Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

[_SteeL_CurtaiN_]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

I still say this league needs competition with another league...I'm starting to really hate the NFL...Bunch of pansies.....

I've been saying this for about 2 years felix. I am watching less and less of the sport I love because stuff like this really gets to me. Yes, it's true, I shouldn't let it, but it does and I am slowly, gradually losing interest in the game. James Harrison sHould be hailed as one of THE premier linebackers of the last several years. All the great ones before him made their mark doing what he is doing: Playing so ferociously that oppponents actually give up and quit. Not literally of course, but players on the field know when it happens. When an opposing player just wants no part of THAT action and are just punching the clock so to speak. We've heard the sports cliche "Imposing one's will on the opposition". See "James Harrison" for example "A". Nobody in the league thinks he is dirty but Goodell has a campaign to make James the poster boy for..i dunno....EVIL?...in the NFL. Though from everyone else James gets praise and accolades. So yes, Mark Cuban,...SOMEBODY!...ANYBODY! ...start another league and bring it back to what we all love. Tackle Football!

Well said and well said! WHen a player like Ray F'IN Lweis is glorified as the best middle linebacker of all time and James Harrison is the criminal element of the NFL, that's just wrong. Jack Tatum would be in prision if he played football today. It's a sport akin to boxing you know the risk don't you? The NFL is just protecting it's ar$e legally because they didn't care about this stuff until recentley. The players of the past are the ones that suffered and paid the price.

The players of today know what game they are playing and make enormous amounts of money to play it. These are men making grown men decisions, I can only think that the NFL is really out to stop the Steelers anyway they can. Goddell's press release before the super bowl IMO really f'ed with Ben's head. I think he was insecure and very sensitive to how his teamates perceive him. I think that has changed. Suspending Harrision would only throw gasoline on the fire and escalate the decline of the NFL.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

I ask again - does the appeal process allow the player to play until a final determination is made?

Not entirely sure, but I believe they can hear the appeal very quickly like they did with Suh.

Yeah, the appeal would be heard before Monday's game.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

Furthermore, the rulebook safeguards every player, regardless of position, from helmet-to-helmet hits.

No it doesn't, jackass...take the time to learn the rules to the game that you cover, Madden you moron. If you really thought this was true, then where is the outrage over the helmet-to-helmet hit from Gocong-on-Mendenhall at the goal line? There is no outrage about that hit because it is deemed by the NFL to be a legal helmet-to-helmet hit, since a ballcarrier advancing the ball is not protected under the "defenseless player" umbrella. Harrison is arguing that, because McCoy left the pocket and was running toward the line of scrimmage (for a good 5-6 paces) with the ball tucked under his arm as a runner, that McCoy was no longer a quarterback in a defenseless position...he was not just another runner in the open field. Harrison was already locked in and engaged when McCoy threw the ball away at the last second in a panic. Harrison's hit on McCoy was no different than Gocong's hit on Mendenhall, except that McCoy wears a jersey number in the teens while Mendenhall wears a jersey number in the thirties...both guys absolutely obliterated an opposing player that they considered to be a runner (not defenseless). That will be the crux of Harrison's appeal (should a suspension come down tomorrow).

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

Thanks, Philly Esq, and Ruth ... a short appeal period didn't occur to me.

I wonder, if he gets suspended, whether he could hire a lawyer and get an injunction, show that the rule was being applied capriciously, even within the same game (hit on Mendy; also the other team's QB, Ben, was being tackled below the knees but that wasn't penalized).

Ruth, it is friggin' mind-blowing that a supposed "expert" in his field, like Madden, doesn't even know as much as I do about NFL rules ... that he believes that all H2H hits are illegal.

In what profession besides "sports writing" would such ignorance in your field not be punished by termination??

[sd steel]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

Thanks, Philly Esq, and Ruth ... a short appeal period didn't occur to me.

