nature is going to put the helmet out at the furthest point and it's not easy to keep your neck in safe position while ensuring your helmet never touches another. There are some very unnecessary hits in the NFL on defenseless receivers, but Brandon's was more a case of "it's football" than something to crack down on.

patsfaninpittsburgh · Oct 21, 2010

shmessy said:
He leaped helmet first and his eyes weren't on Heap, they were pointed towards the ground. Once again, EVEN SCHLERETH made that hit the exception to his rant.

As noted, you can say that about plenty of surgeons, etc. If you cause physical harm to someone because of your shoddy work that is outside of the rules, then you have to take the consequences.

He should work hard, sharpen his technique and avoid malpractice. BB's reaction to him on the sidelines was indicative - - I bet they've tried to work with him before this ever happened and the guy just hasn't been disciplined. It has been a series of this kind of thing and has cost him playing time before this ever happened.

If yesterday is any indication, he now gets it. Good for him, he may be on his way. Some here don't get it as well as Brandon Merriwether seemed to yesterday.

"EVEN SCHLERETH"?

I hope that's not meant to be proprietary knowledge or intuitive insight.

Again, what part of no concussion/went back into the game is not understood? The two are not exclusive the hit looked "viscious" because of mistiming
Miss the receiver on the way up and glance on the way down.

If this was so intentional, we have a rather pathetic headhunter.

Doctors do get sued for screwing up. They are also get sued unfairly.

Ambulance chasers at patsfans.com

Batman · Oct 21, 2010

The more I see this I am beginning to think that it is a poor hit at first I didn't think it was that bad, but now I see it again I wonder why he was trying to hit Heap with his head why not tilt his head to the left rather than the right and hit Heap with his shoulder would have had more effect on him and was more likely to not draw a flag.

WhiteWesWelker88 · Oct 21, 2010

is not apologizing a sign of weakness?

It would have been best that he said nothing

shirtsleeve · Oct 21, 2010

Been away a couple of days. Did the league mitigate his fine at all? They should at least adjust it to fit one game check. No other player fined last weekend had a game check taken from them, never mind 1 1/2 game checks.

Joker · Oct 21, 2010

WhiteWesWelker88 said:
is not apologizing a sign of weakness?

It would have been best that he said nothing

uh..yeah...I would want that too...but ...uh...no...not in today's National Fairy League as led by the lying,criminal conspirator, Jetdell.

BTW, watched the latest Rats game and saw seven vicious,dirty and despicable unsportsmanlike acts that were NOT called ANYTHING.The 2 man attempted decapitation by Rat LB's in the 2nd quarter was especially heinous, possibly a game penalty...no call.

So yeah, all teams will now have to adhere to the new ever changing "For The Good Of Peytie Or The Immune To Sanctions Of Any Consequence Jets", and play every game with full knowledge that any sense of fairness ever associated with the NFL is now gone, and if any team wants to keep on reaping the monetary windfall benefits from the escalating robbery of the fans (aka "suckers"), well, they better keep their mouths shut or else ...per order of Don Rat/Jetdell.

Lockdown24 · Oct 21, 2010

watching the replay, merriweather looks like a soccer player going to head a ball. he's in the air and it looks like he purposefully thrusts his head in the opposite direction he's traveling in order to make contact with heap. this is just a disgusting cheap shot. i understand helmet to helmet hits occur but this looks like a case where the player went out of his way to make it happen.

on a side note, what's up with merriweather's voice? that is not how I expected him to sound. like a weirder version of mike tyson...

ClosingTime · Oct 21, 2010

shmessy said:
I'm with you.

I'm proud of Brandon. I'm proud of our organization.

In a world where too many people and groups beat their chests and declare it's always the other guy's fault, I'm proud of how the Patriots and Brandon Merriwether handled this.

The linebacker for the Steelers and his enable-the-star team (see Mr. Rapistburger) are immature idiots.

THAT is the difference between men and boys.

Maybe cause the Merriweather hit was downright dirty and the Harrison hit was legal. Brandon should have apologized. James Harrison had nothing to apologize for. I don't see how you can look at those two hits and think any differently.

patsfaninpittsburgh · Oct 21, 2010

ClosingTime said:
Maybe cause the Merriweather hit was downright dirty and the Harrison hit was legal. Brandon should have apologized. James Harrison had nothing to apologize for. I don't see how you can look at those two hits and think any differently.

Or maybe because the reality is the two Harrison hits were the dirtiest of the afternoon.

Plenty of time to alter contact on one stationary and one straight moving player.

You don't see because you have zero idea what you are looking at.

shmessy · Oct 21, 2010

patsfaninpittsburgh said:
"EVEN SCHLERETH"?

I hope that's not meant to be proprietary knowledge or intuitive insight.

Again, what part of no concussion/went back into the game is not understood? The two are not exclusive the hit looked "viscious" because of mistiming
Miss the receiver on the way up and glance on the way down.

If this was so intentional, we have a rather pathetic headhunter.

Doctors do get sued for screwing up. They are also get sued unfairly.

Ambulance chasers at patsfans.com

I'll favor Rodney Harrison's opinion on this matter over yours.

Meriweather apologizes

Pro Bowl Player

In the Starting Line-Up

Banned

Banned

Phoenix, AZ/Retired

Banned

Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract

Banned

Phoenix, AZ/Retired

Phoenix, AZ/Retired

Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract

Banned

Third String But Playing on Special Teams

Banned

In the Starting Line-Up

PatsFans.com Supporter

Banned

On the Game Day Roster

Banned

Phoenix, AZ/Retired

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