Harrison’s hit on McCoy could fall into gray area of rulebook

solardave wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

solardave wrote:

And that's really all I'm saying. I know the game is faster and there is less time to react. It takes a split second to say to yourself ah shit he got rid of it so I better lower my angle. Can it be done every time? NO!!! But Harrison doesn't seem to care if it can or not. I don't know if he can lesson his impact.It's one thing to want to be a player that is feared, another to want to do permanent damage and lately he looks like (I did say looks like) that's what he's trying to do. And I absolutely agree the rules favor offense (except where Ben is concerned they constantly look the other way).
I loved watching our D in the 70's. Joe Greene saying "from now on NO one gets past the 50 yard line!!!" Hell that was great. The thing about "old" Steelers is they don't disappear after they retire. They blend into the community and maybe this is the one area (namely head hunting) that needs to be taken seriously.

I beg to differ that Harrison looks like he doesn't care or wants to do permanent damage. I've noticed a significant change in his hits this year as opposed to last. He has been trying to comply with the new rules. On several occasions I've seen him consciously lead with his shoulder or pull up at times that he wouldn't have previously. He's trying. As has been stated, though, when a QB leaves the pocket and crosses the line of scrimmage as a runner, he loses the no helmet-to-helmet protection. It certainly looked like McCoy was running with it and James anticipated him crossing the line as a runner, but Colt saw it at the last millisecond and pulled up.

I agree with the penalty being called on a technicality, but the thought of a fine or suspension and calls of Harrison being a dirty player taking a cheap shot are ridiculous. He couldn't have avoided what was set in motion and, by the letter of the rules and what Harrison anticipated, he would have been delivering a legal hit if McCoy wouldn't have pulled up and thrown at the last second.

It's true that Harrison wants to deliver devastating hits and play hard hitting football, but I think it's unfair to call him dirty or say he doesn't care if he does permanent damage. If he didn't care, then why did he go over to McCoy out of bounds when he returned and appear to ask if he was OK and/or say he was sorry?

I'm not saying he's dirty. I don't think that. I just thought he used poor judgement on this particular play. I've seen him pull up a few times this year but let's face it. He under the magnifying glass and proably will be as long as Dickhead reigns. I also believe if the Steelers waived him today and he signed with Cleveland he'd probably be left alone. I don't believe it's Harrison. He's an agressive old school LB playing for the team he hates the most.

I wasn't really saying you thought he was dirty, but that he's accused of it by the media and others. Sorry if it came out wrong. I know one thing we agree on. Goodell IS a dickhead.

solardave wrote:

You're right about RBs and it seems that guys like Heath or Hines don't get calls either. If you're a tough guy you get treated different or maybe it's just if you're a Steeler and your tough you get no-calls a lot. How many times is Ben hit late and there's no call.

I don't know what the answer is but isn't Riddell the helmet the NFL uses? They are running an add campaign right now about bigger,faster,stronger.....Safer. It makes me wonder why they haven't approached the Chiropractor and cut a deal to impliment the Shock strips in their so-called safety. I mean 38% can not be ignored. Well, factor in the Douchebag Goodell and they can look anywhere they want.

Here's another idea. Take the fine money, hire an independent company to work on making safer equipment. Tell Nike and Reebok if they want their contracts to fall in line with what this company suggests. Show the players and the fans they really do care.

Next change the helmet to helmet rule. Make it similar to roughing/running into the kicker. Roughing being clear intent that draws a fine but running into does not. 5 yards for running into and 15 for roughing.

There are a lot of things that bother me about the lip service being paid to "player safety." But what bothers me the most is the hypocrisy. They'll fine and suspend players like Harrison to supposedly make the game safer, but they're not applying the same rules to all the players. While Harrison will get fined and possibly suspended, the Browns player who hit Mendy didn't even get a flag. The hit on Colt and the hit on Mendy were very similar (helmet to the facemask). And if the NFL really cared about player safety, those kind of hits would be illegal against running backs as well. You mentioned Mike Webster in an earlier post. Under the current rules, he wouldn't be any more protected from head injuries today than he was when he played.

I really do hate Goodell.