Guess I am getting old...

[brothervad]

Just looking at all the pass yards and not just on bad defenses today. Any one think the new rules on hitting hasn't changed the game?

This has become outdoor Arena football.

Goodell got his wish.

I get the Steeler shutout but the Seahawks are so pathetically bad they have tragic jackson at the QB.

brothervad

[Chadman]

Agreed.

That said, Brady & the Pats are looking scary-good. 31 of 40 passes for 423 yards & 3 TD's against the Chargers D? And on top of that, near on 100 yards rushing on just over 20 attempts.

[hawaiiansteel]

I get the Steeler shutout but the Seahawks are so pathetically bad they have tragic jackson at the QB.

:D

Charlie Whitehurst will be starting soon.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Agreed.

That said, Brady & the Pats are looking scary-good. 31 of 40 passes for 423 yards & 3 TD's against the Chargers D? And on top of that, near on 100 yards rushing on just over 20 attempts.
$$$$$$$

Much as I hate to say it, there's Tom Brady, and then there's everybody else. :x

[NC Steeler Fan]

I wouldn't want brady for all the money in the world.

Did any of you see the injury to one of the san diego players where brady
walked up to him and the trainers working on him laying on the field? He
stood over them like he was listening to what they said and the announcer
said, "And, yes, brady often claims that other teams will fake injuries to
take away the pats momentum. It appears he's checking this one out now."

What an pompous jerk.

The guy was out for FOUR plays after he went down. At least the announer
even stated that later...

[costanza2k1]

Our defense is built for this type of O, keep everything in front of you and hope they make a mistake. All the cushion complaints we've had in the past might be to our advantage now.

[Jigawatts]

Our defense is built for this type of O, keep everything in front of you and hope they make a mistake. All the cushion complaints we've had in the past might be to our advantage now.

Good QB's pick us apart with the short passing game. I'm really not sure why every team on our
schedule doesn't completely abandon the run and work their way down the field with
short passes.

As you mentioned, we're just basically hoping for a mistake. Sounds crazy, but it usually works. :o

[costanza2k1]

The thing is there are only a handful of these good QBs who have the patience to nickel and dime us all day long...so for a large percentage of the time this strategy works. I for one would love to see the Steelers come out with a dramatically different gameplan against the Pats for once...something they've never seen on film (get it :wink: ). Come out with a plan like the Jets in the playoffs...that should throw them off.

[SidSmythe]

The NFL will always be evolving. . . . Pass Rushers and shut down CBs will evolve to answer this and then smart coaches will go back to running since Defenses are geared towards stopping the pass.

[proudpittsburgher]

I wouldn't want brady for all the money in the world.

Did any of you see the injury to one of the san diego players where brady
walked up to him and the trainers working on him laying on the field? He
stood over them like he was listening to what they said and the announcer
said, "And, yes, brady often claims that other teams will fake injuries to
take away the pats momentum. It appears he's checking this one out now."

What an pompous jerk.

The guy was out for FOUR plays after he went down. At least the announer
even stated that later...


OK, so even assuming Brady was right and the Chargers feigned injury to slow momentum . . . Yea, because Tom Brady and his gang of merry men never EVVVVVVVAR massaged the rules to gain an advantage. They wrote the friggen book!

[steelblood]

I wouldn't want brady for all the money in the world.

Did any of you see the injury to one of the san diego players where brady
walked up to him and the trainers working on him laying on the field? He
stood over them like he was listening to what they said and the announcer
said, "And, yes, brady often claims that other teams will fake injuries to
take away the pats momentum. It appears he's checking this one out now."

What an pompous jerk.

The guy was out for FOUR plays after he went down. At least the announer
even stated that later...

i hate Brady too. But, we seem to embrace pompous jerks in Pittsburgh as long as they play well.

[Slapstick]

I wouldn't want brady for all the money in the world.

Did any of you see the injury to one of the san diego players where brady
walked up to him and the trainers working on him laying on the field? He
stood over them like he was listening to what they said and the announcer
said, "And, yes, brady often claims that other teams will fake injuries to
take away the pats momentum. It appears he's checking this one out now."

What an pompous jerk.

The guy was out for FOUR plays after he went down. At least the announer
even stated that later...

Perhaps...but we don't embrace cheaters...

i hate Brady too. But, we seem to embrace pompous jerks in Pittsburgh as long as they play well.

