Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

[birtikidis]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

He also did that crap all the time to qb's after a turn over. Sapp was a great player and he was nasty. He played within the rules, which partly were changed because of him. For him to say anything on this topic is ridiculous. When Sapp played the games, the rules weren't changed on a weekly basis.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Think about who Loudmouth is getting his paycheck from these days...NFL Network. So really, should there be any surprise about the opinion he is expressing?

[birtikidis]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Think about who Loudmouth is getting his paycheck from these days...NFL Network. So really, should there be any surprise about the opinion he is expressing?

yea, true. I'm not ripping him or anything. Like I said, he played in a league where the rules didn't change with each game. Hell of a luxury.
now if Rodney Harrison tried saying something...

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Think about who Loudmouth is getting his paycheck from these days...NFL Network. So really, should there be any surprise about the opinion he is expressing?

yea, true. I'm not ripping him or anything. Like I said, he played in a league where the rules didn't change with each game. Hell of a luxury.
now if Rodney Harrison tried saying something...

From last season:

[url]http://www.nesn.com/2010/10/rodney-harrison-offers-injury-solutions-after-a-career-of-big-hits.html[/url]

Rodney Harrison Becomes Ironic Critic of Violent NFL Hits
by Matt Flores on Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 1:06PM

Dear Rodney Harrison,

It’s always fun watching athletes make the awkward transition from player to in-studio analyst, and it's certainly been no different with you. You were once the biggest badass to step on the football field on Sundays; now you are speaking out against violence in the game?

On NBC’s Football Night in America, you spoke as "a player with over $300,000 in fines." You smirked when you said you put $50,000 aside before a season started, just for fines. Then you went on to offer solutions.

Do you really think the guy who just admitted to putting aside money to break the rules should have an impact on new safety rules?

You went on to say that players should be suspended instead of just the $5,000 fine, because the money doesn’t matter to them.

There was an overwhelmingly positive response to your comments the next day from the media, but one question remains: How would Harrison the player respond to Harrison the analyst?

I know you are now trying to say the politically correct thing, but don’t be a hypocrite.

When referring to your helmet-to-helmet collisions, you said they were "mostly an accident." You made a living by brutally smashing the opposition to pieces, and now that you are done, you think the game needs to be changed.

Several of these "accidents" led to you being voted the dirtiest player in the league by your peers in 2004 and 2006, and the coaches bestowed the dishonor on you in 2008.

You could make a case for yourself that you weren't a dirty player, that you were simply a hard-hitting safety who made players pay for coming over the middle. Still, the perception of you always said otherwise.

The NFL needs a clear stance on this issue because men are getting seriously injured every week.

The change of heart is appreciated, but no one believes it is sincere.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

from Deebo's blog:



jharrison9292L - my thoughts

What’s Really Going On?

May 26, 2011


It’s been weighing heavy on my mind all day, so I figure I might as well just let it out. I want to make it clear that I am all for player safety. I don’t disagree with all of the rule changes.

But come on…REALLY? Now you have to wait until a guy catches, or even worse, you have to let them catch the ball before you can even attempt to tackle him. Along with that, you cannot let any part of your helmet or facemask touch any part of them basically from the chest up. If you are following the letter of the rules exactly, now most tackles, if not ALL tackles can be flagged, fined and/or result in ejection from that game, or future game(s).

I understand the intent behind making the rules, but in their attempt to make the game safer, they are actually clouding what is allowable. Even the referees are confused. A close look will show you that the referees were calling things that were not even supposed to be called, and NOT calling things that were actually illegal.

The decision to call a penalty or impose a fine is seemingly, at least some of the time, dependent upon the uniform and the player. After my meeting this past fall with Roger Goodell, Ray Anderson, and Merton Hanks and some others, who I now have absolutely no respect for (to keep it PG), I definitely believe there is no equality in their enforcement of these rules.

These rules are targeting hard hitting players and defenses i.e. STEELERS. I guess the NFL needed a poster child for their campaign.

The quarterback rule clarification (Rule 12, Section 2, Article 13) is a great change. But that’s just saying “Hey Steelers..by the way…Ben’s nose getting broken last year really did not deserve a penalty.”

I know there are hits out there that could go either way, but if it’s me I already know which way they are going to go. I love this game, but I hate what they are trying to turn it into.

I wonder why the NFL is suddenly coming down so hard on player’s safety issues. I can’t help but think it’s not actually for the safety of the players.

[url="http://jharrison9292.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/whats-really-going-on/"]http://jharrison9292.wordpress.com/2011 ... -going-on/[/url]

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

from Deebo's blog:



jharrison9292L - my thoughts

What’s Really Going On?

May 26, 2011
...

