I am aware there is always trash talk in the NFL, but this just strikes me as stupid as all hell:
“His time will come,” Scott said ominously, still remembering how he barely avoided Ward’s crack-back block earlier this year and was mocked by Ward for ducking. “He’ll get his. He’ll come across the middle one day and someone will hit him or take out his knee. The guy will be fined and Ward will be gone. No one will even care. No one will send him any cards saying they’re sorry. Not to that guy. You reap what you sow.”
***On the same day in Baltimore, Ravens receiver Derrick Mason implied Ward best watch himself because Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis would be looking for him.
Solid thinking, Ed. First, they aren’t going to intimidate him, and nothing the Steelers say is going to intimidate the Ravens. These guys get so amped up that this nonsense is nothing but food for the press and the fans. Second, now that Ed has put this out there, you can be sure that should something happen to Ward, there will be retaliation. Third, should something happen to Ward, particularly in the manner described, the NFL would be forced to take action. Personally, I support a lifetime ban of premeditated intentional injuries like this, and that is even if the Steelers are the ones who do it.
I understand the need to trash talk, but this just sort of seems stupid.
Just Some Fuckhead
I actually prefer the violence and trash talking. I want to know my folks are doing whatever it takes to win.
scruncher
I’m half afraid to watch the game. I hate the Ravens and after that hit last week I’m ready to be sickened.
different church-lady
OK, the juxtaposition of those last two posts is just too irony-drenched for my coffee-addled brain to describe in proper glory.
https://balloon-juice.com/?p=15835#comment-1126840
The Grand Panjandrum
Football players really are a bunch of whiny ass pansies. Jesus H. Christ they even have to wear all those pads and headgear so they won’t get too many owies. Why can’t they be real men and not wear pads like the athletes in the WWE.
sgwhiteinfla
First off its hard to determine intent on the football field unless its blatantly obvious. And the truth is a scenario like the one Scott describes would be almost impossible for someone to do on purpose full speed during a game. The truth also is historically offensive players have intentionally harmed defensive players a LOT more than the other way around because there are plays when an offensive guy knows he isn’t a critical component and can just look for knockout hits. A defensive guy always has to be looking to make a play on the ball though.
Now having said that lets not forget that Scott has a personal thing going with Hines Ward ever since Hines cold cocked him with a blind side block which is what he is known for. If you take away his quote the other from Derrick Mason is just typical trash talking and he doesn’t even play defense. The Scott quote will probably get him fined no matter what but he has been calling for retribution on Hines Ward for some time now. I believe earlier in the season talk of a "bounty" was bandied about too.
scruncher
@different church-lady:
Just Some Fuckhead is the anti-scruncher and I’m OK with that.
John Cole
@different church-lady: I swear I did not see your comment before my post.
And I think it is pretty clear I am kidding, whereas Bart Scott seems serious.
different church-lady
@ scruncher and Just Some Fuckhead:
No no, I meant John’s last two blog posts, not the last two comments on this page.
@ John
But you do see the obvious irony here, yes?
bayville
Looking forward to an all Pa. Super Bowl.
scruncher
@different church-lady:
I realized it after John posted. I didn’t click through before. Too much for my Sunday-morning brain too.
Brien Jackson
As somebody who played a fair amount of football, I have a very strong distaste for head hunting. I understand that a lot of fans think it’s "part of the game" or whatever, but when you’re actually standing on the field and realize how little you can see at any one time, it gives you a new appreciation for how much your personal well being is in the hands of the guys on the other team, and vice versa.
That said, there are a few exceptions to the rule, mostly based on the fact that they’re incredibly dirty player. Tony Siragusa and Rodney Harrison have always been on that list, and Hines Ward rounds it out. He’s quite simply a dirty, cheap player who is trying to hurt guys because he’s a cheap little punk. As that no-name porn star infamously put it, "he’s more Korean than black." (Forgive the stereotyping). So if somebody breaks his neck, meh.
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: Stay classy, Brien.
@different church-lady: Other than the fact that I was clearly not serious, and Scott is, sure. If I had said “kick him in the junk” would that have cleared things up?
