Kazee suspended for the rest of the year

I just saw this on the NFL Network. Ridiculous.

 

Fined $237 K this season or 22% of his salary

 

He has been fined 6 times this season with a whopping total of $237.000 for violation of player safety rules. Suspended for the remainder of the season and if there were to be a post season for the latest hit.

 

Beat me to it!

 

WTH?

 

The NFL has made it perfectly clear to DB's. If you can't intercept or bat away a pass then you have to just let the receiver catch it and then gently tackle him to the ground.

 

At live speed I thought it was unnecessary and thought he was trying to send a message that they would be physical. On replays I didn't think I saw him launch and it seemed like a simultaneous bang bang play where he lead with his shoulder as well. I must be missing this badly?

edit: I went and looked at this yet again and slowed it down, he clearly lowered his head. I stand corrected. Not sure I agree with a suspension for the rest of the year unless he's a repeat offender that I don't know about. Not the greatest quality pic with phone from computer.

 

No you didn't miss anything. That is exactly what happened.

 

physical football and this being a collision sport is slowly going away. I get player safety and so on, but you cant eliminate the defender from breaking up a catch. the receiver dove for the ball the defender had to go down as well, neither were in a good safe positions, but they both chose to play football for a sh** ton of money and make choices to catch or not to catch, breakup the play or not....Kazee could have just as easily came out on the wrong side of that collision as well. I dont want to see anyone hurt either, but softening the game is the wrong approach. Incorporate more pads, bigger pads or heavier pads to slow these guys down or something. I dont have the answers but I do know taking a mans money for playing this game where it all may end very quickly is a chicken sh** approach.

 

Suspension and ejection are both an overreaction although im not a Kazee fan and think the Steelers can do better then him.

 

You aren't. The hit didn't even merit an ejection, much less a suspension. The NFL is over-reacting to video so it can lie about caring about player safety. They refuse to hold teams accountable for violating the league's concussion policy, so they overcompensate with draconian punishments for players like Kazee.

 

At very first, I thought he was going for the ball.
But then the replay and he was even close.
It was a fundamental breakdown, undisciplined football that is taught from peewee on up.
Since he's suspended, I don't know if they can release him (forgot how that rule is)
But this sort of thing does two 2 things:
- We get a penalty, which could allow a critical drive to continue
- We loose a position on the field. We nearly didn't have enough S's to play.

 

I was at game and it seems they refused to replay it in the stadium. I looked on my phone and watched it and I thought it was a football play.

The NFL has made millions off dvds of greatest hit and now won't even allow in the game hits to be made. They also allow the offense player to drop his head while running with ball and sometimes make helmet to helmet contact with the defensive player and act like it doesn't matter.

I will never not watch the NFL but the way the game is moving now makes me not care about the game as I once did

 

He should have let the play go, but even the ejection was an over-reaction. He was going for the ball, but he shouldn't have tried. He should have known there was no way he could do it legally.

 

He edited his post and said he saw him lower his head. It was a stupid hit by a stupid team.

 

He could have just timed it wrong ... when Pittman was in the air and Kazee launched it initially looked like he would go underneath Pittman so he could wrap up the waist, but Pittman came down fast.

There is 0 defense for that play if he is in the air and a "defenseless receiver" ... what can you possibly do anymore to defend a pass?

 

With the way things are going, in 10 years the NFL will be a flag football league. Seriously

 

I do believe he was trying to play physically as well. Think about all the noise during the week of how the steelers lost their way, how they were bullied by the pats, etc, etc. He responded ala Ryan Clark and I'm still not sure did he intentionally lower his head or was he going for the ball which was low. Who knows but the ejection and suspension are way over the top. If he was a star player no way that happens, he is an expendable guy on a crap team so to the firing squad you go. What did I do??? he was heard to say as they led him out to the pole to be tied to.

 

It looks on the replay that he never launched the receiver actually left his feet to dive.

 

I can see that he's going to punish and knock the ball loose.
It should have at least warranted a replay.
But I have issues with the launch.
He probably should have gone for the body.
This is a good shot (even better than the replay).... His reputation seems to be haunting him.

 

Fixed it for ya Hanratty.

 

Re-sign the players that want to tackle.

drop the receivers that won't block
drop the centers that can't snap
drop the punters that can't punt
drop the QBs that can't throw across the middle
drop the coaches that can't coach

 

I figured he'd get 1 game. This seems heavy handed, but I wouldn't say I'm shocked. This is the direction the league is going. They don't want these huge hits anymore. Blame Goodell all you want, but it's all of society. We're becoming softer. Some say that's a good thing, some don't, but that's the direction all of society is heading in. Softer, gentler, kinder and it applies to contact sports.

Just like QB's who are sliding. Guys need to hold back and not necessarily try for the big hit. While there may not be intent to hit the head, if the offensive player lowers his head at the last second, the flag is going to be on the defensive guy. That's just the way it is. It's never going back to what it was.

I still sometimes find myself on youtube watching Ryan Clark, Troy, Ward, etc. blow guys up. I love that stuff, but things have changed.

 

Great shot, no launch just bending down in an attempt to use his shoulder but it becomes a head shot. Result penalty and fine but ejection and suspension???

 

I love Kazee's style, but just like James Harrison once upon a time, the league has changed and players need to change as well. If he keeps playing this way, it just hurts the team.