A Specific Question About Burfict and the NFL

I'm sure there are a bunch of threads about Burfict by now. I'll give a rant of my own, but here's my question:

Do you think the league will ever come to a point where it really doesn't tolerate a man whose goal is to end the careers of opposing players?

Without getting into off-the-field stuff, I've long thought that fines and suspensions should be based on a player's intent, and very little else. Lots of guys do their best to play clean, but still injure guys. You don't need to look further than tonight. In the 3rd quarter tonight Ryan Shazier knocked a man unconscious, but it was a clean hit on a running ball carrier - the injury was nothing but awful luck, and any reasonable person (including Gio Bernard, I suspect) will agree. It happens. Wes Welker agreed that Ryan Clark's hit was clean, despite what Patriots fans said. Pierre Thomas agreed that Donte Whitner's hit was clean, despite what Saints fans said. Hell, even on a "not an actual football play" dirty hit like Ndamukong Suh stomping on a dude's leg, it was clearly out of frustration and more of a fight type of thing, like throwing a punch at a guy. That was dirty as hell, don't get me wrong, but this is different.

In the 4th quarter tonight Vontaze Burfict knocked a man unconscious because he decided to - because he hates us, because he was mad, because he's a sadist, because he was curious if he could - fill in the blank reason, because it doesn't matter. What matters is he did it on purpose. The ball was gone (and Burfict knew it) before he even started his hit. This was no, "momentum carried me, couldn't avoid it" play. He saw the ball sail by, then he hunched down and delivered the blow, right to the head. This, from a guy who saw the ball be thrown, then dived onto our quarterback's ankles the last time we played.

When he came out I wanted to draft him in the 6th or 7th round, because even though he was a renegade, he was a good player, and there was a chance he could be tamed. I criticized the Steelers for making no effort to get him, even after the draft. "Hey, you can always cut him loose or trade him if he becomes a problem," I said. But now I get it. I'm glad we pissed away 10 chances to sign Vontaze Burfict. He wants to tear ACLs, he wants to alter the lives of men by concussing them. He wants to end careers and shorten lives, and I watch him try to do just that every time I see him play. This is the worst intent I've ever seen. Throw him out of the league.

They'll say, "We won't tolerate this," but they won't mean it. Burfict will be fined, and possibly suspended one game. But that's not really a disincentive. That's nothing. All player fines are peanuts compared to what they make. I've complained about the penalties given to the Patriots in the same way: taking away a draft pick and some pennies for cheating your way to a Super Bowl win is a slam dunk for the Pats. Who wouldn't trade a draft pick for a Super Bowl? Or when I cheated my way through an entire Computer App class in high school. I got caught red-handed, and she changed my grade from an A to an A-minus, plus a detention. Are you kidding? I didn't do an ounce of work, and still can't work an Excel sheet; I should have had a zero! An F-minus! If you're ever my teacher again, I'm not working for one minute. I might even find additional ways to cheat. In fact, please be my teacher again! Oh, but I'm sure the Patriots will be on their best behavior now.

The consequences are supposed to at least try to stop the behavior, and the NFL has only ever risen to the occasion when it comes to a coach standing too close to the field with his back turned. Throw Vontaze Burfict out of the league.

It won't happen, but could it ever? My opinion is, it'll never happen as long as we have Goodell. We'd need someone completely revolutionary, and I just don't know if it'll ever come. I'd be happy with a one season suspension with a lifetime suspension to come if it happens again, as a compromise. But instead I'll have to settle for hoping we play the Bengals on opening day next year when Burfict is out, so we can at least make it a few weeks before our stars start losing tendons again.

 

They have to come down hard on him. He's absolutely out of control. But it's a league that lets a team get away with cheating so...

 

I saw some video earlier this week, probably on this site.... It was a montage of Burfict trying to twist ankles to various people he tackles, not just Steelers.

You can't let that stuff go on...

 

Good points, but the real eyebrow raising issue is - why did Marvin Lewis allow this guy back on the field knowing full well what he was up to? If he's so clueless that he doesn't hear his comments in the media running up to this game, watch film of what he's done all season long, and hear him inciting violence to other Bengals players, then I think there's an even bigger issue coaching on the sidelines for the Bengals. Yeah, Burfict is a classless, brutal thug - but a good coach tames that by breaking it from him on the bench.

To me, this is almost as bad as what happened to Payton in New Orleans. You know, "the buck stops here" type of deal.

Ban Burfict, suspend Lewis for a season.

 

In fairness the league did try to do something about it but the Judge disagreed

 

To disincentivize cheating, you need to take the wins away. But let's stay on Burfict, because that's a whole other ball of wax.

 

Yep the same judge that was seen partying with the cheaters after that. And no more word from the NFL about doing anything about it.

 

Just found this. Was it this? http://deadspin.com/vontaze-burfict-is-back-to-committing-post-play-misdeme-1645592298

I found it because I was thinking he must know some BJJ or something. I've done a little and his tackle on Ben almost reminded me of him trying to control the top. And looking at it closer from the different angles he sure had what looked like a good top position. And it looked like he was almost pulling up on his arm while putting all weight near the top of Ben's body.

Then I re-watched the hit on Bell and wow!! The way his legs wrapped around from the back of him to the front and just so it all landed on the back of Bell's legs.

It's so damn subtle and he sure seems to have damn good technique. Not all sloppy like Suh.

 

I'm old enough to remember the 70's Steelers/Raiders rivalry, and it was every bit as brutal and nasty as the ones with the Ratbirds and now what we have with the Bungles. Google Jack Tatum and George Atkinson if you aren't familiar with them, then you will kind of answer your own question. I will say this, I had/have more respect for both the Raiders and the Ravens. My feelings here are that the Bengals are basically misguided by two mindless goons, Burfict and at times, Adam Jones, who is lucky to still be in the league.

