Think Jumpy will get fined?

[derekshank]

Now, when can I get a shutout?

It will come in about 5 days, 1 hour, 5 minutes, and 46 seconds.

[Pinkygen]

I don't think Jason Whitlock likes us anymore. I especially love the eye for an eye mentality.

"Green is likely to miss a game or two or three because of Geathers' mistake. Green's absence will severely damage Kansas City's chances of getting off to a successful start.

Shouldn't the Bengals be damaged?"

Full article posted below. And btw, glad to join the forums.

Geathers should pay for late hit

Sometimes it's important to say the obvious: Football is an incredibly dangerous and cruel game.

We saw evidence of that Sunday afternoon when a vicious hit knocked Trent Green cold and sapped what little fun was left in the Chiefs' disappointing loss to Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium.

As the Chiefs' medical staff surrounded Green and eventually carried him off the field strapped to a gurney, it was difficult to see the point of playing football. The game seemed barbaric, something left over from Caesar's rule.

I turned to my Star colleagues Joe Posnanski and Jeff Flanagan and wondered: "How do they continue to play?"

After the game, Tony Gonzalez told reporters it took him about a play to get his mind back into the game.

When you're young and healthy, you never think it's going to happen to you. Or it's never going to be so bad that a doctor can't fix it. As Green lay motionless on the field, I feared he might have suffered a serious neck injury. I wondered whether the $50 million contract he signed years ago was worth it.

We complain about the money athletes are paid. When you consider the risks football players take in practice and in games, you can legitimately argue they're underpaid.

There's no amount of money that could properly compensate Daryl Stingley, the receiver who was paralyzed years ago by a hit from Jack Tatum.

On Monday, there was significant debate about the legality and ethics of the hit Robert Geathers laid on Green. Geathers claimed he was pushed by Eddie Kennison. Members of the national media pretty much contended that Geathers did little wrong.

Huh?

I get that Geathers regrets his role in the hit and Green's concussion. I don't believe Geathers is a dirty player or a bad person. He made a mistake, an error that should cost him.

He should be fined heavily. I'd like to see him suspended for one game.

The NFL has a strict philosophy about protecting its quarterbacks. There are specific rules in place to protect QBs. You can't hit them in the helmet. You can't hit them if they slide feetfirst. NFL owners have so much money tied up in their quarterbacks that they'd really prefer that they not get hit at all.

Green is likely to miss a game or two or three because of Geathers' mistake. Green's absence will severely damage Kansas City's chances of getting off to a successful start.

Shouldn't the Bengals be damaged?

Again, I don't think Geathers is a dirty player. The league just needs to send a message so that other players will think twice before sailing into a sliding quarterback. Yes, the overwhelming majority of players realize you have to be careful when going after the quarterback.

But it's important to reaffirm this message, especially when a franchise loses its quarterback in the third quarter of the first game.

The other thing I'd do is discipline the officiating crew. I'd suspend for one game the two or three refs who were in position to flag Geathers for the hit. It's inexcusable that a flag wasn't thrown on the play.

I've seen players flagged for hitting a quarterback's helmet with a hand. Yet Geathers drew no flag for leading with his shoulder into Green's head. Kennison's push didn't help the situation, but Geathers was clearly being too aggressive."

[derekshank]

Whitlock is clearly anything but unbiased in this regard. This is a guy that is a known Chiefs fan, and a guy that claimed that Marvin Lewis would be fired after this season for losing control of his locker-room after predicting us to finish the season 6-10. Ignore him and his opinion. It is no more valid than CT Stiller's.

[Pinkygen]

Whitlock is clearly anything but unbiased in this regard. This is a guy that is a known Chiefs fan, and a guy that claimed that Marvin Lewis would be fired after this season for losing control of his locker-room after predicting us to finish the season 6-10. Ignore him and his opinion. It is no more valid than CT Stiller's.

Oh, I am far beyond giving Whitlock any credence anymore. I posted this because of how ridiculous his arguments are: The Chiefs got hurt, so the Bengals should be hurt as well? Shouldn't the wrongness of the hit count in that?

[duus]

Hmmm ... Cowher in his weekly press conference was asked about the hit. He very clearly said that this hit is part of the game and he saw "no ill intent". In fact, he put the blame on the QB for sliding late and not protecting himself. Those are not his exact words, but they surely are the implication as he talked about how important it is for QBs to protect themselves as they run/slide, as well as how incredibly hard it is for a defender to stop like that. He very clearly said he felt Geathers was trying not to hit with the intent of injury.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

That is what happens when you slide, quite literally, at the very last second with a 280 pound DE already in tackle mode on you - and a 320 pound d-lineman coming at you full speed from the other end.

