Suspensions will be announced by Wednesday

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

+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.

Huh?

Where were the suspensions for Clark in 2008 or the Jets clown this season?

Now it becomes an issue because of Merriweather?

The reality is Harrison was the dirtiest, then Robinson then Merriweather.

 

[Big-T]

Harrison's hits were premeditated and he had the intention to cause injury, that looks obvious from the videos, same with Robinson who lowers his head into Jackson's face, all 3 of those hits were worse then Merriweather's

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

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.

I missed the launches to the helmet in that game. What I saw was hard hitting. Remember back then before the Polian rule there was no girly mon 5 yd limit on contact with the limp wristed wideouts and RBs.

 

[Kontradiction]

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

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

No, that hit wasn't even close to being legal. ESPN showed the opposite angle of the hit as opposed to the one you usually see and slowed it down. Robinson, without a shadow of a doubt, led with the helmet and made contact with it. That hit was as illegal as it gets.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Moving officials, suspending players for hits, even first time 'offenses', wrapping up QBs in bubble plastic.... what's next? The NFL might as well just get it over with:

Played that game for decades but we always had a rule that you could smack the QB while attempting to 'block' a pass. I hadda wear a mouthpiece with all those crazed hockey players playing D rushing the passer. Still got swollen lips and bruised face.

I think that the NFL has gone too wimpy in protecting the QBs and especially with the 5 yd Polian rule. It's football, not soccer. But I don't have any problem with them oulawing seemingly deliberate launches to the helmet contact. No more Stingleys.

 

[IllegalContact]

I don't think it is right to change the policy and hand out suspensions for things that already happened. double the fines and make a statement on which of this weeks hits will lead to suspensions in the future.

 

[spacecrime]

Good move, a lot of former defensive players are actually endorsing this.

None of whom would have endorsed it when they were playing. I love Rodney, but that was so hypocritical Sunday night. He was the king of the Launch at the Head hit.

 

[spacecrime]

The NFL is really starting to piss me off. They can't even define what the hell a catch is, how the hell are they going to define "devastating hits."

YouTube - Calvin Johnson Controversial Call vs Chicago Bears (HD)

They can and did define what a catch is. You just don't agree with their definition. Just like the tuck rule. You may WANT it to have been a fumble and you may WANT Clavin Johnson to have made a legal catch, but the rules are clear in both cases: Incomplete pass on the first one, and no catch on the second one.

 

[The Brandon Five]

Brilliant point on your part. Injuries never happen when form tackles are made straight up on players, and I'm the only one to put forth such radical notions as "the NFL might be coddling the QBs, and the offenses, too much".

By the way, which injury/concussion was being avoided when they modified the way illegal contact was being called after the 2004 season?

Injuries to Peyton Manning's ego.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

All in all, it's a good thing for the game, even if we lose Merriweather for a week. The hits are for the highlight reels and not to bring a player down.

I think that the fairest way to do it would be to put players on notice starting next weekend, but, as numerous people have said in the past, "Life is unfair."

 

[The Brandon Five]

Harrison's hits were premeditated and he had the intention to cause injury, that looks obvious from the videos, same with Robinson who lowers his head into Jackson's face, all 3 of those hits were worse then Merriweather's

He has admitted as much.

Steelers' James Harrison: I don't care if I hurt players - NFL - SI.com

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Moving officials, suspending players for hits, even first time 'offenses', wrapping up QBs in bubble plastic.... what's next? The NFL might as well just get it over with:

Come on, Deus. The violent hits are bad for the game.

Don't worry, there will still be plenty of broken bones and wrecked knees to keep fans drooling.

 

[weswelker#83]

Harrison out to hurt, not injure opponents
"I don't want to see anyone injured," Harrison said, "but I'm not opposed to hurting anyone."

Source:
Harrison out to hurt, not injure opponents



James Harrison Injury Hits against the Browns (Steelers vs. Browns)
Video:
YouTube - James Harrison Injury Hits against the Browns (Steelers vs. Browns)



Football - Top 10 Tips : How to Tackle Safely in Football
YouTube - Football - Top 10 Tips : How to Tackle Safety in Football




Look I don't intend to hit people with my helmet, but if they step in front of me while I'm doing my human missile impersonation, it's not my fault."
And if they do, I hope they get hurt, and not dead or disabled for life.

Athletes are bigger/stronger/faster than before. Their brains are still as soft today as back then though.
Over the past few years I've noticed that the preferred method of tackling in the NFL seems to be "slam into the guy with your shoulder and hope he goes down." The fundamentals of wrapping someone up have pretty much disappeared (except when a running back runs up the middle).

 

[IllegalContact]

the need to change the game stems from all those pink hats they are trying to market.

years ago, when the only people who showed up to a game were of the questionable variety, people got smacked around every which way.

there's too much money tied up in it now. can't afford to pay out all these contracts only to have the guys head come off ala rock-em-sock-em robots

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Meriweather won't get suspended but his hit makes him the poster boy going forward per Ray Anderson. So Brandon better rethink his plan to not change a thing about his game. Robinson's hit violated the letter of the rule. Meriweather's violated it's spirit as well. Therein lies the difference. If you hit the guy in the shoulder and your head slides up and contacts his helmet, you're gonna get flagged. Probably fined as well as has been the case depending on circumstances (like what happened with Vince a while back). If you launch with your head and make helmet to helmet contact against a defenseless receiver you're going to get flagged and in lieu of fined you're gonna sit out a suspension.

The rules remain the same. The enforcement will be enhanced and the potential penalty will increase exponentially and impact not just the player but his team. BB says we do not coach players to do what Meriweather did. We teach them the rules and the techniques to make plays within the confines of those rules.

Ray Anderson says enforcement, not rules, will change | ProFootballTalk.com

 

[MoLewisrocks]

the need to change the game stems from all those pink hats they are trying to market.

years ago, when the only people who showed up to a game were of the questionable variety, people got smacked around every which way.

there's too much money tied up in it now. can't afford to pay out all these contracts only to have the guys head come off ala rock-em-sock-em robots

Pink hats have nothing to do with it. Red areas on PET scans...has a lot to do with it. Advances in understanding and technology has a lot more to do with it.

 

[Bella*chick]

Pink hats have nothing to do with it. Red areas on PET scans...has a lot to do with it. Advances in understanding and technology has a lot more to do with it.

Very well said.

 

[Wolfpack]

Brilliant point on your part. Injuries never happen when form tackles are made straight up on players, and I'm the only one to put forth such radical notions as "the NFL might be coddling the QBs, and the offenses, too much".

By the way, which injury/concussion was being avoided when they modified the way illegal contact was being called after the 2004 season?

Talk about brilliant points, the rule change/emphasis following 2004 had absolutely nothing to do with player safety and was never suggested as such. So your strawman argument is completely meaningless.

Hey, if you want to wait for another Darryl Stingley before implementing punishment for cheap shots, that's your right. But I prefer to prevent such an injury from occurring in the first place.

 

[Wolfpack]

Huh?

Where were the suspensions for Clark in 2008 or the Jets clown this season?

Now it becomes an issue because of Merriweather?

The reality is Harrison was the dirtiest, then Robinson then Merriweather.

It "becomes an issue" because there were multiple examples of such hits from this past weekend, and we are seeing them more and more frequently. No one is saying we never saw them beforehand, but when 4 such hits take place all in a single afternoon, we shouldn't be surprised that the League is addressing the matter - especially given the current political climate which is heavily emphasizing how to avoid and treat head injuries.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Anything they can do to help the Goodell Jesters, in any fashion at all.