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James Harrison

I wish James Harrison would follow through on his retirement threat. I understand the rules about legal hits are murky and it's a violent game, but this guy habitually leads with his helmet despite being repeatedly told that it's not legal. The NFL would be better off without him. The concussions are bad enough, but I keep waiting for the play where he does serious long term damage to himself or someone else.
 
but I keep waiting for the play where he does serious long term damage to himself or someone else.
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I think we're seeing those hits every week, they just won't see the extent of the damage until later.
 
cyfanatic said:
I can't wait for the day that a defensive player pulls up and doesn't hit a QB who goes onto make a huge, game-winning play! And then admits to the public that he didn't want to get suspended so he didn't go all out. The media will be all over that player even though that is what the NFL wants apparently!
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You can hit a QB without lowering your head and going in helmet first. Harrison could have easily wrapped up McCoy and took him down. Players do it all the time. Clay Matthews is a good example.
 
3TrueFans said:
I think we're seeing those hits every week, they just won't see the extent of the damage until later.
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Agreed. I should have just come right out and said paralysis or death. And I get that things like that could happen even on legal hits, but it seems like he's trying for a literal kill shot with the **** he pulls.
 
I think a lot depends upon interpretation.
Leading with the helmet to me indicates lowering of the head to strike with the crown. Back in the day was called spearing. Harrison's hits have not been this.
As the one on McCoy, his head is clearly up. McCoy lost the protections given a QB while in the pocket as a 'defense-less' player when he scrambled, upon which he is treated like any ball carrier. He was not exposed like a WR making a catch. There would be no issues had Harrison hit a RB coming out of the backfield.

Harrison has his head up on nearly all of his hits. Things is, he is like a 5'11" linebacker, so he always plays pretty low & comes up into ball carriers, etc. Tackling nowadays is being taught to wrap up & initiate contact with your chest. However, when Harrison does this it results in his head sliding up from the opponents chest & his facemask or helmet nails the ball carrier in the chin/facemask/helmet.

Technically, I think the facemask is part of the helmet when determining 'helmet to helmet' contact. Just think in this last case w/McCoy that it applies.

Yes, I am a Steelers fan, but some times Harrison deserved the fines, etc. However, I agree in this case that he should not be expecting a fine. Will likely receive one as he has not done himself any favors with Goodell & the NFL.
 
geburgess said:
Don't care, I remember signing up to play football. It was to hit people. That's what Harrison signed up for. When they change the rules to where you can kinda hit people in certain areas, and even less areas if they are a special position, I'm on Harrison's side and he should take the shots and do as he was taught and what he was paid huge amount of money to do.

If the NFL doesn't want hits, either give them all flags or make it two-hand touch. It's getting to be a bunch of ********.
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I disagree with this. Harrison repeatedly launches himself headfirst into other players helmets. It what he does. I would count the Steelers as my 2nd favorite team in the NFL, and I watch a lot of their games, and Harrison does this religiously.

When he "signed up" to play football, did they teach him to launch headfirst into players and potentially give them or himself a life changing injury? No, they taught him to wrap and and tackle like a football player. That's what I learned in high school, to wrap up with your head to the side, not in the other players grill. You can't honestly say that's what he was taught. Where?

I realize sometimes this happens in the heat of the moment and you wanna deliver that knockout blow, but there comes a point in time where something has to be done to somebody who repeatedly does this. A one game suspension is probably the best thing in this situation. Hopefully it straightens Harrison's mindset out, although I doubt it.
 
ccyclonepower25 said:
Yeah, I agree sometime the helmet hits are incidental. But sometimes they can be avoided. The rule is in place, I don't think he should blatantly disregard the rule because he doesn't agree with it. If I don't agree with a rule at my workplace, I suck it up and live with it, or I break it and get reprimanded or Fired. If I repeatedly break the rule I get fired.
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agree here.
 
Acylum said:
I think Polamalu leads with his helmet more than Harrison.
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And why he has issues with concussions.
Harrison (1 game suspension handed out BTW - probably appeal) keeps his head up, but with his lack of height causes his facemask &/or ridge of helmet @ his forehead to be the initial point of contact. Not saying it still is legal, but would agree Polamalu flies in & his head is leading with his face to the ground.
Still, do not agree with this McCoy hit. He left the pocket scrambling. It's football, & collisions happen.
Greg Lloyd was given the same treatment. Show the big hits on ESPN & sell the videos of these, but fine/penalize the players who are aware of the dangers.
 
geburgess said:
Don't care, I remember signing up to play football. It was to hit people. That's what Harrison signed up for.
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Oh please. I remember playing football too.

I didn't sign up to hit people, I signed up to PLAY FOOTBALL.

To compete, to win.

If your only goal is to "hit people" go sign up for MMA. The point of football is not just to "hit people." There's actually this whole other sub-game where you try an advance a leather ball into another team's territory to score points.

It's not, "He who gets the biggest/most hits wins." In fact, it never has been.
 
cyfanatic said:
I can't wait for the day that a defensive player pulls up and doesn't hit a QB who goes onto make a huge, game-winning play! And then admits to the public that he didn't want to get suspended so he didn't go all out. The media will be all over that player even though that is what the NFL wants apparently!
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Give me a break, Harrison wasn't suspended for knocking McCoy on his ***, he was suspended for hitting him in the head. Big difference. Harrison has a history of dirty hits, and he clearly hasn't learned from being fined.

If you want to complain about flags, look no further than what happened in the Pats-Browns game:
London Fletcher on flag for hitting Tom Brady: “What can you do?” | ProFootballTalk

That is the kind of stuff that will cause defensive players to pull up.
 
MrGreg said:
Give me a break, Harrison wasn't suspended for knocking McCoy on his ***, he was suspended for hitting him in the head. Big difference. Harrison has a history of dirty hits, and he clearly hasn't learned from being fined.

If you want to complain about flags, look no further than what happened in the Pats-Browns game:
London Fletcher on flag for hitting Tom Brady: “What can you do?â€￾ | ProFootballTalk

That is the kind of stuff that will cause defensive players to pull up.
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I'll even go one further. By itself, the hit on McCoy wasn't deserving of a suspension. Harrison is getting suspended because, thusfar, he's been fined over $100,000 for illegal hits, and the penalties get harsher for repeated violations. That's the way it goes. Maybe if the Steelers go out and get beat by the 49ers this weekend, and end up losing the division to Baltimore, it will start to sink in to James that the league is serious about this.
 
The guy knows what is expected of him and continues to disobey the rules. Fines apparently mean nothing (and why would they, he took home a fat pay check a few years ago) so you have to suspend him.
 
MrGreg said:
Give me a break, Harrison wasn't suspended for knocking McCoy on his ***, he was suspended for hitting him in the head. Big difference. Harrison has a history of dirty hits, and he clearly hasn't learned from being fined.

If you want to complain about flags, look no further than what happened in the Pats-Browns game:
London Fletcher on flag for hitting Tom Brady: “What can you do?â€￾ | ProFootballTalk

That is the kind of stuff that will cause defensive players to pull up.
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I completely agree. I was watching this one live and that was an absolutely terrible call. From waht I gather, London Fletcher has a great reputation around the league and no one would consider him a dirty player. Completely different story with Harrison.
 
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