I wonder why the NFL is suddenly coming down so hard on player’s safety issues. I can’t help but think it’s not actually for the safety of the players.

[url="http://jharrison9292.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/whats-really-going-on/"]http://jharrison9292.wordpress.com/2011 ... -going-on/[/url]

Yes, James (sir!), I believe you are correct - IMO the main reasons are:

1) "Your honor, it's not our fault they're all brain dead, we tried so hard to protect them ..." and,

2) "We have to tap that virgin demographic of cute little housewives who like to see big strong men running around, but don't really want to see big hits ... there's more of them than hard core old-time football fans, we can throw the latter under the bus to open the new revenue stream". Hello SD, Indy ... good bye Pittsburgh/Baltimore.

And ... not only have they neutered defenses built like ours, but they've neutered Ben - his comparative advantage was that he wouldn't go down where other QBs would. Now, since no QB is going to be tackled much (the penalty for a fine/ejection/etc. is too high, the hits will be namby-pamby at most), Ben's amazing elusiveness and complete-the-pass-while-being-pummeled skills will be irrelevant and of historical interest only. Kind of like some secretary who's the fastest in the city at taking shorthand. What's "shorthand"?? And what's a "secretary"?

[Oviedo]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Harrison just needs to shut up and quit the bitching. He is not helping himself or anyone else on the team. The problem has always been these rule changes are subjective to enforce so all he is doing is putting a target on his back and on his teamamtes.

The NFL officials are like anyone else and don't like to be embarassed. The system is designed for them to win and Harrison to lose, so get with the program no matter how stupid we think it is. Harrison is not helping. Sometimes keeping a low profile and letting these things die a death of their own are better and forcing it into the limelight and making it a issue.

[ikestops85]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Harrison just needs to shut up and quit the bitching. He is not helping himself or anyone else on the team. The problem has always been these rule changes are subjective to enforce so all he is doing is putting a target on his back and on his teamamtes.

The NFL officials are like anyone else and don't like to be embarassed. The system is designed for them to win and Harrison to lose, so get with the program no matter how stupid we think it is. Harrison is not helping. Sometimes keeping a low profile and letting these things die a death of their own are better and forcing it into the limelight and making it a issue.

I'm glad our forefathers didn't think like that. If they had we would still be having our afternoon tea.

I like that Harrison is standing up for what he thinks is right. More players should do that. The fans should also let their opinion be known. It's good for the NFL to have to justify their position. I think Harrison is pointing out that officials will be embarrassed because of the vagueness in the way the rules are written. In my opinion the NFL has dug themselves a very deep hole with this rule change and I think it will be modified within a year after they start playing football again.

and in keeping with my standard rant on this subject ... How in the hell can the NFL say it is interested in player safety and not mandate the use of safer equipment? Padding on top of equipment that has a very hard surface (i.e. helmets and shoulder pads) would take much of the shock out of the hit and be a lot safer for the players. Who cares if the players don't look 'cool' wearing it. Of course if they do that the teams would have to spend money instead of collecting it in the form of fines.

[Oviedo]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Harrison just needs to shut up and quit the bitching. He is not helping himself or anyone else on the team. The problem has always been these rule changes are subjective to enforce so all he is doing is putting a target on his back and on his teamamtes.

The NFL officials are like anyone else and don't like to be embarassed. The system is designed for them to win and Harrison to lose, so get with the program no matter how stupid we think it is. Harrison is not helping. Sometimes keeping a low profile and letting these things die a death of their own are better and forcing it into the limelight and making it a issue.

I'm glad our forefathers didn't think like that. If they had we would still be having our afternoon tea.

I like that Harrison is standing up for what he thinks is right. More players should do that. The fans should also let their opinion be known. It's good for the NFL to have to justify their position. I think Harrison is pointing out that officials will be embarrassed because of the vagueness in the way the rules are written. In my opinion the NFL has dug themselves a very deep hole with this rule change and I think it will be modified within a year after they start playing football again.

and in keeping with my standard rant on this subject ... How in the hell can the NFL say it is interested in player safety and not mandate the use of safer equipment? Padding on top of equipment that has a very hard surface (i.e. helmets and shoulder pads) would take much of the shock out of the hit and be a lot safer for the players. Who cares if the players don't look 'cool' wearing it. Of course if they do that the teams would have to spend money instead of collecting it in the form of fines.

OK

A football player wanting to take someone's head off without consequence and not wanting to adapt to rules is exactly like our forrfathers objecting to unfair taxation, the lack of voting rights and representation in government and the forced billeting of soldiers in private homes. I now see how they are exactly the same. Thanks for pointing that out so eloquently.

