National Football League

Analyzing NFL's response to violent hits

Published Oct. 21, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Every week, the experts of FOX NFL Sunday will candidly reveal their observations and make their opinions known as they prepare for football's top-rated pregame telecast — seen each Sunday at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. We'll share some of the highlights from Curt, Terry, Howie, Jimmy and Michael grabbed from their weekly conference call with insider John Czarnecki.

This week, FOX NFL Rules Analyst Mike Pereira drops by as Czar probes the FOX NFL Sunday crew on violent hits, the Philadelphia Eagles-Tennessee Titans matchip, the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings.

Czar: Every player, coach and fan this week is talking about the new level of collisions in the NFL and the fines placed on three players, notably James Harrison of the Steelers and Brandon Meriweather of the Patriots. What’s your opinion of those plays and how the league responded?

Terry Bradshaw: I didn’t see anything wrong with the Dunta Robinson hit on Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson. That whole play was unavoidable and I don’t believe there was any intent on Robinson’s part to injure Jackson. It was just a bang, bang play.

Mike Pereira: The one thing we have to let the fans knows that there have been no rule changes in regard to these plays in which the players were fined. And I don’t believe there are going to be any new rule changes in this regard going forward. The only thing that has changed is the accountability and discipline. What I mean is that James Harrison can’t be saying that the league is changing the game midstream this year. Also, people are saying that his hit on Josh Cribbs was part of the $75,000 fine and that’s not true because that’s not a foul. The reason he got fined so much is because he’s a repeat offender. He picked up Vince Young and slammed him down on his head, Turkey Jones’ style, in Week 2. And he got fined for that. And also the nonsense that he said he is trying to hurt players; that may also be a factor in that fine.

TB: One of the biggest problems with all this is that we are talking about 3-4 hits in about 2,100 plays from last weekend’s 14 games. I don’t believe there are that many illegal hits.

MP: I agree with that. I don’t think you can avoid all the collisions, but you can’t convince me that Brandon Meriweather’s was not avoidable. That to me was the ultimate of the cheap shot. I don’t think the NFL game is ramped up with all these illegal hits and I also don’t buy Harrison’s lament that he can no longer play the game when everyone else is playing within the rules.

Michael Strahan: One of the problems is who can make a tackle without putting your head down in a certain sense. Just like the game has evolved and changed and also the rules, now techniques of tackling have changed with the facemask as part of the helmet, too. Most guys don’t want to touch the ground, so they arm tackle instead of using their shoulders. I just don’t know how Dunta Robinson was supposed to avoid his collision with Jackson.

MP: His was the hardest one to judge of the three players who were fined. And I also understand that today’s game is played differently than it used to be with all the passing and the spread offenses. I think a lot of this has steamrolled because there are so many media outlets that keep replaying all of these hits.

Jimmy Johnson: If they loosened up the rules more to help players in the secondary, more bump-and-run stuff, there may be more man coverage in pass defense. But you are still going to have a free safety roaming around back there. So, you are still going to have hits. And defensive coaches are never going to play straight across man coverage.

Howie Long: One of the big things is that receivers used to sit when they saw zone coverage, but now they run right through there and that’s what happened to Cribbs against Harrison. Since the beginning of time, receivers have been taught that. But what has changed in the game is that zone defender is now a 250-pound linebacker like Harrison. I was actually surprised by the amount of rhetoric coming out of New York early in the week, saying what a game-changing weekend it was in regard to player safety that not one of the players was suspended.

MP: The only reason the league didn’t suspend a player is because they have been pretty firm that they want to let the union and the players know ahead of time that they are planning to do something different. And the fine money goes to a good cause. It goes to the NFLPA Players assistance fund for retired players association and also for medical research.

HL: One of the problems facing a player like Harrison is if he does gear down and passes up a blow-up like he had in the Cleveland game, inevitably he may lose the locker room and maybe his job. That’s the reality of the situation for many, many defensive players. I get the hit zone and the helmet, but I’m not quite sure when you are talking about targets that are moving at 4.4 speeds across the field. Couple that when there are ricochet hits when another player makes contact with the offensive player seconds before you have already made a move to make a play on the ball. Now, that hit, one that was intended to be in the chest, now ends up in the helmet. And you are telling me that guy is going to be suspended? There are just too many moving targets involved and I don’t believe you can call some of them cheap shots.