I wonder, if he gets suspended, whether he could hire a lawyer and get an injunction, show that the rule was being applied capriciously, even within the same game (hit on Mendy; also the other team's QB, Ben, was being tackled below the knees but that wasn't penalized).

Ruth, it is friggin' mind-blowing that a supposed "expert" in his field, like Madden, doesn't even know as much as I do about NFL rules ... that he believes that all H2H hits are illegal.

In what profession besides "sports writing" would such ignorance in your field not be punished by termination??

Madden doesn't believe what he is writing, he is just trying to create more controversy. The more controversial he can be the more people will read and listen to him waiting to hear what he is going to say next....It's the old Howard Stern formula. People who loved Howard listened for 2 hours a day, people who hated him listened for 3. He's just trying to get a rise.

[Slapstick]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

Even Peter King doesn't think Harrison should be suspended...

I was in the car last night listening to the MNF pregame, and King said exactly that...

James Harrison should not be suspended, but he should be fined. I've watched his scary helmet-to-helmet hit on Colt McCoy 15 times now, and I've listened to his defense. Which is this, basically: Once McCoy tucked the ball under his right arm and began to run, and left the pocket, McCoy appeared to be a runner, and thus could be hit in the helmet by a tackler. (Crazy rule, that runners can be hit helmet-to-helmet in the open field and quarterbacks can't be if they exhibition any intention of passing.)

McCoy, by my count, took five strides with the ball tucked under his arm, and when he and Harrison were about one stride apart, McCoy quickly pulled out the ball and tossed it to a receiver for a completion. I agree with what Harrison said postgame -- when he was coiling to hit McCoy, the quarterback appeared to be a runner.

But the NFL rule does not refer to time when talking about hits on a quarterback. In other words, the rule doesn't say if a quarterback looks to be a runner and at the last second throws a pass, and then is hit in the helmet, it's perfectly legal. The rule simply says you cannot hit a quarterback helmet-to-helmet. And in this case, Harrison clearly had the chance to make his aiming point lower. He could have hit McCoy shoulder pads to ribs, but he chose to aim higher than that. McCoy didn't curl up either.

So while I do not blame Harrison for thinking McCoy was a runner, and I believe it is wholly unfair to indict him for this hit as a cheap shot, I do blame him for where he aimed and where he hit him. There was no need to aim for the helmet. None. The play should result in a good-sized fine -- but it does not rise to the Suh-stomping level of a suspension, even with Harrison's history of NFL fines and discipline.


Read more: [url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/12/12/Week14/index.html#ixzz1gQDMh6jY"]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1gQDMh6jY[/url]

[flippy]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

Madden brings up an interesting point in that if Goodell suspends Harrison, he'll be the focal point in the MNF game instead of the game.

Does Goodell want to do that given the matchup?

I still hope the tee off Harrison with a huge fine. I want to see him when he's mad. But a suspension could take away from one of the better potential matchups on MNF. And Roger has to protect the shield. And the fans want a game. With Harrison.

[ikestops85]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

Even Peter King doesn't think Harrison should be suspended...

I was in the car last night listening to the MNF pregame, and King said exactly that...

James Harrison should not be suspended, but he should be fined. I've watched his scary helmet-to-helmet hit on Colt McCoy 15 times now, and I've listened to his defense. Which is this, basically: Once McCoy tucked the ball under his right arm and began to run, and left the pocket, McCoy appeared to be a runner, and thus could be hit in the helmet by a tackler. (Crazy rule, that runners can be hit helmet-to-helmet in the open field and quarterbacks can't be if they exhibition any intention of passing.)

McCoy, by my count, took five strides with the ball tucked under his arm, and when he and Harrison were about one stride apart, McCoy quickly pulled out the ball and tossed it to a receiver for a completion. I agree with what Harrison said postgame -- when he was coiling to hit McCoy, the quarterback appeared to be a runner.