Perhaps Harrison should get all his buddies from the "not really a union" and seize NFL headquarters in a revolution. Problem is these rules are being emplaced to protect the other half of the players on offense so they may not participate and we will just brand them Tories or Loyalists.

There may even be some "traitors" on the defensive side of the ball like Ray Lewis, Clay Matthews and others who seem afraid to spout off and whine like James "Don Quixote" Harrison. We all know this only effects Harrison and no other player or team in the league. The reason it will effect him is because he won't keep his trap shut so he is daring them to do something. Not a smart team first approach.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Be happy, Harrison: NFL crackdown backs Steelers' 'nasty' rep

By Vic Carucci NFL.com
Senior Columnist
May 26, 2011


If I'm James Harrison or any other defensive player on the Pittsburgh Steelers, I'm not complaining about the fact the NFL is singling out me or my team for the flagrant hits we deliver.

I'm embracing it.

Hey, guys, the NFL has gone as far as to establish legislation -- calling for teams to be fined for players' repeated rule-breaking hits -- that for all practical purposes bears your name. And when anyone mentions the "Steelers rule," the first word that comes to mind is "nasty."

You don't just think about the ultra-aggressive manner in which Pittsburgh's defenders play. You think about the way they're coached. You picture coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator D!ck LeBeau encouraging a playing style that puts a premium on intimidation -- so much so that the league now is holding them directly responsible for when their players draw flags and fines on multiple occasions.

This isn't meant to condone illegal or dangerous contact, such as the helmet-to-helmet variety. It's merely pointing out that, for as long as there has been football, there have been players and teams that have benefitted from having certain reputations. Invariably, badder is better.

That's why Harrison had it all wrong with this Twitter posting: "I'm absolutely sure now after this last rule change that the people making the rules at the NFL are idiots." What he should have posted was: "Thank you!"

Harrison's teammate and fellow linebacker, LaMarr Woodley, seemed to better grasp the opportunity at hand with this tweet: "Thoughts on 'the steelers rule'??? lol I'm sorry that I'm not sorry we hit 2 hard."

If I'm these guys, I'm milking that outlaw reputation for all that it's worth, because it could be worth a lot. It just might prove to be the deciding factor in a victory, providing that critical edge at the most critical time of a game.

Think about it. Thanks to the league's obsession with reining in the Steelers' defense, opposing offenses have something extra to consider before the game even begins: Is it safe to wander into a particular part of the field? To reach up for a pass and expose too much of the body? To hang in the pocket for that extra second or two?

When opposing players are thinking too much about the consequences of their actions, they're less likely to make the plays they're supposed to make. It's like adding a 12th man to what already ranks as one of the best defenses in the NFL.

[url="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82001b2f/article/be-happy-harrison-nfl-crackdown-backs-steelers-nasty-rep"]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8 ... -nasty-rep[/url]

[AngryAsian]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Be happy, Harrison: NFL crackdown backs Steelers' 'nasty' rep

By Vic Carucci NFL.com
Senior Columnist
May 26, 2011


If I'm James Harrison or any other defensive player on the Pittsburgh Steelers, I'm not complaining about the fact the NFL is singling out me or my team for the flagrant hits we deliver.

I'm embracing it.

Hey, guys, the NFL has gone as far as to establish legislation -- calling for teams to be fined for players' repeated rule-breaking hits -- that for all practical purposes bears your name. And when anyone mentions the "Steelers rule," the first word that comes to mind is "nasty."

You don't just think about the ultra-aggressive manner in which Pittsburgh's defenders play. You think about the way they're coached. You picture coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator D!ck LeBeau encouraging a playing style that puts a premium on intimidation -- so much so that the league now is holding them directly responsible for when their players draw flags and fines on multiple occasions.

This isn't meant to condone illegal or dangerous contact, such as the helmet-to-helmet variety. It's merely pointing out that, for as long as there has been football, there have been players and teams that have benefitted from having certain reputations. Invariably, badder is better.

That's why Harrison had it all wrong with this Twitter posting: "I'm absolutely sure now after this last rule change that the people making the rules at the NFL are idiots." What he should have posted was: "Thank you!"

Harrison's teammate and fellow linebacker, LaMarr Woodley, seemed to better grasp the opportunity at hand with this tweet: "Thoughts on 'the steelers rule'??? lol I'm sorry that I'm not sorry we hit 2 hard."

If I'm these guys, I'm milking that outlaw reputation for all that it's worth, because it could be worth a lot. It just might prove to be the deciding factor in a victory, providing that critical edge at the most critical time of a game.

