In Other News, Meriweather Is Still Stupid

[tshile]

Meriweather responds to Marshall, says "you've got to go low now"

Safety Brandon Meriweather did not play in Sunday’s 45-21 loss to the Denver Broncos because of a league-mandated one-game suspension for a pair of jarring hits a week earlier in a victory over the Chicago Bears. One of those hits resulted in a wrist injury to Brandon Marshall, prompting the Bears’ Pro Bowl wide receiver to suggest the league perhaps should consider banning Meriweather.

Meriweather’s response late Monday morning included the safety saying he would like to see “players who beat their girlfriends kicked out of the league.” That comment underscored the two-time Pro Bowl player’s disappointment at perception of him in some football circles following his trip to New York to explain his side of the hitting controversy.

In addition to the hit on Marshall in the end zone that drew a late flag, Meriweather also was penalized for leading with his helmet while tackling wide receiver Alshon Jeffery.

“The case I made was I didn’t use my head in either one of the hits,” Meriweather said during the team’s open locker room session. “I know everybody is looking at the tape and are saying, 'Oh, he’s a dirty player. He’s this, he’s that,’ which I get. But if anyone goes looks at the tape, I didn’t use my head in either hit, and I’m moving on from it.”

The league initially suspended Meriweather for two games, but an appeal got the punishment cut in half. Meriweather’s appeal was heard Wednesday by former NFL coach Ted Cottrell, one of two appeals officers jointly appointed by the league and players’ union to resolve cases involving discipline for on-field matters.

Meriweather’s suspension was without pay, and he forfeited $70,588 of his $1.2 million salary for this season. Meriweather, who is set to come back for this weekend’s home game against the San Diego Chargers, had said last week he was adjusting to the updated rules regarding hitting but that would need to make further modifications given the latest situation.

“To be honest, you’ve just got to go low now,” he said. “You’ve got to end people’s career. You’ve got to tear people’s ACLs and mess up people’s knees now. You can’t him them the way, you can’t hit them high anymore. You’ve just got to go low.”

I found the part about Marshall funny, because people that beat women are scum too. But Meriweather is just dumb.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

He makes a valid point.

 

[SilentThreat]

He makes a valid point.

he's also not the first one to say it

 

[tshile]

He makes a valid point.

Yes, clearly the only option is to headhunt or kneehunt. I don't know how all the other players in the league make tackles without doing it.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

I don't see where hes wrong on this, low tackling have already cost numerous players their season.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

he's also not the first one to say it

I don't see where hes wrong on this, low tackling have already cost numerous players their season.

Does The NFL Have A Growing "Low-Hit Culture?"

Its been a growing sentiment among players for awhile.

 

[CounterTrey]

I think some of the outrage is a bit comical. Just ten years ago these hits were on every highlight reel in the media including clips generated by NFL films. The fact that Bennett is STILL crying about hits from the Bears game that people would have been cheering not that long ago makes me laugh. Wilson was right..."this is football, be a man". Calling Merriweather stupid for his words and inability to adjust to new rules that most of the rest of the league has begrudgingly accepted and adjusted to is legit but calling him dirty is comically absurd to me. The ONLY reason these rules have changed is because of the impending Concussion litigation. That doesn't happen and the NFL is still happily celebrating those types of hits and Merriweather is the same force guys like Lott and Taylor were. BTW Taylor didn't take as many head shots (he's also a lot taller than BW and is coming at a different angle than BW who is almost always shorter than the guy he's tackling) but MANY of his shots would have been fined and flagged in today's game. He LOVED to hit what is classified as a defenseless receiver these days. Just ask the division receivers who were very gunshy about going across the middle with him back there.

 

[Bulldog]

This is why Meriweather was cut in New England and Chicago. He is a big distraction that doesn't back up his play on the field.

For all the drama he creates, he would have to be Calvin Johnson good for a team to put up with him for any length of time.

It is a testament to the dire straits the Redskins are in that Brandon Meriweather and Tanard Jackson were supposed to be the starting safeties here.

It's been a long time since we had Brig Owens and Ken Houston or Mark Murphy and Tony Peters out there as pro bowlers.

These safeties and the collection of waiver wire guys we have backing up are just a collective mess.

