Those of you that care about it have seen it by now: that smack down Andre Johnson delivered to Cortland Finnegan.The talkers will have their say about it in the coming week, but all sides seem to be favoring Johnson as the class player and Finnegan as the punk. I would agree.
What I want to know is how a punk with the reputation of Finnegan can get away with the fouls and cheap shots? Why have no flags been thrown? Certainly, the refs know who is who out there.
You can't go on the air and pontificate about sportsmanship...
"We really hate to see that."
"That's not football, there."
"Beat him with your play, not your fists"
... all the while not calling out the obvious unsportsmanship that is taking place on every snap, or not calling out the officials who turn a blind eye.
When you allow Finnegans to be Finnegans, you have to expect a Johnson to throw a few 'flags' of his own every now and then. I don't fault him. I applaud him...
...and any fine or punishment dished out by the league against Johnson will be an injustice.
By all means, sanction the trouble makers. And sanction the officials for allowing it. (And yes, they do allow it.)
8 comments:
Finnegan is a cornerback, he can't get away with much, at least when the ball is thrown his way. Pass interference is one of the most virulent penalties in the game.
Going Ice Hocky Nuts on a man after a play is over is completely uncalled for, I cannot see how Johnson is considered the class act in this situation.
palm boy, you didnt see the punch to the throat and the fingers to the eyes that happened on the snap?
Finnegan is a punk and has long been cited as one of the dirtiest players in the NFL. Johnson is quite well-regarded. There's also a history between these two guys.
Nothing that happened on Sunday surprised me. Johnson got fined $25,000 and the two teams will play again in a few weeks in Tennessee. It will be interesting to watch.
Yeah, it looks like Finnegan went straight for the face on the snap. The problem is, Johnson went straight for the facemask in response. Never mind sportsmanship, a facemask penalty is a big deal because you can kill someone that way.
Heat of the moment, and all of that...I'm not judging Johnson personally at all. Finnegan had a beat down coming in the universal justice sense of things. But Johnson *is* a professional, and the NFL is well within their rights to enforce a code of professional conduct.
And yeah, I agree officials overlook a lot, because if they didn't they would have to call holding on every damn play. The game would be unplayable.
It would be interesting to see whether the NFL or NHL has more cheap shots.
It would also be interesting to watch coaches squirm when asked why they tolerate thuggish behavior by their star players. Is winning a kids' game that darned important? Have we forgotten how most of America loved Tom Landry for showing class (Steelers fans aside, of course!)?
Brian: i get it about the holding. its the cheap shots, though. a chop to neck? fingers to the eyes?
none of that shit should be overlooked.
my son got tossed from a game for kicking a down player in the head. i started to put the 'shame' on him, and then he showed me his eyes., and the claw marks around them. yes, claw marks. more than just finger pokes.
he mentioned it to the ref, who did nothing. so he took care of it himself.
my boy wasnt wrong, if you ask me.
No, I wouldn't say he was...
They could almost certainly do a better job of policing the cheap shots. But my concern for the game would be that if they called personal fouls too tightly, it would incentivize the type of theatrics you see in soccer.
Gino, I didn't see the precursor to this, but all the other Wideouts who deal with Finegans crap manage to do so without what would be considered assault if it happened in a Walmart.
And Brian, we know soccer sucks because of that. So I share your concern.
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