Rodgers-Cromartie Fined $21,000 For Hit On Leftwich

So I guess intent to harm, i.e., going way out of your way and leaping for the sole purpose of hitting the head of a player that you just SAW throw the ball is NOT worse than making a perfectly timed hit on a receiver in the process of making a catch (Ryan Clark, $40K) or a perfect form tackle on a QB still throwing the ball (James Harrison, $25K). Repeat shmepeat. Clean hits are penalized more than dirty ones. Nice work. I think I'll find a player with a clean record and send him out to take out Andrew Luck's knees with a baseball bat. It's only a $21K fine. Hope Harrison or Clark doesn't breathe on him wrong, though.

Just saw it again, and I admit that the timing of the hit was not as bad as I remembered. It wasn't that late. But even so, he might as well have pulled out a red sharpie and colored a spot on Byron's helmet before delivering the blow.

 

what a joke!!! Godell blows. Harrison would have received lifetime ban from NFL, guaranteed.

 

yep I guess the hating will continue this year...thats ok bring it on we can handle it

 

Yup
:godell:

 

I hate the fines and ruling our team has gotten for the most part, but I think the NFL would say first offenders vs. what they might consider habitual is the difference we are seeing in the figure amounts. Did R-C have a fine before this?

I will say that his hit seem so intentional completely egregious that it warranted more. I would think that a player with any class for the brotherhood of athletic players they are part of wouldn't try and take someone out during a scrimmage. Respect for livelihoods and such. Maybe a new guy trying to make a squad and trying to make some noise, but Cromartie has a sure spot. He was def trying to knock him off the field. :bs:

 

Awesome!

You guys need to remember just like oldschool mentioned...the fine amount and any possible suspension depends on if the player is a repeat offender and how many times and such...regardless of what people may think of the hit.

 

News Flash!
James Harrison was fined $50,000 for seeing that turd from Philly hit Lefty
I can't spell that turd's name so he is that turd

 

Ok, I guess then under the NFL's progressive discipline rules, the turd's next flagrant hit will cost him some game checks. I'll take it, especially since Lefty seemed to shake it off pretty easily.

 

I thought the hit warranted a greater punishment but it is what it is. I don't want to be hypocritical, having complained about Steelers punishments in the past.

Here's hoping that we exact some "frontier justice" on DRC on October 7th. Where's Hines Ward when you need a good crack-back block!

 

maybe hines will comeback with that one day contract just for it.

 

Goodell Sucks
Fines Suck
Throw a flag, move the ball 15 yds, and get back to playing football!!

 

I read on NFL.COM that Cromartie said "I don't even have $21,000"! But let's keep this in mind so we can compare it to the fine that James Harrison will receive in week 1 for love tapping Peyton Manning.

 

someone better start the JH fine fund. a non-profit organization, easing the burden on wealthy steeler linebackers and their families.

 

Yeah I agree with this bigtime. Stop the fining unless it looks like they're trying to kill someone. Even DRC's hit on Lefty, although vicious looking really didn't seem that bad to me except when compared to all the new rules they're implementing.

 

I think our point is that intent should matter more than frequency. If we were going to compare Ryan Clark's hit on (Ed Dickson?) last year that drew a $40K fine to this one that was only $21K, they are miles apart. Clark's hit was about as clean as he could make it. The top of his helmet hits the bottom of Dickson's facemask. The front part of his helmet hits the ball, which Dickson was holding right next to his face. Clark's body is lower than he is when he's standing up. He went down for the hit. Dickson's face was lowered because he was bracing for the hit! Should clark have anticipated the sudden drop of Ed's facemask? What are his other options? Hit him in the hips and possibly bounce off and allow a touchdown? Hit him in the knees and turn him into Eric Decker? Don't hit him and just "catch" him, hope you can tackle him that way, and concede the yards? What he did was absolutely perfect in every single way, and that's why Mike Tomlin told the same thing to his team at practice the next day. Clark's intent was clear, and it was accomplished.

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Cromartie on the other hand was too short to hit Leftwich in the face without jumping, so he took a running, leaping build up the likes of which are normally reserved for Jerome Simpson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFcsWB6CgOw or Olympic high jumpers. Seriously, watch the steps Rodgers-Cromartie takes before jumping. He was planning it from 5 yards away.

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His intent was also clear, and it was accomplished. But because this was the first time he ever tried to knock a quarterback unconscious, we should go easy on him? And because of the way the sport of football is and always shall be, we must punish Ryan Clark doubly? If this was murder and not football, Ryan Clark would have entered a boxing match, waited for the bell to ring, and killed the other boxer with a punch. Rodgers-Cromartie shot the guy in the back of the head with a gun from the stands..... but it was only his first time. Oh, and he hit him with a shoulder instead of a helmet. Okay, so he stabbed the boxer to death instead of shooting him. Still did it on purpose and Ryan was just playing the game.

 

I can't tell what the tone of your point is or if you think you are debating me and GPGUY, but neither one of us seem to be on an opposing side of your argument. There are slight distinctions from my point of view though. First of all you are drawing a comparison to this one Clark hit that neither of us have mentioned fault with. I personally don't take issue with Clark's tackle/hit. (I'm only mentioning GP and me in this because he referenced my post and you used his post.)

In this one case, yes, intent vs. repeat "offender" are lopsided. But there might be other fined offenses where a habitual offender deserves more than a first timer. It's all hypothetical at this point and should be case by case. Presidents is something I am on the fence with.

 

My point is that it's completely crazy. They couldn't care less about whether you made a perfectly fine football play and some bad luck occurred. To them that's the same thing as punching a guy in the face. They tolerate dilberate acts of violence with intent to harm and injure more than they tolerate good, clean play where somebody accidently gets bonked on the head. That's all.

 

I am simply refusing to get into a discussion about who deserves a bigger fine. The whole thing is crazy. Fines are the death blow to the game I love to watch. In my opinion, any and every fine is too much. They are called personal fouls and should be paid for in yards, not dollars. I realize that the rules have changed and everything, but I don't have to like it.

 

I would rather they did away with fines altogether, except for the fines that accompany suspensions. And I agree with suspensions, and I think they are vastly under-implemented. But they should be reserved for acts of filthy play and deliberate violence, not a series of iffy or unlucky plays.

 

I agree, well said.

 

About time.