That was pleasing. I liked that the Bengals were largely in control of themselves enough to keep the game from turning into a prison-yard fight, and I liked that the Steelers were able to stay on the high road those couple times when the Bengals did still try to go extracurricular.
The win was nice too, of course.
Now that I’m calmed down, I’ll say that it was quite a thrilling game. Pittsburgh dominated aside from the two drives when they just decided that they were OK with letting the Bengals score. The one right before the half was simply stupid Prevent, which should be banned by all teams to protect the sanity of the fans.
Then the Bengals fell asleep on Ben, which nobody should ever do. I didn’t expect the touchdown, but I thought the field goal try was likely.
Can the NFL PLEASE ban Burfict? He caught three different heads today, and it was clearly deliberate. He is going to kill somebody sooner or later. There’s no way he doesn’t get fined for this performance. First was the hit on McDonald, then the leaning in shoulder-to-helmet hit on Brown, and last was the helmet-to-helmet hit on Conner. He’s never going to change, and the NFL has to come to grips with that. The game he wants to play doesn’t exist anymore.
The OBJ Effect.
And congrats to the Steelers for the win, and to both teams for a clean game. If they meet again postseason let’s see if they manage to behave like professionals again like this game.
Dude, you’re the fucking lunatic for thinking that about Burfict when so many players of yours have trodden through the Hall Of Dirty Play (Ward, Harrison, Mitchell, Shazier, etc). It’s highly ironic. If Vontaze had been on your team all this time you’d be crying when he was flagged because it would be considered “Good Stiller Futbawl”. You got lucky. Enjoy it. We still are in charge of the division for now.
I hope the NFL squashes this bizarre narrative that Shazier is some kind of hero because he walked after breaking his own fucking neck because he was headhunting rather than wrapping up. I simply cannot believe that Stealer fans fail the objectivity test on this.
Also:
That defensive holding call on Dre Kirkpatrick was very suspect, and kept your TD winning drive alive when it otherwise would have been 4th and 10.
And, that Legohead TD was a pick play and should have been flagged and brought back and not a TD.
The rules state thusly: ARTICLE 4. OTHER PROHIBITED ACTS BY THE OFFENSE
Blocking more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage by an offensive player prior to a pass being thrown is offensive pass interference. See 8-3-1 for exception for an ineligible offensive player.
***Note: It is also pass interference by the offense to block a defender beyond the line while the pass is in the air, if the block occurs in the vicinity of the player to whom the pass is thrown. See 8-3-1-Note for exception for ineligible players.
Not so. No matter how often you say this.
Yet the league, and talking heads on ALL networks agree it was a good no call (including Tony Dungy & Rodney Harrison on NBC, two folks known for defense). There was no penalty. Just the Bungles doing what they do best. Bungling. 
Anywho, bye week time. Hopefully the Steelers come out on the other side and are able to impose their will against the Brownies.
I love this argument. Your guys were dirty so you can’t talk about my guy.
The game has changed. Every time there’s been a dirty hit I’ve acknowledged it as such under the rules of the time. NFL Films is littered with hits that wouldn’t pass muster today. And that’s what we’re talking about, today. Under today’s rules Burfict is dirty as hell and no, I wouldn’t want him on the Steelers because he’s hurt his own team repeatedly, so why would I want him to hurt mine? He just came back from a suspension and I bet he gets another one. He can’t learn. Even Harrison learned.
He didn’t break his neck, and he wasn’t trying to headhunt, unless the head is located in the abdomen. It wasn’t good tackling, to be sure, but nobody deserves to be paralyzed over it. I find it disturbing that the overwhelming consensus from Bengals fans is that he deserved to be paralyzed. Now, of course, comes your denial, but your indifference is plain to see in your comments. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody, which is what a rational, normal person feels, not indifference and contempt.
Burfict is out of control. Sooner or later the NFL will have to deal with him or explain why they didn’t when he finally, irreparably wrecks someone. Your inability to admit that speaks volumes.
Ryan Shazier is a “hero” because he’s a decent guy who’s going managing to overcome a major setback.
The NFL has said that the play was not a penalty because the defender initiated the contact. FWIIW.
As a Steelers fan, I though Kirkpatrick sodomized Antonio Brown and that was a good call. I thought we got away with a pick play on the TD.
But the whole league doesn’t agree.
Marvin Lewis on Al Riveron saying defender initiated contact: “In my opinion that’s not true. The receiver is more than a yard inside the line of scrimmage, Tony (McRae) tries to slide inside and is contacted. That defines pass interference, OPI. Unless it’s called it doesn’t matter.”
