Pittsburgh is getting so ridiculously lucky in overtime. The way this is going I’d almost be happy with a tie.
Painful. There was a lot to like in that game and just as much to dislike.
Ramon Foster is playing really well at Right Guard, unfortunately there’s still a huge weak spot at the Tackles. Flozell Adams has his moments but gives up on way too many plays; Scott, on the other side, seems to have the heart but not the skill. Both guys are way too slow.
Heath Miller had a great day in pass protection. I’d rather see him catching some touchdowns though.
You forgot Chris Kemoeatu doing his matador routine or holding for all he was worth when he wasn’t.
Pittsburgh got lucky beyond words in that game, and to think that it all started with the helmet-to-helmet nonsense on Harrison. I can’t wait to see the penalty that Maximum Roger hangs on him.
Oh yeah. I did totally forget about Kemoeatu. Have to give it to Kyle Williams. The highest compliment I can bestow is that I’d love to see him in Black & Gold.
Here’s the “helmet-to-helmet” hit.
What nonsense. He didn’t drive into his head, he hit the guy right in the chest, what’s above the chest? Anybody?
It seems like every time he hits a guy he gets flagged. It really does. It’s been a running joke with us Steelers fans for a few weeks, but there’s more than a little truth in the joke.
Played it back in slow motion. Looked to me like Harrison’s helmet hit Fitzpatrick square in the chest.
You’re not allowed to lead with your head against the QB. It’s a stupid rule, but it’s not a new rule. The penalty would have been called on anyone.
Yeah. In truth I’m more upset with how the third quarter played out than with anything else. This type of football will win against Buffalo one time out of ten (because I think Johnson catches that pass the next nine times) but won’t get you through the playoffs.
On the bright side, this game would have been a loss last year. Plus, all the top teams have fluky wins as well. I bet Polamalu gets fined too for the hit in OT. I think Goodell is a disaster. He doesn’t understand the speed of the game. These referees are clueless and it’s becoming glaringly obvious that they apply a different set of rules to different players.
I think it’s actually a new interpretation of what “leading with your head” is. I don’t recall ever in my lifetime thinking that planting your face mask into someone’s chest was anything remotely like leading with your head. That used to exclusively mean striking someone with the crown of your helmet.
I’m actually not sure that the penalty would be called against anyone. I’m not arguing that Harrison is the only one getting these kind of bad calls and unjustifiable fines against him. There have been a rash of them made that should sicken any fan of football.
On the other hand, after watching the game against the Raiders last week, he does seem to have been put into a different class when such judgments are made. How many players would get the “falling with his full body weight” personal foul call against them?
Terrel Suggs and Haloti Ngata have been penalized (and in Ngata’s case fined) for the same thing.
As for Harrison, of course he gets a closer look from the officials, and he’s the one who made that happen. If he’d just shut up after his $75,000 fine - even while he was appealing it - he wouldn’t have nearly the focus from the officials that he gets now. But he threw a hissy fit about not knowing whether he could play by the rules. When somebody says they can’t play by the rules, the people in charge of enforcing the rules are going to watch him a little more closely than everyone else, and it’s stupid to think otherwise. He painted that target on himself.
Flagging the hit by Suggs is a horrific abomination. That one should be tacked up as a perfect example of this shit getting out of hand. We need to recall our ambassador to Ireland so that he can come back and put the NFL right once again!
As a Bengals fan, I completely agree. I thought the penalty on Suggs was total horseshit then, and I think its total horseshit now. Of course, during the game, I was all “Well, that’s a BS call…but I guess I’ll take it!”.
Similarly, Donovan McNabb will be fined $75,000 every time an NFL game ends in a tie.
This week’s James Harrison fine: $25,000.
What for? Get this:
OH NOES! Anything but that! How dare he tackle the quarterback on a free shot because Buffalo’s line completely ignored him! Now it’s not even about legal hits or getting there in time, it’s about how hard someone gets hit.
Put red on the quarterback. You can no longer touch him. That is, if you’re James Harrison.
It seems rather amazing that despite all the emphasis that is being placed on player safety that only one player seems to be having continual problems with it.
It must be the league’s fault. It must be.
It is amazing that the NFL continues to single out one player every single weekend, and it just happens to be the one player that publicly spoke out about the lunacy behind the new undefined “rules”.
What’s even more amazing is that the iron hand of the NFL’s commissioner is powerful enough to enforce a separate set of rules for one individual in such a transparent manner.
Going forward, Harrison should just get real close to quarterbacks and yell “Boo!”. Actually, I take that back. He’d probably get flagged for taunting.
It should be only if one is easily amazed.
Recall that the Commissioner made a specific and public point about James Harrison not hitting someone on a particular play. You’d have to be a fool to not recognize that they are quite literally and specifically scrutinizing James Harrison.
Do you guys realize how much you sound like Diogenes when he goes off on the refs picking on the Vikings? It’s almost enough to drive one to be a Browns fan…
I actually loved the Steelers. I dreamed of playing like Lynn Swann, with Rocky Bleiers mustache, and getting a Coke from Mean Joe Green. Sure they’re not the Packers, but the Packer and Steelers rarely played each other, so the Steelers were my runner up. To this day, I remain a huge fan of the Rooney family, and how they’ve built that team.
And then I talked to Steeler fans. …