 

[Fear The Spear]

He should have just been glad and thankful they reduced his suspension, and say no more about it.
He certainly is not helping his case, by saying this kind of stuff.
He's going to see a heavier hand from the league in the future, thanks to comments like this, and may even face an immediate discipline, and/or reversal of the reduced suspension for it.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

He makes a valid point.

he's also not the first one to say it

I don't see where hes wrong on this, low tackling have already cost numerous players their season.

Does The NFL Have A Growing "Low-Hit Culture?"

Its been a growing sentiment among players for awhile.

I think some of the outrage is a bit comical. Just ten years ago these hits were on every highlight reel in the media including clips generated by NFL films. The fact that Bennett is STILL crying about hits from the Bears game that people would have been cheering not that long ago makes me laugh. Wilson was right..."this is football, be a man". Calling Merriweather stupid for his words and inability to adjust to new rules that most of the rest of the league has begrudgingly accepted and adjusted to is legit but calling him dirty is comically absurd to me. The ONLY reason these rules have changed is because of the impending Concussion litigation. That doesn't happen and the NFL is still happily celebrating those types of hits and Merriweather is the same force guys like Lott and Taylor were. BTW Taylor didn't take as many head shots (he's also a lot taller than BW and is coming at a different angle than BW who is almost always shorter than the guy he's tackling) but MANY of his shots would have been fined and flagged in today's game. He LOVED to hit what is classified as a defenseless receiver these days. Just ask the division receivers who were very gunshy about going across the middle with him back there.

Yep, yep, yep, yep, and yep. We are probably less than a generation (twenty years) away from watching football dwindle to something that resembles flag football.

Football is a hard hitting sport - just like it has always been from the beginning to the present.

 

[Chris]

I think some of the outrage is a bit comical. Just ten years ago these hits were on every highlight reel in the media including clips generated by NFL films.

Not even that long, CT. How long ago was Jacked Up a weekly feature on ESPN shows?

 

[Fear The Spear]

The ONLY reason these rules have changed is because of the impending Concussion litigation.

That's true, but can you blame them, then ?

 

[Chris]

I thought the concussion litigation was settled.

And that the players folded way too easily.

 

[SilentThreat]

That's true, but can you blame them, then ?

Man, talk about opening pandora's box... lol.. Such a tough subject.

 

[CounterTrey]

Not even that long, CT. How long ago was Jacked Up a weekly feature on ESPN shows?

Yep exactly. The hypocrisy of a lot of the whiners in the media knows no bounds.

 

[CounterTrey]

I thought the concussion litigation was settled.

And that the players folded way too easily.

I think the class action suit is done but didn't a bunch of smaller cases get filed either individually or by much smaller groups? Whatever, all these new rules are a result of litigation...just like all the other things in American Society that have been ruined by stupid lawsuits...like freakin' dodgeball and tag.

 

[SilentThreat]

Yep exactly. The hypocrisy of a lot of the whiners in the media knows no bounds.

Dude it's the double standard of "we care about player safety unless we can make money on it."


The rule book CLEARLY states you CANNOT push an RB to assist him, yet I've seen it multiple times around the goal line and the TD counts.... no flag. I personally have ZERO problem with it, but hypothetically speaking, an LB or DBs cleat doesn't give and all of a sudden you've got 1000 LBs pushing you, it's a knee injury waiting to happen. It's all about points and money with the NFL.. I love the sport.. but the game is changing.

 

[riggins44]

What Meriweather and others have said is correct. Problem is Meriweather already is being watched due to past violations. Why would you say anything? He should have just said I am working on changing...then shut up. Don't say anything that will cause officials to watch you more. Now he may go low on someone and get flagged for unnecessary roughness or hitting a defenseless player.

This was not the time or place to express for him to make these comments.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I thought the concussion litigation was settled.

And that the players folded way too easily.

Yes. But now it is known that the NFL knows about the long-term effects of concussions, so they must do everything they can to protect the players because now they ARE liable for future cases. The players definitely folded way too easily; they got hosed. NFL wins again.

 

[tshile]

I don't think that's how the settlement was structured Lanky... they built protections into it for themselves. Not having to release any of their own research was part of it.

As for the rest of the posts - I don't recall anyone getting in trouble for hitting hard, or saying that hitting hard is what the problem is.