JOHNSON, FINNEGAN PUNISHMENTS NOT HARSH ENOUGH
By mark rogers
November 30, 2010
I don't think I'm ready to go so far as to say that Andre Johnson's actions were justified. But I certainly understand why he did what he did. In fact, I would have done the exact same thing were I Andre Johnson in that situation.
Cortland Finnegan is a punk by all definitions of the word and deserved the "Nolan Ryan/Robin Venture-esque" haymaker he received on the top of his punkish head.
The NFL fined both players $25K for their brawl during a dead ball on Sunday afternoon. Neither player was suspended.
It's also important to note that Johnson and Finnegan weren't playing checkers either. They're playing an extremely intense, high-pressure job that is full of testosterone (some natural, some unnatural), adrenaline, machismo, pride, revenge, and intensity. They're playing a game which will, every now and then, cause someone (or a group of someones) to explode and go ape crazy (Boise State/Oregon 2009, Pacers/Pistons 2004, Rockets/Blazers 1977, Miami/Florida International 2006).
I'm not going to say what I think the punishment should have been (for the same reason I don't like to call for a coaches job...it's not how I earn my living and there are other people way smarter than me on this). But I will say that there has been recent precedent we should remember at this time.
James Harrison, Brandon Meriweather, and Dunta Robinson were just fined a collective $175K for their helmet-to-helmet hits a few weeks ago. That's an average of $58K a man for things they did IN BETWEEN the whistle...during a play.
Were the hits nasty looking? Yes.
Can those kinds of hits lead to long-term brain damage? Yes.
Do I think that players should be fined for those types of hits? Didn't use to, but as a dad now? Yes.
But we have to remember, these are big, fast, incredibly athletic football players who have been trained to do one thing since they were four years old...hit the other guy as hard as you can. That's the nature of the game.
It will be hard to change that nature into one where ball-hawking safeties "let up" on receivers and backs coming across the middle. A nature where 6'6", 290 pound, lightning fast defensive ends start trying to avoid contact with the quarterback instead of ripping their heads off - or, to use a better visual, putting the QB in a sack and beating them (which is where the term "sack" originally came from).
So you get three guys that make viscous (formerly legal) hits during the play, and they get fined nearly a quarter of a million dollars.
Then you get two guys who rip each other's helmets off and start going at it like Ron Artest at a West Virginia victory parade...after the whistle...and they get fined $25K each. A proverbial slap on the wrist.
Lets also remember that a good, solid punch to the noggin' can have just as much impact as a helmet-to-helmet hit, if not more so. Especially a punch from Dre Johnson (or any NFL football player). Have you looked at the size of their arms? I'd rather jump out of my second story office window into a pit of broken glass than to take one from ANY player in the NFL. Well, except for maybe Chris Boniol, I could probably take him if he wasn't ready for me.
Oh, but they do that stuff all the time in the NHL. True. But that's the NHL. That's a culture that the league has allowed to flourish and actually encourages.
That's not the NFL. Never has been. Never will be. Unless Ron Artest becomes the next commissioner.
All that to say, I completely understand why Johnson did what he did. I was actually amused by it and thought Finnegan deserved a worse beating for his cumulative actions.
But I believe the league should have come down a little harder on an ugly incident that was so far removed from the culture and perception of "class" that the NFL has worked so hard to attain.
Previous Entry:
« GARRETT COULD PROVE HIS WORTH
Next Entry:
BATTLE WITH THE BEAST »
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below.