After a particularly brutal weekend of hard hits, everyone is talking about what the league can do to prevent further injuries like concussions. The ferocity on the field is getting way out of hand and it's good to see the league stepping up to try to stop it. During post-game analysis, hard-hitter Rodney Harrison discussed how all the fines he received couldn't stop him from sending the message that anyone who crossed his path during a game would pay the consequences; he'd set aside $50,000 before the season as a necessary investment to ensure that receivers shied away just a bit.
Also not excusable? That Harrison wasn't even penalized for either of those hits. In both cases, it was blatant, vicious contact to the head of an opposing player, and to miss it both times is astonishing.
It's time to decide, NFL: You're either serious about the concussion issue or you're not. If you are, something needs to happen to Harrison here. A substantial fine, at the very least. A suspension is preferable. And the officials shouldn't go without some kind of reprimand, either.
Maybe James Harrison is just saying what has always existed inside locker rooms, a sense of aggressiveness and power that would leave the other team afraid, even just a little. But we've reached a point in the NFL where not only is that sentiment present behind closed doors, it can now be aired and even hailed as a standard for the best bone-crushing linebackers in the league. It's time to stop and scale back the message these players are deliberately and methodically sending.
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