But the NFL rule does not refer to time when talking about hits on a quarterback. In other words, the rule doesn't say if a quarterback looks to be a runner and at the last second throws a pass, and then is hit in the helmet, it's perfectly legal. The rule simply says you cannot hit a quarterback helmet-to-helmet. And in this case, Harrison clearly had the chance to make his aiming point lower. He could have hit McCoy shoulder pads to ribs, but he chose to aim higher than that. McCoy didn't curl up either.

So while I do not blame Harrison for thinking McCoy was a runner, and I believe it is wholly unfair to indict him for this hit as a cheap shot, I do blame him for where he aimed and where he hit him. There was no need to aim for the helmet. None. The play should result in a good-sized fine -- but it does not rise to the Suh-stomping level of a suspension, even with Harrison's history of NFL fines and discipline.


Read more: [url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/12/12/Week14/index.html#ixzz1gQDMh6jY"]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1gQDMh6jY[/url]

I agree wholeheartedly with Peter King. There was no reason for James to hit McCoy that high but McCoy was also acting like a runner and not a QB. In defense of James I think this was his first offense. All of the other hits he was fined for last year were bogus.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

The sense in Pittsburgh and around the league is that the NFL will wind up suspending Steelers LB James Harrison on Tuesday morning.

This is the quote from his twitter account. It does not say "inside sources" or "per a league source", it pretty much says that a bunch of people think that he will be suspended. Maybe the people on morning radio, fan message boards etc.......but in no way does it indicate that anyone in the league office has made a decision.

Schefter is the "inside source." he doesn't float garbage info. I hope he's wrong but he's usually dead on.

Schefter was wrong earlier this year concerning Harrison. He tweeted that Harrison would be fined after the Baltimore game week 9.

IMO any sports writer who communicates via twitter is more interested in being first to a story than being right. I'm not saying that JH will not be suspended, but I will not take a tweet as proof that he is going to be.

[Oviedo]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

Furthermore, the rulebook safeguards every player, regardless of position, from helmet-to-helmet hits.

No it doesn't, jackass...take the time to learn the rules to the game that you cover, Madden you moron. If you really thought this was true, then where is the outrage over the helmet-to-helmet hit from Gocong-on-Mendenhall at the goal line? There is no outrage about that hit because it is deemed by the NFL to be a legal helmet-to-helmet hit, since a ballcarrier advancing the ball is not protected under the "defenseless player" umbrella. Harrison is arguing that, because McCoy left the pocket and was running toward the line of scrimmage (for a good 5-6 paces) with the ball tucked under his arm as a runner, that McCoy was no longer a quarterback in a defenseless position...he was not just another runner in the open field. Harrison was already locked in and engaged when McCoy threw the ball away at the last second in a panic. Harrison's hit on McCoy was no different than Gocong's hit on Mendenhall, except that McCoy wears a jersey number in the teens while Mendenhall wears a jersey number in the thirties...both guys absolutely obliterated an opposing player that they considered to be a runner (not defenseless). That will be the crux of Harrison's appeal (should a suspension come down tomorrow).

Totally correct!!! If there is a suspension it will be because it was james harrison who did it. His hit was no different than the dozens that RB endures every single game.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

just came down.

1 game.

total BS.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

just came down.

1 game.

total BS.

I would hire a lawyer, get an injunction, and sue the NFL for blocking his right to make a living. The rule is vague, the enforcement is capricious - from what I've read, that's a combination likely to result in reversal.

[SteelBucks]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

just came down.

1 game.

total BS.

I'm sure Harrison will appeal and the league will uphold the suspension.

I'm getting sick and tired of this "New NFL".

[phillyesq]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

just came down.

1 game.

total BS.

Complete and total BS.

How is James Harrison suspended for this but Ray Lewis was not suspended for a clearly dirty hit on Hines Ward?

[JAR]

Re: Schefter says Harrison suspension coming Tuesday

1 game, total BS, looks like they're trying to prevent a Steelers SB appearance.