Brien Jackson
You gotta be classy to get any back, and Ward ain’t that. He’s infamous for deliberately seeking out guys who aren’t looking away from the play and hitting them in the back. In other words, he’s a cheap shot artist who’s trying to hurt people. I don’t see how anybody has room to complain about guys trying to hurt him. And I say the same thing, as a Colts fan, about Tony Siragusa, who’s easily one of my least favorite players of all time. I mean, he could have killed Rich Gannon in that 2000 AFC Championship Game. So I wouldn’t really blame an offensive guard for cut blocking him and breaking his leg. You don’t get to be dirty and then cry about people trying to hurt you. That’d be like George Bush complaining somebody wasn’t smart enough for their job.
passerby
I love good trash talk but this is thuggish. I my view, great trash talk is more at bragging about bringing it on the field, not perpetrating violence.
Yes, smashmouth football is what it is, but remarks like these reflect a thuggish demeanor. Poor sportsmanship.
p.s. Go Cards!
different church-lady
@ John: you’re taking this too seriously.
I know you were using a figure of speech, and the Steelers could actually carry it out — but by god, having those two appear back-to-back was irony gold. Pot, kettle, all that all that.
Any rate, keep up the good work. I admire your journey away from ideology towards common sense, and hope you’ll be just as cutting towards the dems if they go off their rockers.
The Tim Channel
Folks say stupid stuff when they’re amped up on "Roids.
Enjoy.
sgwhiteinfla
Brien,
I was with you until you added that totally over the top comment. How exactly in the hell was he going to kill Gannon by tackling him hard ON HIS SHOULDER? Give me a break. And besides that Offensive Linemen are the most notorious culprits when it comes to being cowards and cutting Defensive Lineman out of their line of sight and chop blocking to purposely injure their opponent to the point where they actually had to change the damn rules about them doing it. And it STILL doesn’t get called. So for you to justify them taking somebody’s knee out to me is ridiculous.
John Cole
Shorter Brien Jackson- I hate cheap shot artists, but I am cool if someone is paralyzed or killed with a cheap shot because I have decided they have it coming.
Brien Jackson
Watch the film sometime and look at what Siragusa is trying to do. He’s got his knee up and he’s clearly trying to drive it into Gannon’s midsection. It ain’t hard to imagine a lot of internal injuries coming about from having 350+ driven into your ribs with that force. Gannon hurts his shoulder because he rolls to the side to protect his gut, and takes the force of the hit on his shoulder.
And I agree that offensive lineman, lots of them anyway, are very dirty. Same for defensive lineman. There’s nothing more guffaw-inducing than watching a defensive tackle dive at a QB’s plant knee and then claim they weren’t trying to hurt them. But that doesn’t really erase my sentiment; you can’t cry about other people being dirty when you’re out there trying to hurt people.
Punchy
The fact that you’re bringing it up strikes me that you’re scared as hell. :)
Thanx for the football thread. Love da ovah in the Cards game; Warner in a dome in the playoffs and he’ll chuck for 4-gunge. Parlay that with Flacco and Friends to keep it close enough for Stover to pop a 48-yarder to win it.
Black bird versus red bird in SB. Bird racism.
Brien Jackson
Yeah, sort of. Call it deterence. The football equivalent to MAD.
I mean, in a perfect world I’d prefer the NFL kick guys like Hines Ward out of the league or something, but that ain’t going to happen so you’ve got to self enforce.
passerby
@Punchy:
Ha! funny
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: Kick him out for what? Blocking? Which hits should have him kicked out of the league?
Better yet, which hits justify the death sentence or being paralyzed? Have fun with that.
Brien Jackson
Are you actually telling me Ward isn’t infamous for blindsiding guys away from the play? Actively looking for guys with their back turned on the far side to take a whack at? Really?
Bondo
Well, as someone who watched the Colorado Avs-Vancouver Canucks game where Todd Bertuzzi ended Steve Moore’s career as alleged retribution (for a perfectly clean hit), I think it is hard to take these kind of threats too seriously, even if most of them are not intended beyond trash talk. Bertuzzi is still playing hockey, Moore isn’t. Bertuzzi should be in jail. The laws still apply when you put on that jersey, or at least I thought they did.