You just cannot be that stupid as a QB.

Geathers even turned his head to avoid the helmet-to-helmet thing.

I can't blame Geathers for "not playing nice."

It amazes me how much attention this gets - despite the fact Trent may only miss a game - and Carson getting plowed below the knees after already letting go of a pass and not moving is tolerated without question seemingly, knocking him out for months.

Sick of all the whining about the Geathers hit - it was unfortunate and could've been avoided entirely had Green not decided to slide into Geathers feet at the last second. There's nothing the tape of the incident doesn't show you to confirm this.

People just too often think with their emotions rather than use objective logic and judgement.

[HairOnFire]

I've seen players flagged for hitting a quarterback's helmet with a hand. Yet Geathers drew no flag for leading with his shoulder into Green's head. Kennison's push didn't help the situation, but Geathers was clearly being too aggressive."

Whitlock is a Kansas City homer so his bias is obvious. Then again, so is his stupidity...on a weekly basis.

Green wasn't hit in the head, as so many pussified whiners seem to conveniently forget. And Kennison's block on an airborne Geathers is somehow always discounted as insignificant. Why?

I have no doubt that a Kansas City sportswriter might have wanted to see his favorite team face a less aggressive Bengal team on Sunday, but the fact remains that the Geathers/Green hit was a bang-bang play that wouldn't have happened at all if Trent Green had broken into a slide several beats earlier. Instead, he made sure that he had gained a 1st down before sliding, and as a result of his own aggressive play he deserves as much responsibility for the hit occuring as Geathers does. In fact, he may deserve more blame than Geathers as Green's previous decisions to not slide on comparable plays can't be ignored.

BTW, the officials got it right. Amazingly, it is the critics who continue to insist that there was helmet to helmet contact, an opinion that is not only dead wrong, but one that can be reached only by ignoring replays showing the hit from four or five different angles. So why should anyone care about the outrage of witnesses who are dead wrong about the facts?

[HoosierCat]

Someone mentioned this point before, but in light on Whitlock's inane "Gealthers was clearly being too aggressive" bit it bears repeating: any time the QB for any team crosses the line of scrimmage with the ball, every defender on the field hits the "turbo" button. Nothing amps up the average defender like the ability to pulverize the opposing QB. And that's been true for every team, forever. And that's exactly why things like the slide rule were put in place.

The minute Green took off he knew he was a target, he knew there were 11 guys looking to pound him into the turf. Give him credit, he stretched the run out as long as he could, down 20-3 in the 3rd and trying to make something happen. And he ended up stretching his run just a fraction too far.

If I'm Whitlock, I would be less concerned about whining that mean ol' Robert Geathers ought to be spanked by the league, and more concerned with why the 3,000-year-old QB of the team was forced into not one one but multiple scrambles. If KC doesn't get that offensive line fixed, and get some more downfield weapons for its passers, and find a way to get Larry Johnson going...well, they are going to be going through QBs like water.

[HairOnFire]

Hmmm ... Cowher in his weekly press conference was asked about the hit. He very clearly said that this hit is part of the game and he saw "no ill intent". In fact, he put the blame on the QB for sliding late and not protecting himself.

Nobody wants to blame the guy lying in a hospital bed, but more and more are doing so.

For those who want to argue that the hit wasn't dirty, but was indeed late and avoidable...I'll argue that an equal amont of responsibility belongs to Green due to his decision to slide late. He's paying the price for his own agressive play.

It's football.

[DCKRIMMER]

After reviewing the play over and over. I don't think TG even saw Geathers. I believe he slid because he saw Joseph out on the edge. That is why Joseph appears to slow his pursuit. Geathers never made that eye contact like JJ did thus bringing the heat like he should and add a little shove in the back and thats all she wrote. Maybe the league needs a new rule. The QB can only advance the football by throwing a forward pass, a lateral, or hand off. Then maybe Whitlock will be able to stomach another football game.

Did anybody see Ray Ray's hit on TB receiver. Talk about taking advantage of a persons vulnerability. I guess receivers are tougher by nature.