Think about it. Thanks to the league's obsession with reining in the Steelers' defense, opposing offenses have something extra to consider before the game even begins: Is it safe to wander into a particular part of the field? To reach up for a pass and expose too much of the body? To hang in the pocket for that extra second or two?

When opposing players are thinking too much about the consequences of their actions, they're less likely to make the plays they're supposed to make. It's like adding a 12th man to what already ranks as one of the best defenses in the NFL.

[url="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82001b2f/article/be-happy-harrison-nfl-crackdown-backs-steelers-nasty-rep"]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8 ... -nasty-rep[/url]

Sounds pretty logical to me.

[Oviedo]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Be happy, Harrison: NFL crackdown backs Steelers' 'nasty' rep

By Vic Carucci NFL.com
Senior Columnist
May 26, 2011


If I'm James Harrison or any other defensive player on the Pittsburgh Steelers, I'm not complaining about the fact the NFL is singling out me or my team for the flagrant hits we deliver.

I'm embracing it.

Hey, guys, the NFL has gone as far as to establish legislation -- calling for teams to be fined for players' repeated rule-breaking hits -- that for all practical purposes bears your name. And when anyone mentions the "Steelers rule," the first word that comes to mind is "nasty."

You don't just think about the ultra-aggressive manner in which Pittsburgh's defenders play. You think about the way they're coached. You picture coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator D!ck LeBeau encouraging a playing style that puts a premium on intimidation -- so much so that the league now is holding them directly responsible for when their players draw flags and fines on multiple occasions.

This isn't meant to condone illegal or dangerous contact, such as the helmet-to-helmet variety. It's merely pointing out that, for as long as there has been football, there have been players and teams that have benefitted from having certain reputations. Invariably, badder is better.

That's why Harrison had it all wrong with this Twitter posting: "I'm absolutely sure now after this last rule change that the people making the rules at the NFL are idiots." What he should have posted was: "Thank you!"

Harrison's teammate and fellow linebacker, LaMarr Woodley, seemed to better grasp the opportunity at hand with this tweet: "Thoughts on 'the steelers rule'??? lol I'm sorry that I'm not sorry we hit 2 hard."

If I'm these guys, I'm milking that outlaw reputation for all that it's worth, because it could be worth a lot. It just might prove to be the deciding factor in a victory, providing that critical edge at the most critical time of a game.

Think about it. Thanks to the league's obsession with reining in the Steelers' defense, opposing offenses have something extra to consider before the game even begins: Is it safe to wander into a particular part of the field? To reach up for a pass and expose too much of the body? To hang in the pocket for that extra second or two?

When opposing players are thinking too much about the consequences of their actions, they're less likely to make the plays they're supposed to make. It's like adding a 12th man to what already ranks as one of the best defenses in the NFL.

[url="http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82001b2f/article/be-happy-harrison-nfl-crackdown-backs-steelers-nasty-rep"]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8 ... -nasty-rep[/url]

Sounds pretty logical to me.

Also means that a player can take a "dive" or overly dramatize a hit and they have a better chance of getting a penalty flag thrown.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Also means that a player can take a "dive" or overly dramatize a hit and they have a better chance of getting a penalty flag thrown.

pretty soon the NFL will be like that other "futbol" game...

[Captain Lemming]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Harrison just needs to shut up and quit the bitching. He is not helping himself or anyone else on the team. The problem has always been these rule changes are subjective to enforce so all he is doing is putting a target on his back and on his teamamtes.

The NFL officials are like anyone else and don't like to be embarassed. The system is designed for them to win and Harrison to lose, so get with the program no matter how stupid we think it is. Harrison is not helping. Sometimes keeping a low profile and letting these things die a death of their own are better and forcing it into the limelight and making it a issue.

The most money post in this thread.

When Harrison said he wasn't going to change his play after the FIRST fine HE put himself in the bulls-eye. Some calls were definitely questionable contest them fine, but the constant whining is a war he cannot win.

[feltdizz]

Re: Starkey: James Harrison should quit complaining

Umpire Joe West, the president of the World Umpires Association who was feet away from the impact that sidelined Posey, assures it's only part of the game -- "just as much as apple pie."

"I can't tell you I would change anything, It's one of those things that's part of baseball, just as much as apple pie. You can't change the rules because it's been that way forever."

West said a key part of the play had been missed in the aftermath.

"What they're failing to look at is that (Posey) dropped the ball before the guy got there," West said. "That's why he was in a vulnerable position. That's why he was trying to find the ball. If he had caught the ball, he could have got his hands up and he could have defended himself. He could have absorbed the blow with both arms and his glove.

"It's like a receiver going over the middle in football. If he bobbles the ball a couple of times, the linebacker is going to kill him."

Maybe the NFL needs to be more like the MLB afterall...