I would agree in some cases, in some you can avoid, these guys are incredible athletes, Burfict could have avoided that.
Not to defend Jones, but Porter had the same kind of rep when he was playing, and even the CBS commentators alluded to his still being a trash talker. With that in mind, what was he even doing on the field? Is he the WR's coach? I doubt it; he was a linebacker. And don't the Steelers have training and medical staff to take care of injured players? Porter had no business being out there, and Jones, who is one of the biggest idiots in the league, got himself baited.
Marvin Lewis can't survive this. He has had so many chances in Cincinnati and he can't control his team.
we don't know what the process is for injured players. You could argue they thought Brown was seriously hurt and we're trying to attend to Brown. Maybe this is an opportunity for the NFL to take a look at who they allow on the field when an injury occurs. It is funny though, Porter wins another game for the Steelers.
So, do you think they should change the way the rule is written or interpreted? I don't. It's not about intent, or whether you did, or didn't, have time to change direction. There are facemask penalties where the guy is just reaching for anything, and "could not avoid" grabbing it. It's still a penalty, inadvertent or not. It's about being taught to not "Ronnie Lott" somebody. It became part of the teaching, part of a defenders goal to take somebody out. The problem is that they let it go on so long before actually making rules against it. Targeting became part of game in the 80s, and they are just getting around to actually trying to correct it 30 years later, and people/fans complain that it's part of the pussification of America kinda stuff. That's BS. It's needs to be called. They do need to be consistent about it, but it is much easier for any of us to see it when we are watching focused camera shots, and replay after replay. People complain they don't let them play, and then complain they are not consistent w/targeting calls. I'm not in the conspiracy crowd who thinks its just the stars who are protected. I think the refs are certainly taught to be more "sensitive" to QBs and WRs, because they are more vulnerable targets, so the refs are more on guard for them, and probably miss other ones. They need to get better at catching all of them. The hit on Bernard was missed, period, end of story.
McCrybaby sucked last night, they weren't going anywhere with him at QB. Overall it was a dirty game won by the team that had better self control. Definitely gave the NFL a black eye in what is supposed to be the biggest part of the season.
I agree and since I don't watch NFL I was wondering how much of this was something tolerated with that guy.
When I say it's only the stars that are protected. That's not a conspiracy theory. That's a fact. Quarterbacks and wide receivers are the bread winners, these rules are only designed to protect them. Meanwhile running backs, linemen, and linebackers are the ones who are more likely to suffer from CTE. Explain to me why the NFL won't back this new head trauma research? They flat out said its because the head of it was critical of the league. They withheld information on concussions, and they didn't change their tune until they realized they were getting sued. It's a joke dude. Only 2 things matter to Goodell, image and money.