***

Czar: Now on to some football. What does it mean if Vince Young doesn’t play against the Eagles?

JJ: If Young doesn’t play, it changes the style that Tennessee will play. It would take away the effectiveness of Chris Johnson and also increases the effectiveness of them throwing the football with Kerry Collins.

MS: I think Kerry is still a damn good quarterback and I would think that should open up the running game for Johnson.

JJ: The benefit of Vince though in the passing game is that it keeps the pass rush pretty much standard as far as containment, something they don’t have to worry about with Collins. It will open up some running lanes for Johnson.

HL: Collins is more of a traditional quarterback and you don’t have to worry how the bootleg and him running out of the pocket. Interestingly, Young is not a good short or intermediate passer. His big play is the play over the top or the run. You know, the broken play where he hits someone over the top.

***

Czar: What are they going to do in Philadelphia with the quarterbacks?

TB: I think Andy Reid is eventually going to have to make a decision on which one he starts down the road. I know Michael Vick needs to rest his ribs for another week, but what happens in a couple of weeks if Kolb wins another game?

JJ: I think they are going to need both guys, the way quarterbacks get hurt in this league. I don’t think Vick will ever be able to survive a 16-game season healthy. They should be trying to sign Vick now to a long-term contract. They also have to be very happy that they have signed Kolb. I think Andy Reid is relishing toying around with the media and being able to play both quarterbacks.

MS: Kolb doesn’t have a resume right now, so he can’t complain if Vick plays in future games.

JJ: I think both players give the Eagles the chance to win.

HL: The great thing for the Eagles is that eventually teams will have to prepare for both of them.

JJ: I think there’s a chance that Kolb will end up being the guy because he has shown them that he can run the entire offense, do the things that Andy wants to do. He’s throwing down the field and operating the entire offense.

***

Czar: Brett Favre and Randy Moss return to Lambeau Field. What do you think of this showdown game?

JJ: The way the Packers are banged up, I believe Minnesota has jumped right back in the mix of things. Everybody was counting them out when they were 1-3. The way they played against Dallas and the way Brett went back to protecting the football and playing within the scheme of thing, that’s good. What’s going to help them, too, is the way that Chicago is playing with Mike Martz giving up 126 sacks a game. I think Minnesota is right back into the mix.

TB: We are also hearing now about how Moss gave a fired up speech at halftime of last week’s game. He sounds like a leader now.

JJ: I think he’s been somewhat of a leader most of the places he’s been.

HL: But the stop in New England probably gave him a better perspective. He said it back there that he had never been part of a team until I got to New England. It’s all about team in New England and I believe he took something from that experience to Minnesota. He’s definitely a different guy from the one that started out in Minnesota.

***

Czar: What can the Bears do to stop all the hits on quarterback Jay Cutler.

TB: You’d like to believe they can be more balanced than they have been. I was shocked at how horrible they were at home against Seattle.

HL: This is the kind of offense that Mike Martz likes to run. And don’t forget, the sack doesn’t impact your quarterback rating.

***

Czar: Well, what do you expect from the Redskins?

HL: The Redskins have played consistently most of the year. Donovan McNabb is a streaky quarterback. At times, he is not particularly accurate. And that showed up at the end of last week’s game against the Colts. The one throw that was a little short at the end that was intercepted. If he makes that throw, and he’s not under pressure at that point, it could have been a touchdown. It could have been a game-changer.

Czar: What about the relationship between Albert Haynesworth and Mike Shanahan? Is it as bad as it seems?

JJ: I think that’s a testament to how bad the system is. Whenever a player is getting that much money up front and not having to perform it.

HL: At times, not being allowed to perform for it.

JJ: One way or the other, I’m not placing the blame on why he’s not performing. But if I am coaching him, I am thoroughly upset that he’s making a sack full of money and he’s eating up our salary cap and I’m not getting anything from him on the field. When he has played, he hasn’t been a difference-maker.

HL: He is as good if not better than what they have. His half-brother dying and him being away for seven days has exasperated the situation. They have just gotten into a contest of complaining about each other. They kept asking for a second-rounder for him, but Tennessee wasn’t willing to give that up for him. The thing about Albert is that he wasn’t happy with the four-man front that Washington played before they went to the 3-4. I don’t know if Albert is ever going to be happy except in the scheme that Tennessee runs where he can rush the quarterback on every play. He fits what they do and that’s why Tennessee wanted him back.

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