Football is a violent enough game as intended, big guys flying at pace at each other and all, it simply cannot have people going around prioritizing injury over effective play. That goes for Ward as much as anyone else. At the end of the day, it is just a game, it isn’t life or death.
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: I’m not telling you anything. I am asking you to tell me what hits should get Ward kicked out of the league (surely they are so egregious there must be a youtube of them), and then, when you are done, explain to me which hits justify a death sentence or being paralyzed for the rest of his life. You are the one who said if someone intentionally broke his neck you would be “Meh,” so all I am doing is asking you which hits deserve a death sentence. Clearly you feel strongly enough about it, so you have to have at least one in mind.
Marked Hoosier
An all Pennsylvania Super Bowl? I am sure that is the sign of the apocalypse…
Go Cards and Ratbirds…
Brien Jackson
Here’s about as good a shot as any of Ward clearly leading with his helmet and going at the defender’s head:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QGKlluCU0o&feature=related
And I mean, the guys been fined how many times in the last 3 years for his hits? I can think of at least 4 off the top of my head. Granted he only got fined 1/5 as much as what he would’ve gotten fined for pointing out how obviously bad NFL officials are, but that’s another anti-NFL story.
Dork
@Brien Jackson: Honestly, I had no idea that Ward was a cheap shot artist. Is this common knowledge?
Jim
@Brien Jackson
I can’t think of a single hit by Ward where he hits someone in the back, on the far side of the field.
The hit where he broke the LBs jaw in Cinn this season, face to face (obviously) with the LB running to make the tackle, towards Ward, you’re supposed to hit guys trying to tackle your teammate.
The Reed hit, Reed running towards a Steeler to make a tackle, the Scott duck/miss, Scott running to make a tackle.
Ward hit everyone of those guys from the front, otherwise they’re be a flag for a block in the back. None of those plays was flagged.
Brien Jackson
And that hit on Reed is what led to Reed’s neck injury. The guy’s walking around in constant pain until he has surgery on it, but he’s putting the surgery off because it will leave his neck too fragile to play football. But he’s also playing at increased risk for a significant neck injury.
So call me a karma freak or something, but save me the crocodile tears over Hines Ward. I mean, you don’t earn a league wide reputation for being a dirty player for nothing.
Scotty
The Cards in the Super Bowl… truly a sign of the apocalypse.
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: That is it? You tell me Hines does nothing but run around and cheap shot people in the back, and then post a link to a youtube of Hines hitting someone HEAD ON?
Brien Jackson
@30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbLNFiQSTyE
Every one, other than the Rivers hit, is dirty.
And even on the Rivers hit, Ward is clearly proud of the fact that he injured the guy.
@34
What are the odds of finding away from the play video? Television cameras tend to, ya know, follow the play.
John Cole
No, but you can get a reputation when people run around and make accusations about you being a dirty player and don’t back it up. Right now, it just looks to me that Bart Scott and Ray Lewis are a little upset about getting as good as they give.
And I am still waiting for all these mythical hits in the back, as well as the hits you think deserve kicking him out of the league, as well as the hit he made that you think would justify killing Hines Ward or paralyzing him for life. Get back to me with that, would ya?
Brien Jackson
On the Reed hit, Ward clearly leads with his head and goes helmet-to-helmet.
On the Scott hit, the Steeler ball carrier is running out of bounds. If someone would have hit him (the guy with the ball, they’d hae been flagged for 15 yards.
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: Everyone of those hits is dirty?
Do you even watch the NFL? Are we talking about the same sport?
Brien Jackson
John, I love ya, but you’re homering. I mean, I don’t see you wringing your hands over a blatant helmet-to-helmet shot that caused a serious, long term, injury to Ed Reed.
And yeah, except for the Rivers hit, all of those are ditry. He got fined for at least the late hit on the Browns LB, the hit on Scott is late, and he leads with his helmet, and goes for the defenders head, on the other two.
