Steelers refuse to shake Bengals Vontaze Burfict's hand

[SteelCrazy]

According DKPittsburghSports.com, the Steelers refused to shake Burfict's hand at game's end, hours after the Bengals' linebacker crossed the Steelers' side of the field while starting a skirmish between the two teams during pregame.

Here's what DKPittsburghSports.com's had to say about what transpired between Burfict and the Steelers following Sunday's decisive win by the Black and Gold:


"Burfict left the game in the fourth quarter with concussion symptoms, but he was back on the Cincinnati sideline for Landry Jones‘ closing kneel. And apparently having discovered his sportsmanlike side in the interim, he strolled onto the field afterward looking to shake hands with the opponents. Only no one obliged. One after the other, the Steelers refused, even as they shook every other hand extended their way.

"Visibly exasperated, Burfict then trotted over to Tomlin. Maybe the head coach would be an exception. Nope. The Steelers weren’t talking much about that, other than one player who blurted out a rather nasty word generally associated with one’s hindquarters. Good for them."

Throughout the week, the Steelers showed peerless maturity. They refused to be goaded into saying anything controversial about the Bengals during last week's practices, and watched as Burfict made his way into their side of the field during pregame. As they said they would, the Steelers did their talking on the field, and did it in a big way, as Pittsburgh beat the Bengals in all phases of the game while keeping their AFC North title hopes alive.

[url]http://pit.247sports.com/Bolt/Steelers-refuse-to-shake-Bengals-Vontaze-Burficts-hand-42018440[/url]

[Moonie]

Boiiii got painted!

[RuthlessBurgher]

Roethlisberger: I don’t buy Burfict was pushed into my legs
Posted by Josh Alper on December 15, 2015, 12:47 PM EST

Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and the Steelers weren’t likely to be exchanging best wishes for the holiday season heading into last Sunday’s game and there’s no way that they’ll be going that route now.


Burfict got in a scuffle with Steelers players before the game over comments that Steelers linebacker Vince Williams made about going after Burfict if he saw him off the field after a hit by Burfict led to running back Le’Veon Bell’s season-ending injury. During the game, things remained chippy and Burfict raised more ire from the Steelers for hitting Ben Roethlisberger low just after Roethlisberger threw a pass.


No flag was called and Roethlisberger said Tuesday that Burfict told him on the field “my bad” and that he had been pushed into Roethlisberger’s legs after Roethlisberger asked an official about who hit him low. Roethlisberger said a “friend and former teammate” sent him a video — former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch posted one on Twitter — of the play after the game and said that he doesn’t buy Burfict’s explanation.


“I don’t buy that he was pushed,” Roethlisberger said on KDKA, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He definitely was diving in low and going for my legs. It’s tough. I am just glad I didn’t get hurt.”


Based on a look at the All-22 film of the play, if Burfict was pushed it was by his teammate Carlos Dunlap but it does look like Burfict was already low and preparing to dive at Roethlisberger if the contact hadn’t occurred. No penalty was called on the play.


On Monday, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he spoke to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin about the pregame scuffle and other extracurricular activities during the game.


“Well, its disappointing for us as a football team,” Lewis said. I think neither side wants that. That’s not the way it should be. I know our team understands it. I talked to Mike today, and his team understands it. I think we both feel good about things. It’s unfortunate that it happened. Mike’s addressed it, and we’ve addressed it.”


Depending on how both teams fare in the next three weeks, the Steelers and Bengals could meet again in the playoffs in a matchup with even more on the line than there was last Sunday.

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/12/15/roethlisberger-i-dont-buy-burfict-was-pushed-into-my-legs/[/URL]

[Oviedo]

Roethlisberger: I don’t buy Burfict was pushed into my legs
Posted by Josh Alper on December 15, 2015, 12:47 PM EST

Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and the Steelers weren’t likely to be exchanging best wishes for the holiday season heading into last Sunday’s game and there’s no way that they’ll be going that route now.


Burfict got in a scuffle with Steelers players before the game over comments that Steelers linebacker Vince Williams made about going after Burfict if he saw him off the field after a hit by Burfict led to running back Le’Veon Bell’s season-ending injury. During the game, things remained chippy and Burfict raised more ire from the Steelers for hitting Ben Roethlisberger low just after Roethlisberger threw a pass.


No flag was called and Roethlisberger said Tuesday that Burfict told him on the field “my bad” and that he had been pushed into Roethlisberger’s legs after Roethlisberger asked an official about who hit him low. Roethlisberger said a “friend and former teammate” sent him a video — former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch posted one on Twitter — of the play after the game and said that he doesn’t buy Burfict’s explanation.


“I don’t buy that he was pushed,” Roethlisberger said on KDKA, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “He definitely was diving in low and going for my legs. It’s tough. I am just glad I didn’t get hurt.”


