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Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that the NFL has suspended Jets defensive back Eric Smith for one game, and also has imposed on him a $50,000 fine, for the hit that knocked out Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin on Sunday.
The league determined that Smith launched himself into Boldin, and struck Boldin in the helmet, with Smith’s helmet.
The $50,000 fine includes the game check he will lose because of the suspension. At a base salary of $445,000, Smith’s weekly paychecks are worth $26,176, meaning he will lose about two weeks’ pay. (The numbers in this paragraph have been clarified.)
Boldin looked to be seriously injured immediately after the hit. But he is expected to be OK.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Just right, IMHO. Which is a first for this commish.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Any chance they’ll reduce the fine if Smith launches a helmet-to-helmethair shot on Boldin’s agent?
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Ehhh… it was a pretty hard hit, but Boldin being pushed from behind is what lead to the helmets hitting. Without that, it looks like Smith’s helmet would have hit Boldin’s shoulder.
I mean, they gotta do what they gotta do, but I think there was about as much intent in this play as there was in the Brady play… meaning, none.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
that’s too steep…
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Damn renters! We leave them the keys for the weekend, and they can’t behave. Go Giants!
Cowboys = Paper Tiger
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Mavpa and SoCal I agree.. if he didn’t get pushed from behind, it probably wouldn’t be nearly as bad. It was definitely scary after it happened, and I’m glad to hear Q is gonna be OK. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Green getting fined for a head to head, but maybe he had a few under his belt. I still think it’s way too stiff with the suspension.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Kerry Rhodes definitely pushed Boldin into Smith. But, at least Boldin is okay and that’s all that matters. That was really scary.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Can we say excessive?
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
That’s a little excessive.
I don’t think he should’ve been suspended.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
A fine AND a suspension? Come on, what was that guy supposed to do? Boldin was coming directly at him full speed and it just so happened that their heads collided. Yeah, he was leading with his helmet, but this happens every week with no penalty….
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
That’s horseshit. Why not suspend Warner for throwing into triple coverage? He was just as responsible for the hit as Eric Smith.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Boldin’s on my fantasy team ……..if he misses more than a week….I want a piece of that 50k
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Good call. He could have ended this guys career. It was a vicious hit that was unnecessary. I know being a safety means getting the big sport’s highlight reel hits but there has go to be some common sense in all of this.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
The problem is how inconsistent the NFL is with this rule. In the Bengals - Giants game, I saw two helmet to helmet hits. One by Cincy, one by the Giants. No one got hurt, thankfully, but also no one got flagged, fined, and/or suspended. NFL needs to enforce this ALL the time, not just when someone is lying motionless on the field.
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September 29th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
That’s penalizing the result and not the actual event. Smith only hit boldin helmet to helmet because the other guy knocked Boldin’s head into it. If not, it would look like a lot of the collisions we see in the NFL every week. If Boldin walks away, no fine, but since he was KO’d they felt like they had to fine him. It’s like the Hochuli call: if he blows that call at the beginning of the game, it wouldn’t be big news, but since it happened at the end of a close game, he is villainized. Too much mob mentality thinking going on at the NFL headquarters.
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September 29th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Look, I understand the rule of spearing(leading with the crown of the helmet. I understand a penelty for hitting a QB in the head. But two moving players sandwiching a third moving player. If this is what the sport is coming to you might as well start playing 7 on 7 and make it touch. NO ONE is in an uproar that ever damn play lineman and linebackers are taking & delivering helmet to helmet hits. Hit a star and you are fined and suspended. Just another day in the NFL
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
September 29th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
this is bs,that hit was meant to do harm,period.
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September 30th, 2008 at 8:08 am
weak… this is football not ping pong. I agree redleg, hit a star get fined. Eric Smith did his job and made a play on the ball/reciever. I saw about 5 tackles and the NFL Sunday Afternoon jump on the pile after the guys is down tackles, where the defender led with his head. most happened after the guy was on the ground. If you’re going to fine ANY hit that the helmet makes contact before any part of the body, then the NFL needs to start handing out fines for ALL hits like this, regardless of the end result.
what a joke.
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September 30th, 2008 at 9:56 am
The problem with leading with your shoulder is that your head is attached to your shoulders. If your aim is off, you either miss the guy completely or you hit him with your head.
I agree with the others who point out that the first Cardinal defender pushes Boldin, which causes Smith’s shoulder hit to miss. It just doesn’t look like an intentional head-spear to me.
Do we penalize so harshly for intent or result? It seems to be the latter.
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September 30th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Glad Boldin is OK, but this was not a dirty hit. He was clearly hit from behind first which caused the helmets to collide.
Hey NFL, I guess you want your safeties to not make plays over the middle?
They never would have fined him if it was star safety. Could you imagine Bob Sanders being fined AND suspended for that? The media already portrays Sanders to be the best player in the league. They woulda gone ape sh-t if he did this.
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