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The NFL has rejected the appeal of Jets safety Eric Smith regarding the vicious hit he applied to Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin on September 28.
And so Smith will miss Sunday’s game against the Bengals, and he’ll lose $50,000.
Smith claims that the hit wasn’t intentional. OK, so he accidentally dropped his head and launched his body at Boldin.
The hit speaks for itself. The NFL got this one right.
October 8th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Boldin’s head was propelled downward and toward Smith by the hit from the cornerback, both prompting and making worse the collision of heads. It looks like Smith would have hit him in the chest if not for this, and no human being could have reacted in time to avoid the helmet-to-helmet contact. When you ask two grown men to run as fast as they can into each other, people are going to get hurt. If the NFL just moved to two-hand touch this would never be a problem.
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Rating: 4.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
October 8th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I agree with forwardlateral. In no fashion did he lunge at bolden. None. Florio wants these guys in dresses. Its apparent that he’s never played the game. Dont quit that day job.
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October 8th, 2008 at 9:13 am
“Smith claims that the hit wasn’t intentional. OK, so he accidentally dropped his head and launched his body at Boldin.
The hit speaks for itself. The NFL got this one right.”
Florio,
You can’t say that the hit was intentional and that he dropped his head and launched his body. It was a bang-bang play and Boldin got propelled by the hit from behind. The NFL screwed this one up. If you are going to fine the guy, that’s okay, but to suspend him for one game on a hit that was clearly made worse by the contact from behind.
As a Jet fan, I didn’t like Smith in the starting lineup to begin with and it will give someone else a chance to step up but a suspension was not in order
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
October 8th, 2008 at 9:25 am
This is just wrong. As you guys said, if it wasn’t for the hit in the back, there is no “helmet to helmet” contact at all. Smith wasn’t going for his head. Two games and $50K is absurd.
Sorry, but this is what happens when you get politcally correct liberal lawyers running the game. He shouldn’t have been fined at all. I can’t believe they didn’t reconsider under appeal.
I’m not even a Jets fan and I can see this is unfair.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
October 8th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I’m torn - as I suspect you are.
What you’ve said is rubbish, plain and simple. I’m no Jets fan, but that hit is incidental, and more a result of the first hit that Boldin received knocking him into harm’s way.
You can’t argue that he lunged at Boldin with his helmet at all. Watch it again, and note the path that Boldin would have taken if he hadn’t been knocked forward. Completely different, and Smith would have made a chest height tackle with his upper body.
On the other hand, I’m all for the league deterring players from making illegal hits in any way they can. I just don’t want to see someone made a scapegoat for a potentially serious injury, simply because the idea seems to be that ’someone should get a fine for that’.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
October 8th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Like the rest of the comments so far, I think you go to far, Mike. Was the hit fine-worthy? Sure. Even an accidental helmet-to-helmet should be fined. But for you to assign motive based on a replay that shows Boldin getting hit from behind just before getting hit by Smith is not fair to Smith.
It is hard enough to direct a hit on a fast-moving WR when he’s not being hit by someone else at the same time. To expect Smith to calculate the geometry of attack in real-time in that situation is ludicrous.
It was helmet to helmet so fine him. But don’t make him out to be some sort of malicious thug. There are plenty of really dirty players in the league who can get that treatment.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
October 8th, 2008 at 9:54 am
If the league wants to get rid of helmet to helmet hits they might as well go and remove the helmets all together… The fact that the ball is in the air and Smith is taught to go up and break up the play by separating the man from the ball then all he did was do his job. I don’t see how this can result in a $50,000 fine and a suspension.
If the league is going to start suspending players for incidental contact than you are going to start seeing people (media) calling for fines and suspensions anytime a player gets injured.
The game is violent and people get injured in violent games, unfortunately it was Boldin but unless there is a deliberate attempt to injure than I think people have to chalk it up to the fact it was a football player making a football play.
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October 8th, 2008 at 10:15 am
You guys are missing the fact that Mike has a crystal ball, and therefore knows for certain that Smith would still have hit Boldin helmet to helmet without Boldin being pushed from behind.
So please stop trying to defy Mike’s crystal ball with all this absurd logic and common sense.
PS I suspect Smith would have hit Boldin in the chest with his hands/arms if there’d been no push on Boldin from behind, but maybe my crystal ball is just fuzzy at the moment.
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October 8th, 2008 at 10:17 am
You guys are blind. He obviously launched himself at Boldin and hit him in the face with the crown of his helmet. End of story. You can’t take a shot like that at a “defenseless” receiver, clueless mutants, and any other contact on the play DOES NOT MATTER. Intent DOES NOT MATTER. What MATTERS is Eric Smith attempting a “knock-out” hit and getting one because he ended up hitting Boldin in the head whether he meant to or not.
LEARN THE RULES so people like me and Florio don’t have to constantly school you on them.
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October 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Throwback uniforms are so 1994.
