Suspensions will be announced by Wednesday

[ctpatsfan77]

the one article on ESPN implies suspensions will be handed out for this past weekend's games. one sentence was important -- they did not want to give the notion that you will get one free pass of a helmet-to-helmet hit before getting suspended. the article also pointed out that one of Harrison's hits this past weekend was "legal".

Knowing what we know today about concussions, suspensions are necessary but 1 game should be it.

I'm not so sure, b/c then you'd be punishing players for things that weren't suspendable offenses at the time. The NFLPA might get involved if that happens.

 

[shirtsleeve]

They may suspend Brandon, but from what I heard, the fact that BB benched him and tore him a new one for it may mitigate things for him personally. The team already took a benching action for the incident and would have had him sit the rest of the game if other safeties didn't get ding'ed up.

That, said the heads who talked to the league officials involved with formulating this, made a huge difference.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Stupid to suspend people before making this 'announcement'. All I know is James Harrison better get at least whatever Merriweather gets. And what about the Jets guy that went helmet to helmet on Welker in week 2? I see no reason he should be excused from this sudden change in rule.

 

[BradyFTW!]

over reaction here ... I'm all for safety but knee jerk reactions will harm the game more than help it.

I'd usually agree with you, but this is one case where I think I might be with the league. At first glance, the Meriweather hit seemed unnecessary but not awful, but the more times I see it the more cringe-worthy it becomes. It was flat-out dirty, and it shouldn't happen. Whatever it takes to keep that from happening routinely, I'm in favor of it, especially if it's something as relatively minor as a suspension.

That said, suspending the guys proactively for hits that weren't suspension-worthy at the time is knee-jerk BS. Part of me thinks the league dropped the ball by not instituting these rules earlier, but OTOH the only fair way to move forward is to make it clear that this kind of stuff won't fly from here on out.

 

[TriplecHamp]

Would we expect anything less than over reaction to media pressure from the Goodell Regime?

**** Goodell, it takes him now to realize this when Welker has taken how many devastating hits to the head?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Why are they suspending players for clean hits?

By what definition of the word was Meriweather's hit on Heap clean?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Stupid to suspend people before making this 'announcement'. All I know is James Harrison better get at least whatever Merriweather gets. And what about the Jets guy that went helmet to helmet on Welker in week 2? I see no reason he should be excused from this sudden change in rule.

I don't think that they will, but I agree re: Smith. He should have been suspended even under the old standards, since he broke Anquan Boldin's face on a ridiculous cheap shot last year. He's about as far from a first-time offender as it gets.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I'd usually agree with you, but this is one case where I think I might be with the league. At first glance, the Meriweather hit seemed unnecessary but not awful, but the more times I see it the more cringe-worthy it becomes. It was flat-out dirty, and it shouldn't happen. Whatever it takes to keep that from happening routinely, I'm in favor of it, especially if it's something as relatively minor as a suspension.

That said, suspending the guys proactively for hits that weren't suspension-worthy at the time is knee-jerk BS. Part of me thinks the league dropped the ball by not instituting these rules earlier, but OTOH the only fair way to move forward is to make it clear that this kind of stuff won't fly from here on out.

I don't want to see any serious injuries ...

But the reality is that we won a Super Bowl in 2001 ... mostly due to this tactic.

By the 3rd and 4th quarter the Rams only wanted to run sideline routes and that was while they were heading out of bounds to begin with.

I think with all these rules that we're edging closer to the control over the game that NBA refs have.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

By what definition of the word was Meriweather's hit on Heap clean?

I should've specified. I think Robinson's hit was clean.

 

[Dufflebagz]

That's bs if Robinson gets suspended or fined...he lit Jackson up and it was completely legal

 

[R_T26]

I feel these players should remain safe. But overreaction cause their were so many of them. If its retroactive goodell better suspendnhis jets safety smith.

 

[doesntmatter1]

I also agree that Robinson's hit was clean. It just was a ridiculous running start to nail him like that. If Robinson gets fined, kolb should be forced to pay it for throwing the ball. (elite qbs like brady and manning don't leave their wrs out to dry like that)

I hate seeing people get hurt but i like seeing vicious CLEAN hits from time to time. No different than waiting to see a car crash during nascar or a fight in baseball and hockey. But i always hope whoever is injured is only hurt with minor scrapes or gets the wind knocked out of them.

