Silverback suspended 1 game

[steelerfaninCO]

It's official... 1 game suspension for Harrison. I guess he is appealing.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7348112/pittsburgh-steelers-james-harrison-banned-1-game-hit-cleveland-browns-colt-mccoy

...kinda bogus. But not totally unexpected.

[Finnegans Wake]

I thought he might get 2, given how much of a cunt Goodell is.

He ain't winning the appeal, BTW.  It's fixed.

[scballersc]

For a legal hit, at that.  I fully expect the suspension will not be overturned on appeal to the players association or whoever the hell reviews appeals these days.   

First, Harrison hit McCoy as a running back.  There is no such thing as a hit on a “defenseless” running back.  That rule strictly applies to WRs and QBs in some capacity.  To be sure, it is entirely unclear when it applies to QBs.  But I offer you this; there is not a more “defenseful” position in football than running towards the line of scrimmage in the open field with your head up.  In fucking fact, a QB is afforded the special option of SLIDING, at which point he cannot be hit.  McCoy pussy footed toward the line of scrimmage and he got punished as he should have.

There is no such thing as a helmet to helmet hit on a running back, a WR, a QB, or anyone else with their head up and eyes directed at the player hitting them.  If this were the case, every single football play would result in a penalty, fine, and suspension.  Also, riddle me this…Why is Harrison playing with a visor these days?  That’s right, he took a helmet to helmet shot that fractured his orbital bone.  There was no flag, no fine, and clearly no suspension.

Second, Harrison is playing in real time.  Assuming Goodell even stepped foot on a football field, he was clearly only playing at half speed.  Otherwise, the only playing he has ever done is via replay (this point also applies to the refs that penalize these players).  Harrison hit a moving target that presumably could have side-stepped, dove, slid, OR LOWERED HIS GODDAMN HEAD INTO HARRISON’S CHEST AND/OR HELMET.  And at that, Harrison cannot go for the legs because QBS, based on some equally fucked up logic, probably get protection there as well despite the fact that they are outside the pocket moving up field.  Yet Harrison is supposed to make a perfect form tackle.

Third (and this one really agitates me), we have the NFL talking about player safety like they have been a zealot of it in the past.  And then there is ESPN talking about how egregious these hits are…Are you shitting me?  NFL Live’s “Jacked up segment” and NFL Films “Greatest Hits” have been rolling in the $ FOR YEARS.  But now they are suspending players for these type of hits.  And at the same time, the NFL does not require its players to wear full padding (knee pads, etc.) and it does not require them to use state of the art helmets.  Not to mention the lack of retirement benefits, etc. etc.  The NFL has lost its mind and Goodell is its finest piss-ant.

[aj_law]

Solid, solid stuff, scballer.  Very well put.

With your permission, I'd like to plagiarize the shit out of that whenever the need arises.  Thanks.

[jonzr]

Solid, solid stuff, scballer.  Very well put.

Indeed, great post.

@jharrison9292 on twitter

[VaBchSteelersfan]

CALL THE NFL TO SHARE YOUR DISGUST ABOUT KICKING OUT HARRISON FOR HIS HARD HITS... 212-450-2000...
ASK TO COMMENT ABOUT THE INEQUALITY OF RULE ENFORCEMENT!!!

Let's flood their phone lines with as many complaints as we can, this is horse shit.
I HATE God-ell.

(PS: Be nice to the person that answers the phone, she's probably having a rough afternoon!)

[Finnegans Wake]

I'll ditto those sentiments, scballer.  Nail on the fucking head.

[VaBchSteelersfan]

Solid, solid stuff, scballer.  Very well put.

With your permission, I'd like to plagiarize the shit out of that whenever the need arises.  Thanks.

Same here, might be a FB post on Steel Blood of Hampton Roads if you're OK with that.

[scballersc]

Feel free to use it.  This is all maddening and I've been brewing about this for what, a year now?

[pensodyssey]

I'd add just one more thing-- the Harrison suspension is being played off by the NFL and the national media (who I think are terrified of having their credentials revoked and hence will not directly or indirectly criticize anything that Herr Goodell does) as a 'repeat offender' issue, largely based on the Massaquoi hit from last year.

But the Massaquoi hit was equally disputable and arbitrarily adjudged to have been illegal as well!  This is exactly the kind of unthinking and vapid adherence to status quo that pervades not only NFL but also the larger national culture.