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October 8th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Oh please. It doesn’t matter whatsoever what the guy behind Boldin did. Smith launched at a player with his head….not his shoulder pad. Go watch the vid on youtube, I have numerous times. At no point did Smith turn his head to the side to make contact with his shoulder pads……and the guy behind Boldin was a NONFACTOR in Smith’s ability to do so. What Smith did was absolutely avoidable and you learn in Pop Warner football not to lead with your head like that. Smith’s fault totally and completely. Suspension and fine TOTALLY justified…..regardless of what this clown makes. If i’d been the NFL Commish he’d be gone for 6 games.
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October 8th, 2008 at 10:53 am
welcome to the NCFL - Non Contact Football League.
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October 8th, 2008 at 11:39 am
“If i’d been the NFL Commish he’d be gone for 6 games.”
And that’s why you would never be commish. I mean Haynesworth only got 5 games when he tried to crush that other guys face with his foot. Would you have killed his first born for that offense?? Wilfork didn’t get suspended and he maliciously dropped an elbow into Losman’s knee last year. There was nothing malicious about Smith’s hit.
The hit was a simple case of people playing good hard football both Boldin and Smith. Helmet to helmet hits are unavoidable in this game.
It was the end of the game in garbage time. That TD would have meant nothing. Warner hung Boldin out to dry over the middle….Boldin went up to try to make the catch (as he should) and Smith tried to break up the play (as he should)….now that is the end of the story.
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October 8th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I’m glad the NFL’s use of fines and suspensions for helmet-to-helmet plays has decreased their occurrence. Gee, I can’t remember the last time I saw one since they pressed this emphasis…
Follow the money.
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October 8th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
If the first defender didn’t cause Boldin’s head to move downward and cause the helmet-tohelmet hit, then the NFL should fine Boldin for ducking his head directly into Smith’s oncoming head.
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October 8th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
If they really want to stop these hits, the NFL should take about half the padding out of the helmets. The helmets are too safe for the person doing the hitting. If you’re going to knock yourself out by hitting a guy with your helmet, you’ll probably think twice about it and try tackle him the “right” way, “Concrete Charlie-Frank Gifford Style.”
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October 8th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Could you imagine a hit like that back in the old days when they wore leather helmets with no face mask. I bet the fans would get sprayed.
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October 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
“The hit was a simple case of people playing good hard football both Boldin and Smith. Helmet to helmet hits are unavoidable in this game.”
Yes, they are absolutely avoidable. And this one was especially avoidable. You don’t lead with your helmet. Period.
And it makes no difference at what point in the game it happened. doesn’t change the fact that Smith led with his helmet and did exactly what the little warning sticker on the back of it told him not to do…..because it can cause injury and/or death.
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October 8th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Again, helmet to helmet hits ARE unavoidable. The speed of the game is way too fast.
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October 8th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I agree, Boldin’s head moved significantly downward at the last moment. Look at the clip around 39 seconds - You can judge the plane of the two helmets by the end line stripe. Smith was going for his chest. I thought the NFL jumped the gun a little and I’m surprised upon further review that the fine/suspension were not overturned.
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October 8th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
OK everyone, Let me Fischer Price this for you. Put yourself in a forward leaning stance. Notice what is out front? If you attempt to make a text book tackle is your head & neck behind the shoulders? NO. This and many other hits(not all) are purely caused by the speed of the game. This is a byproduct of Bigger, Faster, Stronger. The way I see it the only sure fire way to curb this is to get smaller, slower, and weaker. I can’t imagine watching a ever increasing two hand touch game. That is with the exception of the OL/FB’s & DL/LBs they can smash into each other repeatedly throughout the game and nobody really cares because they aren’t in a ’skill’ position
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October 8th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
And before anyone gets in and mentions but your not supposed to lead with the head period. I know it’s supposed to be off to the side. that is where the speed of the game comes in… even with the ‘best’ of intentions these things are going to happen.
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October 8th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
This is a tough call, but I am afraid I must side with NFL on this. It looked clearly that Eric was using his helmet, intentionally or not, to tackle and that was not wise. He could have used his arms going for the ball or shovel Boldin down with arms making contact to the chest or shoulder (to throw him off balance). However, given the speed I will give Smith reasobable doubt but I feel that being fine is appropriate to show all players where NFL stands on Helmet-to-Helmet contact and encourage everyone to think fast and respond fast to avoid helmet-to-helmet contact.
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October 8th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Defending Smith is ridiculous it was spearing plain and simple, he was leading with his helmet on a defenseless player. Every player had the letter read to them telling them “From this point forward, you should be clear on the following point: Any conduct that unnecessarily risks the safety of other players has no role in the game of football and will be disciplined at increased levels, including on a first offense,” and spearing is exactly that type of conduct. This is why they suspended him, he would have been suspended even if Boldin had been fine.
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October 8th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Smith seen that pass coming, AND DID LOWER HIS HEAD, you can tell right when he excellerated into him, plain as day.. So, what, you saying he had no reason to cover that 7 yards in 2 seconds, for nothing, with his head down.. He wanted to cause some pain, and he did just that..
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