[fordfixer]

I wouldn't want brady for all the money in the world.

Did any of you see the injury to one of the san diego players where brady
walked up to him and the trainers working on him laying on the field? He
stood over them like he was listening to what they said and the announcer
said, "And, yes, brady often claims that other teams will fake injuries to
take away the pats momentum. It appears he's checking this one out now."

What an pompous jerk.

The guy was out for FOUR plays after he went down. At least the announer
even stated that later...


I'm not defending Brady but I found this story, enjoy

Giants players and faking injuries
Posted on: September 20, 2011 12:21 pm
http://mike-freeman.blogs.cbssports.com ... 3/32129955 (http://mike-freeman.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6264363/32129955)

This is some of the greatest acting you will ever see. Seriously, Emmy worthy. The best of the Giants fakers was Deon Grant. I was at the game and saw it live and it was even better then. The Giants' opponents, the Rams, were moving the ball easily on that defense. The players looked stunned. After one particular play two Giants players fell to the ground like they were injured but it was such a fake move it brought a chuckle from many of us in the media watching the game.

I went to a football game and a soccer game broke out. Not even Vlade Divac approves.

After the game, I asked one Giants player I've known for a bit about the alleged injuries. He smiled and said "no comment."

This is an age old problem and there are one of two ways how this happens, I'm told. The head coach, in many instances, doesn't know about plans to fake an injury. They want plausible deniability. So the position coaches do the dirty work and tell players if the no huddle is rocking, drop to the ground, and fake something. Some coaches even instruct players on what body parts to grab. Hamstrings and knees seem to be the two favorites. There are also players who are the designated fakers.

The second way is the players do this on their own with no instruction from coaches. It's just understood this is what they do.

The league has been aware of this for some time. In an e-mail to me league spokesman Greg Aiello sent me a copy of the rules on the subject which read: "The Competition Committee deprecates feigning injuries, with subsequent withdrawal, to obtain a timeout without penalty. Coaches are urged to cooperate in discouraging this practice."

In some cases, like the Giants', the faking is easy to spot. In most, however, the players are smarter about it. But it happens all the time and the league feels like it can't stop the faking. In many cases they have a point. In the past, the league would ask trainers and doctors if the injury was real, and those doctors would fib and say they were real.

I do think the league will address this problem with either more warnings or increasing the fines for it. Let's be blunt. This makes the NFL look stupid, like the punks from soccer. It's laughable.

The good thing about it? Love the acting. Top notch.

[fordfixer]

Quick fix for the faking of injuries
Posted by Mike Florio on September 20, 2011, 4:56 PM EDT
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... -injuries/ (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/20/quick-fix-for-the-faking-of-injuries/)

Football players have been faking injuries since long before Rodney Dangerfield suffered a “broken arm” while golfing. MDS took a great look at the Giants’ chicanery on Monday night, with two players pretending that they’ve fallen and they can’t get up at a time when the Rams had the New York defense on its heels with a no-huddle offense.

So what can be done about it? Not much. The official rule book explains only that the Competition Committee doesn’t approve the “feigning” of injuries, and that coaches “are urged to cooperate in discouraging this practice.”

Hell, the coaches are likely the ones who are encouraging it in the first place.

As discussed during Tuesday’s PFT Live, the only way to deal effectively with fake injuries is to remove the incentive for faking. The league did just that years ago, by taking away a timeout from any team that has an injury in the final two minutes of either half. To guard against fake injuries when the clock is running out, the NFL adopted a blanket, no-fault approach that essentially treats every injury during that window as a potential fake, in order to ensure that there will be none. (After a team is out of time outs, injuries in the final two minutes can result in a five-yard penalty or a 10-second runoff.)

And so when it comes to last night’s situation — a defense trying to keep up with a no-huddle offense — the fix is simple. The league should expand the rule book to strip a time out from any team with a defensive player who is injured while the opposing offense is using a no-huddle attack. No questions asked, no fingers pointed. If a guy is injured on defense while defending against a no-huddle offense, his team loses a time out.

The only real challenge would be to come up with an appropriate definition of “no-huddle offense.” But it would entail something along the lines of two or more consecutive plays snapped with 25 seconds or more on the play clock.

Either way, there’s no way to truly prove that injuries are being faked. The best way is to take away the benefit of faking.

[Notleadpoisoned]

Just looking at all the pass yards and not just on bad defenses today. Any one think the new rules on hitting hasn't changed the game?