[Kirkendall]

Hey guys.. I posted something here. Tell what you guys think. I, obviously, rip Jason Whitlock and defend Geathers.

http://www.cincyjungle.com/

[HoosierCat]

Good piece, kirk, but like I said, minds are already made up. Whether Robert is Sgt. Geathers, 101st Airbourne Assualt Division, or Jumpy bin Laden, pretty much depends on whose colors you wear.

Embrace our newfound thugdom, buddy. Bengals are big, bad & coming to a stadium near you.

[Kirkendall]

Embrace our newfound thugdom, buddy. Bengals are big, bad & coming to a stadium near you.

[oldschooler]

I don`t think Geathers will be fined. At least I think he SHOULDN`T be fined, BUT...

Bengals Player Could Get Fined For Controversial Hit

LAST UPDATE: 9/13/2006 7:28:13 AM

A Bengals player will likely end up having to pay for a controversial hit during Sunday's game.

A league spokesman says that defensive end Robert Geathers will be fined for his hit against Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green. The hit put Green in the hospital, and completely erased his memory of the collision.

Green was released from the hospital Tuesday and, according to ESPN, will miss at least two weeks.

There's no word on the specifics of the fine placed on Geathers, except that it will come down on Friday.

http://www.wkrc.com/news/local/story.aspx?...79-04DAD0B4C989

[HairOnFire]

Nobody wants to blame the guy lying in a hospital bed, but more and more are doing so.

For those who want to argue that the hit wasn't dirty, but was indeed late and avoidable...I'll argue that an equal amont of responsibility belongs to Green due to his decision to slide late. He's paying the price for his own agressive play.

It's football.

It's official. The guy who was at fault is the same one lying in a hospital bed.

The head of NFL officiating was on the NFL Network yesterday discussing the play, and not only did he absolve Geathers of all blame, but he went so far as criticizing Green for the late slide AND for not being aware of the down and distance circumstances. In short, there was no reason for Green to delay the slide due to wanting to gain a 1st down because....(wait for it)....it was 2nd down. At worst, KC would have faced 3rd and short on the following play.

He ended discussion of the play by mentioning that a tape had been made of the Geathers/Green play as well as a flagged QB slide/hit from the Detroit/Seattle game. The tape showing both plays has been sent to every NFL team, and is intended to demonstrate what is legal under the rules of the NFL and what is not.

Bottom Line: Not only was the Geathers hit legal, but it's being used as a teaching tool to demonstrate the things that quarterbacks must do to prevent this type of contact from being repeated.

[Tasher]

One word - NO.

Oh, wait, am I late on this?

[HoosierCat]

Check it out, I found someone with an even stupider take on the hit than Whitlocks...Dr. Z!

Necessary roughness?

The kill shot that Cincy's Robert Geathers laid on K.C.'s Trent Green should have drawn not only a flag, but also an ejection. It was ruled legal, but just barely, because supposedly Geathers was blocked into Green, who had already launched his slide. Maybe it was easier for us, given a first look and replays, to get the sense of the play more fully than the official on the spot did, but the intent was clear. Take the QB out at head level. Geathers could have veered off, but he chose not to, and Green was out cold for almost 15 minutes.

This was the same situation as the Warren Sapp case of a few years ago. He went halfway across the field to launch a blindside shot on the Packers' Chad Clifton, following an interception. Clifton had been out of the play. Sapp's shot put him in the hospital and nearly ended his career. Again, it was ruled legal. It didn't even draw a flag, although it was an ugly, mean act. "Crippling the dummy" was what we used to call it.

The best comment I heard about this came from a high school official.

"There is a rule on the books calling for a penalty for unnecessary roughness," he said. "In the NFL it's basically ignored, but at the high school level it's taken very seriously. The key word is unnecessary. Did the play have to be made, within a football context? If there's the slightest doubt, the flag is dropped. The Sapp play was unnecessary."

And so was the shot Geathers laid on Green. A mean, vicious play that produced the desired result.

Forget the fact that the short wasnt at the head, as Z suggests in his first graph. Forget that the NFL review says that, indeed, Geathers did alter his trajectory to avoid a head shot. Forget the fact that, unless Dr. Z has suddenly developed telepathic powers, he has no flippin idea of Geathers' "intent.

No, what makes this "analysis" appallingly dumb is the comparision to the Sapp hit. Let me get this straight: a big hit laid on an unsuspecting player away from the play is equivalent to a defender laying out the guy carrying the ball? A guy who knows he's coming and just had to get down on his butt a second earlier?

What a maroon.