NFL players adjust to illegal hits crackdown
Source: Agencies |
October 26, 2010, Tuesday
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DOLPHINS cornerback Sean Smith had Steelers receiver Hines Ward lined up, ready to deliver the big hit. Instead of going high, he went for Ward's legs. No fine or penalty for that one.
It was the sort of play that, most Sundays, would have gone unnoticed, especially because Ward returned to the field a play later after getting his knees checked out.
This Sunday was different, though, because it marked the first set of games since the NFL said it would be cracking down on illegal hits, handing out fines and threatening suspensions. Actually, Ward's brief absence, and the almost total lack of big shots in other NFL games, made it look a lot like any given Sunday, even if it's still too early to tell for sure how things are going to change over time.
"It's football," Ward said. "If you play this game worried about getting hurt, you will get hurt. It's a fearless game, it's a physical game, so the rule is the rule. You can't play this game scared."
There were no cringe-inducing hits to replay - nothing the likes of what James Harrison, Brandon Meriweather and Dunta Robinson delivered last weekend in a spate of vicious plays that brought about hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, along with repeated reminders that the league would be watching more closely from now on.
Shades of gray
By sending out its various warnings - a memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell, a video showing can- and can't-dos, lists sent to coaches letting them know which players have multiple unnecessary roughness penalties - the NFL is looking for more certainty in a sport that has many shades of gray.
One thing that was clear: No players were penalized for illegal hits to the head in any of the 13 games, giving the league every reason to believe its message got through.
"I've seen a change in players' behavior in one week," NFL officiating chief Carl Johnson was quoted as telling Peter King on NBC's "Football Night in America."
Ward's Steelers teammate, Harrison, played along, returning to the field after a tumultuous week in which he received a US$75,000 fine from the NFL and briefly threatened to retire. He called it business as usual - well, except for one particular play, when he saw Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown coming across the middle.
"I had a chance to put my head in there, and it looked like he was crouching down," Harrison said. "I didn't want to get a helmet-to-helmet (hit). I didn't put my face in there, and he went down, and luckily he didn't scamper for another 10 or 15 yards."
Harrison wasn't the only player who said he occasionally had the NFL's tougher stance on his mind.
"For sure," Carolina linebacker Jon Beason said. "I definitely think you'll think about it; US$75,000 is crazy."
It was the sort of play that, most Sundays, would have gone unnoticed, especially because Ward returned to the field a play later after getting his knees checked out.
This Sunday was different, though, because it marked the first set of games since the NFL said it would be cracking down on illegal hits, handing out fines and threatening suspensions. Actually, Ward's brief absence, and the almost total lack of big shots in other NFL games, made it look a lot like any given Sunday, even if it's still too early to tell for sure how things are going to change over time.
"It's football," Ward said. "If you play this game worried about getting hurt, you will get hurt. It's a fearless game, it's a physical game, so the rule is the rule. You can't play this game scared."
There were no cringe-inducing hits to replay - nothing the likes of what James Harrison, Brandon Meriweather and Dunta Robinson delivered last weekend in a spate of vicious plays that brought about hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, along with repeated reminders that the league would be watching more closely from now on.
Shades of gray
By sending out its various warnings - a memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell, a video showing can- and can't-dos, lists sent to coaches letting them know which players have multiple unnecessary roughness penalties - the NFL is looking for more certainty in a sport that has many shades of gray.
One thing that was clear: No players were penalized for illegal hits to the head in any of the 13 games, giving the league every reason to believe its message got through.
"I've seen a change in players' behavior in one week," NFL officiating chief Carl Johnson was quoted as telling Peter King on NBC's "Football Night in America."
Ward's Steelers teammate, Harrison, played along, returning to the field after a tumultuous week in which he received a US$75,000 fine from the NFL and briefly threatened to retire. He called it business as usual - well, except for one particular play, when he saw Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown coming across the middle.
"I had a chance to put my head in there, and it looked like he was crouching down," Harrison said. "I didn't want to get a helmet-to-helmet (hit). I didn't put my face in there, and he went down, and luckily he didn't scamper for another 10 or 15 yards."
Harrison wasn't the only player who said he occasionally had the NFL's tougher stance on his mind.
"For sure," Carolina linebacker Jon Beason said. "I definitely think you'll think about it; US$75,000 is crazy."
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