John Cole
Brien- Still waiting for the hit that justifies the death penalty.
And you play to the damned whistle. You can claim a hit is cheap because someone was running out of bounds (no one in the history of the NFL has acted like they are running out of bands and cut back! TRUE STORY!), but it was a fair and legal hit. The hit that broke the fellows jaw was shoulder to shoulder and legal.
Seriously, do you even watch kick off coverage? The hits you are calling all blatant cheap shots HAPPEN EVERY SINGLE PLAY.
sgwhiteinfla
Brien Jackson
One day I want you to get one of your buds and go to a park or just your front yard. Tell your friend to try to block you while you attempt to make pass rush moves. Then give yourself something soft like a an old comforter or blanket then to fall on and try to dive with any kind of accuracy onto that soft surface. Then you will see how uninformed you and many other people are when they say Defensive Linemen go after Quarterbacks knees.
When you have a damn near 400 pound guy hanging off of you while you are pass rushing you don’t have a chance in hell of actually being able to control your body enough to aim at somebody’s knee. Besides that I don’t know if you realize this but the NFL has basically now given Defensive players a strike zone. That means you basically can only hit a QB from above his knee to below his shoulders. So imagine trying to be a human baseball with some fat sweaty asshole pushing you around.
Now when it comes to the skill guys hitting each other in the open field when nobody is blocking them or engaged with them then yeah you might be able to aim at someone’s knee or head to injure them on purpose. But the big guys in the trenches don’t deserve most of the criticism they get when they hit a QB low.
eric
Here is the deal: ward is trying to hurt players. Whether the play "looks" dirty, his intent is to hurt. I have watched enough football to see that.
John, you like the team so you call him tough. He plays a position that when a guy touches him five yards off the line, it is a penalty. He nails guys that are getting hit and hitting every play, that is the disconnect. Sure, there are the five or so plays going across the middle. QBs and WRs are the most protected players on the field. That is why guys don’t like him when he seeks out hard hits.
We could could have a moment in the Super Bowl when Ward and Brian Dawkins cheap shot each other.
good times
sgwhiteinfla
John Cole
I have to say this just for some clarification. Just because a hit is legal, doesn’t mean its not cheap. Offensive Linemen clean up guys around the pile all the time and if the whistle hasn’t blown they usually get away with it. Legal? Yes. Cheap? Hell Yes. And while I love the way Hines Ward plays the game most of the time and I would definitely have him on my team anyway, there is no dispute that he has taken some cheap shots. Most of them legal but cheap nonetheless.
Bob In Pacifica
A little off topic, but is it just me that wants to see Boy Buck fall into the business end of some dangerous farm machinery?
Brien Jackson
1. I’d say the Reed hit is pretty obviously the worst. It’s blatantly head-to-head, and it seriously injured reed. And again, all due, I don’t see you bemoaning that.
2. ?If Bart Scott hits that runner, he’s getting flagged.
3. ?I said the Rivers hit was clean. But at the same time, Hines is mighty proud of himself. So yeah, you’re homering.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s
John.
I’m sorry but I can’t agree with you.
I’m more worried about a tasseled nipple popping out at some point in the show.
I’m on full-alert.
sgwhiteinfla
BTW
You won’t find many cheap shots by Ward or any other NFL player on youtube because the NFL is maniacal about protecting their image and they put copyright claims into youtube on a weekly basis, especially when it comes to a controversial play. Thats not an opinion, if you don’t believe me try to put any NFL players name in a youtube search with the words dirty or cheap including but not limited to Rodney Harrison.
John Cole
@eric: There is a difference between wanting to hurt someone in football and wanting to injure someone. I would argue the entire Steelers team wants to “hurt” the other team. I would argue they have always played that way, other than some of the Tommy Maddox teams. The entire point of the run is to physically punish the opposition, both opening up the passing game and physically dominating them so they are beaten, bruised, and exhausted.
I don’t doubt, and in fact cheer, the fact that Hines wants to hit hard and “hurt” the other team. I don’t think he wants to “injure” them though. I never see him going for people’s knees, eye gouging, face masking, or things of that. Maybe you all don’t see the difference, but I do.
