My email to Wilbon

[JR4]

Brady stepped into him with his left leg as he was moving forward to release the ball. This wasn't a dirty play, neither was the Wilfork play from last year against Losman. If you want to say that there wasn't enough difference to have a fine in one and not the other, fine, I don't disgaree there. But this was unlucky, not dirty.

You are wrong!

 

[nflintegrity]

And the troll finally reveals that he's not a Patriots' fan.

Like there was ever any doubt.

Tell the truth, be labeled a "non-Pats fan"??? Comical.

What next? Agree that we lost the Superbowl to the Giants and be labeled a Patriot hater???

Let's please stop looking for excuses. Football is a violent game. Tom Brady got hurt. It was deemed a legal hit. It's not ESPN's fault Brady got hurt. It's not Wilbon's fault. It's not Roger Goodell's fault. It's not the Yankees fault. It's not the Jets' fault. It's not the field surface. He just GOT HURT.

Let's move on and rally behind our new QB for this season. Sheezus!

 

[BadMoFo]

Tell the truth, be labeled a "non-Pats fan"??? Comical.

What next? Agree that we lost the Superbowl to the Giants and be labeled a Patriot hater???

Let's please stop looking for excuses. Football is a violent game. Tom Brady got hurt. It was deemed a legal hit. It's not ESPN's fault Brady got hurt. It's not Wilbon's fault. It's not Roger Goodell's fault. It's not the Yankees fault. It's not the Jets' fault. It's not the field surface. He just GOT HURT.

Let's move on and rally behind our new QB for this season. Sheezus!

You are way too rational. You don't belong here.

 

[Joker]

It's not the Yankees fault???

It's ALWAYS the Yankees fault!!

 

[nflintegrity]

It's not the Yankees fault???

It's ALWAYS the Yankees fault!!

LOL.

Well, partially their fault.

 

[PatriotNMP43]

Whether the league fines him or not, who gives a rats ass? Is it a double standard? Sure. But it's not going to bring Tom Brady back, no matter how indignant we get, so what's the point?

Here is the point, the hit was not dirty but it was illegal according to league rules. The fine is irrelevant but acknowledgement of the ''illegal hit'' is very relevant.

'' Any hit to a QB below the knee is illegal and defenders can no longer hit quarterbacks below the knee in the pocket. ''

The NFL rule states that, “no defensive player who has an unrestricted path to the quarterback may hit him flagrantly in the area of the knee(s) or below when approaching in any direction.”

Pollard hit Brady below the knee, but the NFL announced yesterday that Pollard would not be fined because his momentum was being affected by Patriot running back Sammy Morris’ block.

“He was actually getting pulled, so he will not be getting fined,” Kansas City coach Herm Edwards said yesterday. “[The NFL officials] told me that.”

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patriots_journal09_09-09-08_59BGQMH_v10.1605350.html

Here is the point, the '' principle of the rule '' is not being honored by the nfl, it's the principle, not the fine that matters most.

This is another bogus inconsistency of the nfl rules committee that rears it's ugly head.

This should not be swept under the rug.

Do you people understand the point yet?

 

[old 55]

A point of agreement - hating the Yankees.

Here's the one thing that went right for me yesterday..

I'm picking up my daughters from CCD classes last night and a kid and his Dad are talking. The kid has his YANKEES shirt on.
The Dad is saying "I can't believe that we aren't winning with the roster we have..."

I just smiled and continued walking by.

 

[Watson's IQ]

Here is the point, the hit was not dirty but it was illegal according to league rules. The fine is irrelevant but acknowledgement of the ''illegal hit'' is very relevant.

'' Any hit to a QB below the knee is illegal and defenders can no longer hit quarterbacks below the knee in the pocket. ''

The NFL rule states that, “no defensive player who has an unrestricted path to the quarterback may hit him flagrantly in the area of the knee(s) or below when approaching in any direction.”

Pollard hit Brady below the knee, but the NFL announced yesterday that Pollard would not be fined because his momentum was being affected by Patriot running back Sammy Morris’ block.

“He was actually getting pulled, so he will not be getting fined,” Kansas City coach Herm Edwards said yesterday. “[The NFL officials] told me that.”

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patriots_journal09_09-09-08_59BGQMH_v10.1605350.html

Here is the point, the '' principle of the rule '' is not being honored by the nfl, it's the principle, not the fine that matters most.

This is another bogus inconsistency of the nfl rules committee that rears it's ugly head.

This should not be swept under the rug.

Do you people understand the point yet?

Read the rule yourself, particularly the portion I bolded. Bodies smash into each other at high speeds, people get blocked and fall into each other, these things HAPPEN.

If you want to argue that Wilfork should not have been fined, I agree with that. But it's not like Pollard charged in unabated and dove at Brady's knee. That's just not what happened. It was unfortunate, it sucked, we all hate that this is happening, but it's just the reality. Blame the NFL for a double standard if you want, but these things are going to happen no matter how they come down on it. It's just an unfortunate part of the game.