Based on a look at the All-22 film of the play, if Burfict was pushed it was by his teammate Carlos Dunlap but it does look like Burfict was already low and preparing to dive at Roethlisberger if the contact hadn’t occurred. No penalty was called on the play.


On Monday, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he spoke to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin about the pregame scuffle and other extracurricular activities during the game.


“Well, its disappointing for us as a football team,” Lewis said. I think neither side wants that. That’s not the way it should be. I know our team understands it. I talked to Mike today, and his team understands it. I think we both feel good about things. It’s unfortunate that it happened. Mike’s addressed it, and we’ve addressed it.”


Depending on how both teams fare in the next three weeks, the Steelers and Bengals could meet again in the playoffs in a matchup with even more on the line than there was last Sunday.

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/12/15/roethlisberger-i-dont-buy-burfict-was-pushed-into-my-legs/[/URL]

Pushed my you know what. Ben was killing them and tried to take him out and make it look like an accident

[Slapstick]

Anybody who shook Burfict's hand after the game would have been chop blocked from behind...

[squidkid]

props to tomlin for not shaking his hand. hopefully he told burfict to **** off

[flippy]

Is this Shake-gate?

[Shoe]

Is this Shake-gate?

No. Doesn't involve those cheating *'s. Guys like Burfict do add spice to rivalries though. I can't say I hate him as much or more than Suggs, Killer, or even Housh or Lendale... but it does add spice.

[RobinCole]

And I read yesterday that Burfict will not be fined for anything that occurred last Sunday, including the pregame incitement. Surely that article was mistaken. They wouldn't just let that go...would they?

[SteelCrazy]

And I read yesterday that Burfict will not be fined for anything that occurred last Sunday, including the pregame incitement. Surely that article was mistaken. They wouldn't just let that go...would they?

They have to let it go because they didn't fine Vince W.

[Sword]

I re-watched it several times... Burfict is a dirty player and should have had the flag and fined by the NFL....

[url]http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25414726/ben-roethlisberger-vontaze-burfict-intentionally-dove-at-my-legs[/url]

[RuthlessBurgher]

Vontaze Burfict: I hate Pittsburgh


Posted by Josh Alper on January 7, 2016, 8:35 AM EST

Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and the Steelers have gotten under one another’s skin this season.

Burfict’s celebration of a hit that injured Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell in the first meeting of the year between the teams drew the ire of the Steelers. Their reaction, including threats on social media, rankled the Bengals, leading to a pregame scrap between the teams last month and a low hit by Burfict on Ben Roethlisberger kept the temperature high after that game was over.


Based on Burfict’s response to questions about facing the Steelers to open the playoffs on Wednesday, it hasn’t gone down in the intervening weeks.


“I hate Pittsburgh,” Burfict said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “It’s not personal. That’s just the way it is.”


Burfict’s teammates like the fire that Burfict has brought to the defense since his return from a knee injury in November and his performance in Week 17 — 12 tackles and an interception — is a reminder of what he brings to the table. Linebacker Rey Maualuga wants to see Burfict focused on that part of the game on Saturday and not on the kind of battles that led to $138,000 in fines the last time the two teams faced off.


“Obviously, emotions are going to be flying around because it’s a playoff game,” Maualuga said. “Obviously, we have to tone things down. We’re not going to create a personal foul to hurt the team. Sometimes, stuff happens because we let our emotions get the best of us. We can’t lose our composure.”


Saturday night’s game promises to be a physical one between two teams that know each other well. That may improve the chances of a costly personal foul and Maualuga’s warning about keeping composure is one that both teams should probably take to heart.


[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/07/vontaze-burfict-i-hate-pittsburgh/[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

Vontaze Burfict fails to get a rise out of his hated Steelers

Posted by Darin Gantt on January 8, 2016, 6:46 AM EST


Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict said this week he hated Pittsburgh.


The Steelers chose not to continue the fight, responding with love, or at least a shrug.


“That’s bad because we are such great guys over here,” Steelers guard Ramon Foster said, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I honestly don’t know why they hate us. I don’t know. Maybe it is something personal, but it is just a game.”


No Ramon, it’s the playoffs, when blood lust causes temperatures to rise to a boil and men destroy one another, . . . oh wait, that’s right, it is just a game.


“If that’s the way he feels, that’s the way he feels,” Steelers tight end Heath Miller said. “We know he is going to be ready to play not because he hates Pittsburgh but because this is the playoffs and he’s trying to get to the next round like we are.”


Frankly, a more civilized discourse is refreshing, considering the way the two sides bantered back and forth when they met last in the regular season, with social media sniping and $147,000 in fines after a pregame scuffle and a chippy game.


So perhaps this time, we’ll just get to enjoy a good game between two quality teams.


And then maybe a big group hug.


[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/08/vontaze-burfict-fails-to-get-a-rise-out-of-his-hated-steelers/[/URL]