And this has nothing to do with being a homer. You can go through the archives- there have been plenty of BS calls against the opposing team where someone was accused of roughing or what not and I have said I think it is nonsense, even though it helps the Steelers.
Ward plays hard and tough, and he plays to the whistle.
Brien Jackson
Whoa, I don’t think they all do it. I don’t, for example, think the guy who took Brady out was trying to hurt him. But obviously it does happen (Jared Allen), and that’s right up there with cut blocking, IMO.
Punchy
Christ on a hovercraft, people. Who gives a shit if Ward’s a cheap shot guy? Worthlessberger is too dumb to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, Palamalou (sp?) too lazy to seek out a barber, Willie Parker clearly an adult still going by the name "Willie", and Flacco about to make their life hell. So Pitty’s got many more probs than just Hines and his shitty-ass rep.
Besides, its game on for the Birds v. Birds.
Go…….points!
Just Some Fuckhead
Hines Ward is definitely a cheap shot artist, but as I indicated before, I don’t really have a problem with the violence. Everyone that plays knows what can happen, what to expect. Plus Hines Ward is a hardworking player and a playmaker.
John Cole
And I am still waiting for the hit you think justifies Ward being killed or paralyzed. It must have been a doozy to deserve the punishment and “self-enforcement” you think needs to be meted out.
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: I think the Broncos teams of a few years back were the worst in memory.
Brien Jackson
How many times do I have to say "Ed Reed?"
Brien Jackson
Absolutely. Gibbs coached them to cut block even if they didn’t need to. The infamous block on the Bengals DT is about as blatant an attempt to hurt somebody as you’ll ever get captured on camera.
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: If you honestly think that hit deserves someone being killed or paralyzed from the neck down, you really should become a beach volleyball fan or something more delicate.
Brien Jackson
So wait, Ward blatantly goes for Reed’s head with his helmet, causes a serious injury in Reed, and that’s….?
What happened to:
?
eric
John, I dont think Ward cares if he injures a guy if he can get a "good hit." If he was a RB or an LB i woul dnot care because then it would take care of itself. But, I see officials calling unnecessary roughness calls when guys drill receivers going across the middle now.
He plays a position that does nto get "hit" every play so that there is little chance for him to "get what is coming to him." That is the frustration with him.
There is a reason he is disliked all over the league.
Ray Lewis is a touch a$$ dude who plants people in the flow of the game and gets hit every play in the flow of the game. That is the difference. The same is true for offensive linemen. You chop block and you will have to face multiple opportunities each game for retribution.
It is MAD. But there is little chance for Ward to get hit. Oddly enough, it is true of free safeties. They get running starts to hit people, but very rarely are in the mix. That is not true of all guys, but it is what makes guys like Harrison and Dawkins so disliked. They have the freedom to pick and choose the degree of physicality they want to endure.
eric
Face
Wasn’t it Pittsburgh that ruined Carson Palmer’s knee/career?
Just Some Fuckhead
@eric:
That’s a rumor and you can’t prove it.
sgwhiteinfla
Bwhahahahaha
Typos can be a mofo can’t they?
eric
Just Some Fuckhead: touch-e
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: The hit on Reid wasn’t a premeditated hit, talked about prior to the game, in which the Steelers put a bounty on Reed and then Hines said openly in the paper “I am going to go helmet to helmet against Ed Reid and no one will even send him a card.”
You aren’t even trying anymore.
Just Some Fuckhead
@eric: Otherwise, I enjoyed your analysis.
Brien Jackson
Hang on. You’re telling me a guy can hit a guy helmet to helmet, which is illegal, cause a serious neck injury that’s going to stay with Reed the rest of his life, in some sense, and it’s ok because it wasn’t "pre-meditated?"
Talk about weak.
eric
@Just Some Fuckhead:
the perils of reviewing documents and posting :)
John Cole
@Brien Jackson: Fucking helmet to helmet hits happen every damned game. It does not signal any intent to injure anyone. It just happens. Polamalu got flagged for one last week. Guess he should be banned from the NFL, too. Let’s just kick everyone flagged or fined for helmet to helmet contact out of the league.