Terry McAulay, former NFL official and now league rules expert for NBC Sports: Terry McAulay
@SNFRules
My thoughts on Pit/Cin TD: The defender is sliding over to cover AB and puts his hands up to protect himself from contact. The offensive player squares up and engages/blocks the defender. Contact clearly occurs more than a yard beyond the line. This should be a foul.
There are others. Ultimately the game is over and there’s no going back now and I just need to deal with it. The Bengals share a huge amount of blame for losing the game…like gaining a whopping FOUR yards in the entirety of the third quarter, not going for it on 4th and one in Steelers territory on their opening drive of the second half, not running Mixon more period (only 11 carries) and specifically on that final drive to help eat some of that clock and force Pittsburgh to call timeouts (Marvin Lewis’ wonderful clock management skills on display yet again), Dalton not running the play clock down on their final drive to take the lead, zero pressure on Rothlisberger (although some of that was a lot of uncalled holding by the Steelers o-line), etc, etc, etc.
Now hold on a second. I never said “you can’t talk about my guy”. I said essentially that I believe that the majority of Steelers fans would embrace Burfict and his aggressive (and yes, sometimes dirty) play if he was on your team. The forearm shiver to Brown in the game was a dirty play, and just stupid. Burfict is stupid for not learning how to play within the confines of the current rules.
I agree that Shazier (or anyone) doesn’t deserve what he got. But he did it to himself. And he’s the same guy that knocked Giovanni Bernard out by planting the ctown of his helmet into Bernard’s earhole, giving him a major concussion.
I do not wish injuries on anyone. I also don’t think that Burfict is out of control, he’s just an idiot that happens to be the most talented LB on the Bengals roster (which admittedly isn’t saying much). Heck, we’re the walking wounded after that game. Nick Vigil is out for a month or more, Shawn Williams is in concussion protocol and we have a host of other injuries to key players.
I guess my issue with the whole thing is that a “hero” is someone risking their life to save someone else’s and that the label of “hero” is often misapplied. I apologize if I came off sounding anything other than that.
Yeah, whatever.
“Not everyone agrees!” First cite, Bengals coach :rolleyes:
Contact was initiated less than a yard from the line of scrimmage, no matter what Marvin says. OPI is for blocks initiated WHILE the ball is in the air. Since McRae and Hunter were already engaged before the pass was even thrown, that’s another unicorn call. McRae ran into Hunter. Done. Attempting to claim otherwise would be to argue every receiver commits OPI when attempting to beat press coverage.
Seriously? Jeez. Just because we don’t like each other’s teams doesn’t allow for handwaving away evidence that’s contrary to your opinion.
Who cares if the first cite is from Lewis? Second cite is from a long term career NFL ref. Contact was NOT initiated by the defender, it was initiated by Hunter, and it WAS beyond a yard off the LOS. And no, the ball doesn’t have to be in the air for it to be a penalty. It’s an either/or situation.
It does for pass interference, which is what he said. Contact before a pass can be a penalty, but it’s for things like illegal use of hands, illegal contact, holding, etc.
Then I have no idea what play you were watching, because it’s not the one where Brown beat the Bengals because of shit defensive playcalling.
Ladies, please! Both your franchises have a long and shitty history of employing shitbag players who attempt to injure and murder the opposition. Here’s an issue of common ground on which you could bond, rather than following the lead of your franchises and attempting to injure the other side.
He’s right though. I remember how often Hines Ward hitting someone in the back of the head after the whistle blew when the player was clearly done with the play and not looking was jizzed on by the commentators about being GOOD HARD STILLERS FOOTBALL THAT HINES WARD SURE KNOWS HOW TO PLAY THE GAME. Yes, Hines Ward was tough and played tough. Yes, he was dirty as fuck and tried to hurt people who weren’t looking even away from the play of after the play. Yes, no one could tell the difference and praised all of it.
I don’t even want to get into Harrison. That dude is a fucking terminator that feels no human feelings except for the joy of inflicting suffering on others.
Bengals players are also dirty as fuck, but I haven’t seen them or the third party announcers embrace it the way trying to murder people is GOOD HARD STILLERS FOOTBALL.
So I guess if I had to sum it up I guess… fuck all yall.
Another year, a new thread, and more whining about Hines Ward hits. I’m having deja vu. You guys know his last year of playing was 2011 right?
And that James Harrison is also retired. And that he had no penalties for the Steelers in 2017, and two offsides penalties in 2016. If we go back to 2015 he did indeed have 2 or 3 more severe penalties. Maybe we should open the 2015 thread to discuss…
Burfict gonna Burfict. Be proud Cincy, he’s your best linebacker. Nothing like a nice clean forearm to the head while a receiver is on the way to the ground.