This has become outdoor Arena football.

You can thank Mel Blount for causing all of this aerial nonsense.

[fordfixer]

NFL memo warns teams on faking injuries

By BARRY WILNER, AP Pro Football Writer 2 hours, 4 minutes ago
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=A ... nginjuries (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AkQJ03pMdEQO.Yt6BAQy355DubYF?slug=ap-nfl-fakinginjuries)

NEW YORK (AP)—The NFL sent a memo Wednesday to all 32 teams warning of fines, suspensions and loss of draft picks if the league determines players faked injuries during a game.

Yet several players admit its an accepted practice, and some coaches hinted they are not above condoning phony injuries if it provides a competitive edge.

“I’ve been places where it has been (taught),” said Browns linebacker Scott Fujita(notes), a member of the players’ union executive committee. “They have a name for it and I’ve been places where it’s been pre-called. I’ve been places where it’s one player who has been designated. Maybe I’m getting everyone in trouble, but I’m just being honest.”

In the memo obtained by The Associated Press, the NFL reminded teams of league policy that calls on coaches to discourage the practice. There is no specific rule on the topic.

Nonetheless, two days after there was speculation the Giants’ Deon Grant(notes) faked an injury against the Rams during Monday night’s game, the NFL is warning of disciplinary action.

“It’s always been in the game,” Ravens All-Pro safety Ed Reed(notes) said. “It’s all tactical stuff you need to use. Whatever it takes. … If you’re tired, you’re tired. You get a break however you can.”

Added 49ers running back Frank Gore(notes): “Hey, I feel if it helps, do it. I’m bound to do it. Whatever it takes to win …”

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said Tuesday the team notified the league office that it suspected the Giants were feigning injuries in St. Louis’ 28-16 loss. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford(notes) said it was obvious the Giants were just buying time with St. Louis running a no-huddle offense.

“They couldn’t get subbed, they couldn’t line up,” Bradford said. “Someone said, ‘Someone go down, someone go down,’ so someone just went down and grabbed a cramp.”

Grant was adamant about not having faked anything.

“I could see if I was walking and fell,” he said Wednesday, speaking passionately and barely taking a breath. “When you see after I made that tackle and bang my knee on that play, you see me bending my knee as I am walking. … (Teammate Justin) Tuck is walking behind me and saying ‘D don’t run off the field. Just go down.’ As I am walking, they line up, and knowing that I can’t get back in my position because of the knee injury, I went down.”

Had Grant attempted to get off the field, it could have left the Giants a defender short when the ball was snapped. Of course, New York also could have called a timeout, a course of action teams might need to use in the future.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was coy about the tactic when asked if he ever instructed a defense to do it.

“I can’t say I have,” Shanahan said before pausing. “But I won’t say I haven’t, either.”

Then he smiled.

“It happens all the time, and warnings will come out,” he added, “and it’s happened again.”

The memo from the league said:

“Going forward, be advised that should the league office determine that there is reasonable cause, all those suspected of being involved in faking injuries will be summoned promptly to this office … to discuss the matter. Those found to be violators will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action for conduct detrimental to the game.”

The league’s competition committee often has discussed this issue but has been reluctant to propose a rule that could force game officials to make judgments on injuries.

“We have been fortunate that teams and players have consistently complied with the spirit of the rule over the years and this has not been an issue for the NFL,” the memo said. “We are determined to take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not become an issue.”

For the most part, such delay tactics have been considered gamesmanship, similar to a hockey goalie suddenly needing equipment repairs when his team is getting besieged. Or untouched soccer players writhing on the ground in pain to get a stoppage—and to slow momentum built by the other side.

“As an offensive player, you always think guys are faking in that situation,” Eagles guard Kyle DeVan(notes) said. “But you don’t know for sure. You don’t know when guys are going to cramp up, so you have to be careful. The most important thing is players’ health. You would hope guys don’t do it, but it’s going to happen.”

It might be planned, too.

While calling it “real bush league”—no pun intended—Dolphins running back Reggie Bush(notes) said a coach “just designates a guy who fakes an injury. It’s usually not a captain of the team. It’s a guy who’s expendable.”

The NFL’s disciplinarians will be watching for that.

AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia and AP Sports Writers Richard Rosenblatt in New York, R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis, Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, N.J., Joseph White in Washington, Janie McCauley in San Francisco, David Ginsburg in Baltimore and Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this story.