And then, when we are done, you could go look up “premeditated.”
Brien Jackson
Bullshit. There’s a difference between an accidental helmet to helmet contact and leading with your helmet. And Ward clearly does the latter, going for the other players head, on the hit against Reed, and the hit on Ferguson.
eric
@John Cole:
You prove my point: safeties and wide receivers.
Brian Dawkins had three or four hits where he used his helmet.
It is illegal and the guy should be thrown out of the game. It is likely to lead to an injury, even the guy’s own injury.
it is the kind of thing that young players should never see because the equipment used at the lower levels of the game is not of the same caliber as the NFL. The same is true of the likely emergency response to an injury.
MattR
Brien – So I’ve been googling and can’t find a single reference to Hines Ward being fined by the NFL for his hit against Ed Reed. Did I miss something? Or does the NFL disagree with your assessment of that hit?
Adolphus
Wow, you guys are taking a bunch of off hand remarks by a bunch of up college drop outs playing a game just one costume short of being professional wrestling seriously.
I heard that if you play that clip by Scott backwards he says "Satan is king!"
The quote by Mason is such generic trash talk as to be comical. I’ve heard worse on a little league field, literally.
sgwhiteinfla
eric
Leading with your helmet isn’t the problem. Every player leads with their helmet on a tackle. What else are you gonna do. lead with your chest? Its using the crown of the helmet ie the top that is the problem. It can cause injury to the player doing the hitting and the one being hit.
MattR
eric – Sadly, the helmets used at the lower levels are often better than those in the NFL. That’s because the NFL refuses to mandate "anti-concussion" helmets by claiming that more research is needed to assess their worth, while most youth and high school leagues are insisting that any new helmets purchased have that feature.
eric
@sgwhiteinfla:
You lead with your head up, and make contact with your shoulder, wrapping your hands around the torso. that is a "form" tackle. Your head should never be the first part of your body to make contact. Never.
There are plenty of times the hit won’t be problematic, but the odds are against the tackler if he does it over and over again. I see it way too much these days as guys are going for the knock out blow. You seem them knocking themselves out of the game. Sometimes the speed of the game makes a form tackle impossible.
But in the open field as in the Reed block, there was no reason to lead with the helmet. I do not care whether the NFL fined him for it or not. I saw Dawkins lead with his head a couple of times last wekk and i think Aikman even said one should have been a penalty.
I know what i see from guys no matter whether the NFL fines them or not.
eric
Jim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WA_Oak-fcw&feature=related
Top three Ravens hits of 2006 (I believe, could have been 07).
Reed hitting a defenseless WR with his shoulder (or helmet) to the WRs head.
Barnes with an honest to goodness cheap shot on a punter.
Bart Scott with a beautiful and clean hit on Ben R, but I’m sure Brien will be upset because Scott celebrates on after hurting another player.
Cry me three rivers Ravens fans, it’s called football.
John Cole
@Jim: You know what that means, Jim. All those guys need to be killed or paralyzed. I believe Brien calls it ‘self-enforcement.’
Jim
They surely have it coming John. lol
Ward is notorious because he hits defenders the way defenders hit QBs, RBs and WRs. The guys who have choreographed dances for when they blindside QBs, or decapitate guys reaching for balls over the middle hate being hit. I mean, geez, that must hurt!
Just Some Fuckhead
Oops.. wrong thread.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s
It looks like God just put Kurt "jesus-boy" and his wife "ugly bitch" Warner in the Superbowl.
That is, unless Rush Limbaugh’s favorite black quarterback can score eight points in 02:34.
Ughhh!
sgwhiteinfla
eric
Thats some micky mouse bullshit you are talking. You try to go out and make a form tackle with your shoulder. I will check on you while they are reattaching the mofo. Proper technique is to lead with your forehead and face mask on the ball carrier. People who try to shoulder tackle either get surgery or miss tackles. What you are talking about only works in pee wee football if there. Trust me I played the game for a long time and there isn’t a coach out there above the high school level that will tell you to lead with your shoulder.