 

[PatriotNMP43]

Read the rule yourself, particularly the portion I bolded. Bodies smash into each other at high speeds, people get blocked and fall into each other, these things HAPPEN.

If you want to argue that Wilfork should not have been fined, I agree with that. But it's not like Pollard charged in unabated and dove at Brady's knee. That's just not what happened. It was unfortunate, it sucked, we all hate that this is happening, but it's just the reality. Blame the NFL for a double standard if you want, but these things are going to happen no matter how they come down on it. It's just an unfortunate part of the game.

OK, i get it, so if a jet defender is laying on top of a patriot defender next week, lets say seymour, then it will be legal for seymour to reach over and take out favre's knee because a jet defender was on top of him, that's a great rule, i love it! (sarcasm)

 

[Metaphors]

However, Brady still had the ball, the play was still active, and Pollard did what his coaches told him to do: get after Tom Brady at all costs. Not to mention that Pollard had a 200+ running back on top of him and holding him down.

Nobody is arguing that it was a late hit, so your point about Brady still having the ball is irrelevant (yet people continue to make it).

The fact that Pollard was doing what his coaches told him to do is irrelevant (yet people continue to make it).

Your observation about Pollard having Morris on top of him and holding him down would be a good one...except that he wasn't on top of Pollard and holding him down when Pollard launched himself into Brady's knee. Watch any video replay of the hit. At the point of contact, Morris is to the side of Pollard with his hand near (possibly not even touching) his back. After contact, Morris shoves Pollard sideways to keep him off of Brady's leg.

Are you saying that if you are blocked at any point in the opponent's backfield, once you free yourself you are fully justified in going after the QB's knee? That seems to be what the league is saying.

You know what...I'm tired of looking at this from a "health of the league" and "quarterback safety" perspective. If you want to say that hit is legal and even encouraging that type of play, fine. Every team in the league should send both safeties on middle blitzes on every play. Once one of them is touched by a blocker, he should immediately hit the deck, reset himself and drive his helmet into the closest knee he can find. It may take a while, but eventually that should eliminate all the starting QBs and RBs from the league.

I think it would be fantastic seeing WRs run the option and try triple reverses.

I'm excited about this. Really.

 

[Watson's IQ]

OK, i get it, so if a jet defender is laying on top of a patriot defender next week, lets say seymour, then it will be legal for seymour to reach over and take out favre's knee because a jet defender was on top of him, that's a great rule, i love it! (sarcasm)

It takes a special kind of gall to misrepresent a play which is readily available on video for all to see. To say that Pollard "reached over to take out Brady's knee" is about as ridiculous a distortion of the actual play as I could imagine.

And yes, if Favre still has the ball, I expect the Patriots defenders to try to tackle him. Brady still had the ball when Pollard began his move, check the tape if you don't believe me. What happened was the unfortunate consequence of bodies moving quickly in opposite directions in the high speed of a play. Football is a violent game, and accidents like this happen. That's just a fact, but feel free to continue to operate at odds with it at your own leisure.

 

[JAYHAWKS34]

You can really argue either side of this we were not in Pollards head so you can’t know for sure who is right and who is wrong people are so quick to think they are right here, personally I think it was an intentional hit to injure thats the way I saw it

 

[Watson's IQ]

You can really argue either side of this we were not in Pollards head so you can’t know for sure who is right and who is wrong people are so quick to think they are right here, personally I think it was an intentional hit to injure thats the way I saw it

Let me ask you this: When the Wilfork play happened last year, were you willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his word? Seems to me that we'd be hypocrites if we didn't give Pollard the benefit of the doubt too, just because it's our guy who got injured.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Read the rule yourself, particularly the portion I bolded. Bodies smash into each other at high speeds, people get blocked and fall into each other, these things HAPPEN.

If you want to argue that Wilfork should not have been fined, I agree with that. But it's not like Pollard charged in unabated and dove at Brady's knee. That's just not what happened. It was unfortunate, it sucked, we all hate that this is happening, but it's just the reality. Blame the NFL for a double standard if you want, but these things are going to happen no matter how they come down on it. It's just an unfortunate part of the game.

The point is that Pollard was free of Morris when he made his lunge. The contact and hold all occurred prior. Pollard had an unobstructed look at Brady and lunged at his leg with little or no help from Morris. Just look at the video carefully.

It doesn't hurt us that Pollard goes unpunished - KC's not a factor and Brady is still on IR. But for that freaking horrible NFL front office to say that it was a legal hit just proves once again how unbelievably incompetent and biased they are.

 

[JAYHAWKS34]

Let me ask you this: When the Wilfork play happened last year, were you willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his word? Seems to me that we'd be hypocrites if we didn't give Pollard the benefit of the doubt too, just because it's our guy who got injured.