Atkinson once clubbed Lynn Swann in the back of the helmet well after an incomplete pass, hard enough that Swann was concussed. Jack Tatum paralyzed Daryll Stingley, a WR for the Patriots in a freakin' pre-season game. He had a book written named; "They Call Me Assassin". No ****, Jack. The NFL is great as preaching one thing, then doing another. They have the greatest speech writers and P.R. department of any corporation. Crap like what we witnessed tonight sells tickets and puts asses in front of their TV's, concussions be damned.

I'll also add that I'd be surprised if Marvin Lewis doesn't lose his job over the way he lost control of this team at the end. The Bengals should have learned by now that you might beat the Steelers on the scoreboard, but it won't be done with intimidation. Having coached here, Lewis should know that as well as anyone.

 

Love this last paragraph. It's bad azz!!!!

 

The spotlight should be on Marvin Lewis. This is exactly right.

It reminds me of the Todd Bertuzzi incident. Canucks HC Crawford was LIVID when no-name Steve Moore took a run at star Markus Naslund.

When then the NHL did nothing Crawford swore vengeance. Instead of controlling his players he fuelled their vengeance. Moore fought Matt Cooke early in the game but it wasn't enough and Bertuzzi went after him.

In the NHL if your coach tells you not to fight and you disobey you're asking to be benched, sent down etc.

Somehow Crawford escapes condemnation still when I feel he is mostly responsible.

 

Nah, Marvin Lewis was reckless, and ignorant. He isn't the evil one. He's more like Hitler's mom. You're like, "Dammit Hitler's mom! Why did you have to... you could have... arrrgghh!!!" But she ain't no Hitler.

The spotlight should be on Burfict, and it should follow him all the way out the door and into a new career selling cars.

I agree though, that Lewis should be fired.

 

I don't agree and I don't like the analogy.

The Bengals have the most arrests in the NFL since 2000. 40.

They have built a team on talented players that other teams will not touch because of character issues.

Vontaze Burfict is a dirty player who will target and attempt to injure opponents. This was known before he joined the NFL.

Putting Burfict on the field in their uniform is complicity and the Bengals ownership, front office and coaching staff are all accessory to every punch, kick, gouge, launch and twist he performs on the opposing team (often after the whistle).

Your Hitler analogy would work better if Burfict was Hitler and the Bengals organization was Nazi Germany- willing to turn a blind eye to evil and accepting a philosophy that the ends justify the means. The Bengals believe Burfict can lift them to a new era of supremacy and they really don't care who gets hurt in the process. The Bengals are wrong, of course, but so was Nazi Germany.

 

Well, that was just a joke. I don't even know if Hitler was raised by his mom. Definitely didn't intend for it to be dissected. But I do that all the time, so I get it.

I agree, the Bengals have been... like that... for a long time. I feel like until now they were only hurting themselves. Now they have to change. But still, I don't think Lewis is evil like Burfict. I think he's incompetent, and yes, complicit. He should go. But Burfict is still the most rotten animal here. Nobody put those ideas in his head. He's a violent lunatic all on his own.

 

"I'm a former Bengal. I'm embarrassed by the way that this game ended and by the way these guys carried themselves on the football field today," Esiason said during the CBS post game show. "I feel bad for Marvin Lewis. I'll tell you one thing, if Lewis can't control his players, than maybe Marvin Lewis shouldn't be on the sideline coaching that drek."

Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher added: "Vontaze Burfict ... He lost it during the game. That's on the head coach."

 

A Steeler player (or 2 or 3) should have taken care of it last night.

 

The NFL tried to dismantle the NO organization over coaches having a bonus system to injure players. I seem to recall, there was no evidence it was done. Burflict clearly plays with intent to injure. How can the NFL let this continue?

 

God's gift to the NFL, to life even, Deion "Idiot" Sanders disagrees with you. Well said, Snack.

I noticed Burfict attempted to tackle AB like that earlier in the game. There's definitely a method to his sadism.

 

Burfict is facing a suspension per Adam Schefter, I'm glad the Bengals lost otherwise that POS Burfict would've been the hero

 

What exactly did they try to do? Suspend shady brady for a few games? Goes back to his original point, if you can get a superbowl at the cost of a draft pick or a couple game suspension of ONE player than why not cheat?

Belicheat should have been suspended for the season just like Payton was in NO.

In regards to burfict... sick individual who should never play another snap. Marvin Lewis should lose his job solely for the burfict debacle.

 

I noticed it during their game against the Cardinals. He laid himself out fully on a play to the corner of the endzone. He was clearly beat by David Johnson so he dove hoping to hurt the ruNing back.

 

You think Burfict must know BJJ because of the way he tackled Ben? You can't be serious. It was a football tackle, nothing more. There's nothing about that tackle that screams BJJ. It was a football play that happens constantly. It wasn't even a particularly violent tackle. For the record, I've done BJJ as well and you're seeing things that aren't there.

 

If they don't do it with Burfict after this, then I would say they aren't going to do anything at all. Sportscenter just said Burfict has more dirty hit penalties than anyone else in the league. It is 100% clear that he is completely out of control and not one person seems to want to take responsibility. We're lucky AB has a head on his shoulders today. Who knows how the next injury with turn out.

 

For folks without black n gold glasses on, Burfict = James Harrison. Remember JH was the dirtiest player in the league and had the paper from Ole Rog to prove it. Now I'm not saying JH was ever as dirty as Burfict, but seems like that was the general sentiment by non steelers fans a few years ago