 

[MustaphaM0nd]

FIRST OFF... whatever happened to ex post facto? which is one of the most fundamental tenets of western justice? There is no ethical basis to institute suspensions for cheap shots and retroactively hand out the suspensions.

Eric Smith went for the cheap shot of the century on Boldin last year. Should he get suspended for something that happened before the rule came into effect? Why does it make any more sense to suspend Harrison and Meriweather? Hell, lets suspend Lawyer Milloy retroactively while we're at it. Vrabel went for a leg sweep once against San Diego, why doesn't he get hit with a suspension too?

SECONDLY... not all the hits that happened yesterday were cheap shots. The Robinson hit was clean, just really damn hard. Meriweather's hit was definitely a cheap shot however. I never saw James Harrison's hit

I do think its good to impose fines and call penalties that could potentially change the game as a deterrent, but the fact is that the line between huge hit and cheap shot is almost invisible. You can make the game safer to a point, but past that (when Big Brother Goodell's referees have too much control over the outcome and the big hit is eliminated) the game itself is compromised.

The game is bigger than the players. They agree to play, at the expense of their health, to entertain us by playing the game its meant to be played. That doesn't mean cheap shots, but that does mean people getting jacked up if they go across the middle.

I know it sounds cruel, but if you're gonna play football, you have to deal with the dangers, and if you don't theres someone else who will gladly have the money. I've lived in Egypt, and let me tell you theres a ton of people in the world who would gladly exchange head trauma for feeding their family.

 

[ausbacker]

I don't mind changing the legislation to suspend players... after the season with clear guidelines on what is acceptable and what isn't so all players are aware of the standards that are set.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I just can't help but to remember how much Rodney got inside brandon's head that first year.

Brandon looked up to Rodney and Ed Reed

 

[Satchboogie3]

"Devastating hit"? What the **** does that mean? Are they seriously going to suspend someone who makes a big, legal hit? Jesus ******* christ, they might as well just make if flag football! The NFL is becoming a joke. You can kiss defense goodbye, everygame is going to become a shootout.

The other point that I completely agree with is the fact that no one is forcing players to play the brutal game that is football. It's their choice. Getting in a boxing ring is extremely dangerous, but it's by choice. You don't see them telling boxers "We want less brutal knockouts, could you not punch so hard?" or asking UFC fighters to tone it down. If people don't want to risk serious injuries they don't have to suit up and play. They aren't doing this to protect players, they are doing it to protect their PRODUCT. They see players as dollar signs and when a big player goes down, they lose money.

 

[Wolfpack]

I'd usually agree with you, but this is one case where I think I might be with the league. At first glance, the Meriweather hit seemed unnecessary but not awful, but the more times I see it the more cringe-worthy it becomes. It was flat-out dirty, and it shouldn't happen. Whatever it takes to keep that from happening routinely, I'm in favor of it, especially if it's something as relatively minor as a suspension.

That said, suspending the guys proactively for hits that weren't suspension-worthy at the time is knee-jerk BS. Part of me thinks the league dropped the ball by not instituting these rules earlier, but OTOH the only fair way to move forward is to make it clear that this kind of stuff won't fly from here on out.

+1. This forum's obsessive hatred of Goodell clouds the fact that cracking down on cheap shots in the 2ndary (and we saw a handful of those this past weekend) is a good idea - and I have no doubt people would feel differently if the exact same hit was delivered by a Raven onto a Patriot. I'm glad the league is cracking down before we see another Darryl Stingley type of injury instead of after.

 

[Wolfpack]

I'm not so sure, b/c then you'd be punishing players for things that weren't suspendable offenses at the time. The NFLPA might get involved if that happens.

Cheap shots are suspendable offenses. The League may be lowering the standard a bit after this weekend, but Goodell is well within his rights to suspend players for this if he chooses.

 

[denverpatsfan]

**** Goodell, it takes him now to realize this when Welker has taken how many devastating hits to the head?

Apparently it was OK for Ryan to put a bounty on Welker's head earlier this season. That's the only explanation for the blatant cheap shot he took during the game. No fine no suspension. Now when it's the Pats it's another story altogether. Disgusting.

 

[shirtsleeve]

While I think that suspensions are needed, I also agree with most here that it would be wrong of the league to impose them retroactively.

But why is it we are always hearing about protecting offensive players, but not defensive ones? For if there was a true concern about safety, cut blocks would be illegal long ago and chop blocks would draw the same suspension.

Part of me will believe that this is a BS move to try to create more points until the league starts taking defensive players' safety as seriously.