So your assuming that I would say that I didn’t think Wilforks hit was a dirty play.. remember what assuming does.. I thought that was a dirty play as well. Just because they are on the patriots doesn’t sway my opinion

 

[PatriotNMP43]

It takes a special kind of gall to misrepresent a play which is readily available on video for all to see. To say that Pollard "reached over to take out Brady's knee" is about as ridiculous a distortion of the actual play as I could imagine.

My apologies, i worded it wrong.

If a jet defender is on top of seymour next week and seymour ''accidentally '' rolls onto favre's knee then that should be considered legal within the wording of the rules.

Is that better wording for you?

 

[Watson's IQ]

So your assuming that I would say that I didn’t think Wilforks hit was a dirty play.. remember what assuming does.. I thought that was a dirty play as well. Just because they are on the patriots doesn’t sway my opinion

That's fine, I respect that. What irks me is people who defended Wilfork dogmatically and are now accusing Pollard of attempting to assassinate Tom Brady.

Personally, I think there are so many things going on in high speed during any given football play that unless it's clearly black and white (which neither play was, IMO) it's nearly impossible to gauge intent. My feeling is that these guys are adults and deserve the benefit of the doubt. If it came out that Pollard was bragging about taking out Brady, I would be twice as vocal as I am now in condemning him, but I'm not willing to do so based just on the feelings of those here.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Let me ask you this: When the Wilfork play happened last year, were you willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his word? Seems to me that we'd be hypocrites if we didn't give Pollard the benefit of the doubt too, just because it's our guy who got injured.

Both seem like nice articulate guys who aren't out to seriously injure someone. But Wilfork was dumb to stick his elbow out in that situation. And Pollard simply wasn't thinking of the rule at all - he just went for the nearest body part.

The point is that the rule is not ingrained in these guys the way it needs to be, and letting Pollard off the hook just makes it worse. They need to strenghten the rule with a suspension. Coaches need to coach it as a point of emphasis.

 

[Watson's IQ]

My apologies, i worded it wrong.

If a jet defender is on top of seymour next week and seymour ''accidentally '' rolls onto favre's knee then that should be considered legal within the wording of the rules.

Is that better wording for you?

How can I possibly disagree with someone so omnipotent that they can judge the intent of a total stranger at high speed during a football game? Since you clearly know exactly what Pollard's intent was, it seems fruitless for me to argue it. My only hope is that you'll one day use your gifts for the betterment of mankind.

 

[Kontradiction]

You guys can't possibly be this obtuse without it being deliberate.

Nobody is arguing that it was a late hit, so your point about Brady still having the ball is irrelevant (yet people continue to make it).

Yes they are! That's the point! Contact made at the point where the ball is not in the QBs hands is illegal and dirty. THAT is a dirty play. Contact made at the point where the ball is IN the QBs hands is legal. That's been the ruling in the NFL for years. What part of this are you guys not understanding?

Your observation about Pollard having Morris on top of him and holding him down would be a good one...except that he wasn't on top of Pollard and holding him down when Pollard launched himself into Brady's knee. Watch any video replay of the hit. At the point of contact, Morris is to the side of Pollard with his hand near (possibly not even touching) his back. After contact, Morris shoves Pollard sideways to keep him off of Brady's leg.

Dude, Morris TACKLED him to the ground. A point in which should have been flagged and called holding. Notice the word HOLDING in there. Pollard was on his stomach, not all fours.

Are you saying that if you are blocked at any point in the opponent's backfield, once you free yourself you are fully justified in going after the QB's knee? That seems to be what the league is saying.

Come on, Metaphors. You're doing this intentionally. I've read your posts and I know damn well you're smarter than this. DaBruinz is another story, but you are better than what you're saying on here. First of all, Pollard didn't go for his knee. Pollard went for Brady's legs. It's a move that's very common in the NFL when you're lower than your opponent. As Pollard (with Morris on his back) went to sack/stop Brady, Brady stepped into the throw with a little extra something. That's common of a deep pass from a quarterback. As Brady stepped up to make the throw, the side of his knee collided with Pollard's helmet as Pollard was on the ground. It was that point in which he was hurt.

Now, if Pollard came in unimpeded and standing up straight and DOVE at Brady's knee helmet first, I would agree with you. Do you think I'm cramping my fingers just for the hell of it? Because I think it's fun being the Devil's advocate? No. It's because I've accepted the fact that Brady was hurt and the hit was not dirty. I've moved on and am now ready for the Jets. A lot of you are having trouble following suit.

You know what...I'm tired of looking at this from a "health of the league" and "quarterback safety" perspective. If you want to say that hit is legal and even encouraging that type of play, fine. Every team in the league should send both safeties on middle blitzes on every play. Once one of them is touched by a blocker, he should immediately hit the deck, reset himself and drive his helmet into the closest knee he can find. It may take a while, but eventually that should eliminate all the starting QBs and RBs from the league.

Encourage that type of play? Sure. I'll encourage real football for the rest of my life. Do you want to encourage the league to put a pink skirt on the quarterback? Good luck with that.

Once again me and MoFo are the only ones making sense and stating facts in a controversial thread while everyone else is bringing their opinions in.