Acquiring Trent Richardson was a great move by the Colts. (Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE)
Am I beating a dead horse? Do few people actually care that certain NFL players are head-hunters, and not only put other players at risk, but also themselves when the helmet is used as a missile?
Yes, in the old-school NFL, attackers like Doug Plank of the Chicago Bears were heralded as tough guys, even if there were those that believed they were dirty. But that was before we witnessed early-onset dementia in players, along with severe cases of depression and ALS.
Yet, there are still current players that would rather be cracked in the head repeatedly than have someone going at their knees. Both are bad, but at least there can be recovery from a knee injury. It sure doesn’t seem to be that way with concussions, even when it appears everything is fine. The damage to the brain builds, making the future uncertain and scary for those that can think with their brains.
So it was that the NFL reversed itself again in the case of Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson, just as it did last year when hearing officer Ted Cottrell overturned a one-game suspension doled out by NFL vice-president of football operations Merton Hanks.
This time, Hanks’ one-game suspension of Goldson was thrown out by new hearing officer Matt Birk. Hanks must be wondering what it will take to have one of his decisions upheld. Cottrell and Birk are jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA.
After all, Goldson is the poster boy for repeat offenders. Since 2010, he has had 15 significant penalties: 11 for unnecessary roughness, three for unsportsmanlike conduct and one personal foul.
In 2012, he was reportedly fined over $50,000 for three incidents (including $21,000 for a hit on former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez).
This year, in Week 1, he was fined $30,000 for a helmet-to-helmet shot on Jets tight Jeff Cumberland, then followed that the next week with a helmet hit on Saints running back Darren Sproles. Goldson would have lost close to $265,000 in salary if the suspension had been upheld; instead Birk levied a $100,000 fine.
Let’s remember, it was former Chargers and Patriots safety Rodney Harrison that brought this subject to the forefront three years ago when he said on NBC that fines aren’t deterrent enough. And he was fined plenty during his career, while acknowledging he had “a budget” for what he expected to be fined during a season.
“Fines are a cost of doing business,” Harrison said, “but when a guy loses a game check and isn’t available for his team, that hurts.”
He also said then that when his son asks to watch highlights of his career, “I get scared even watching myself. I just want those guys to be protected.”
Yet, in the ensuing three years, the fine money has grown, but suspensions are still rare.
After being hit with the $100,000 fine, roughly 2.2 percent of his $4.5 million salary, Goldson said, “I know there’s going to be a lot of eyes on me from now on. I mean, that’s OK. I’ve just got to be smart. I’m not trying to hurt our team, I’m definitely not trying to hurt myself or another player.”
Other players disagree with that sentiment, most notably Sproles, who said, “He tried to hurt me on the play, but he didn’t,” and Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who said, “He’s had a lot of those. He certainly has no regard for the rules in the middle. He’s going after guys’ heads. You can see it.”
Concluded Goldson, who said with an apparent straight face, “I’m an aggressive player, we all know that throughout the league. My intention is never to go out here and hurt nobody. I try to keep my hits within the rules and that’s what I’m going to try to do week in and week out is make sure I get guys on the ground. At the same time, I’ve got to be careful. I’ve got to take my shots when they present themselves, but clean. No launching of course, no hats on hats. Just make sure I get the guy on the ground and do it properly.”
We shall see.
Disbelief in Cleveland
Shortly after announcing that Brian Hoyer would be the starting quarterback in Week 3 instead of Jason Campbell, the Cleveland Browns stunned the NFL (including their own players), when they traded running back Trent Richardson to the Colts for a first-round pick next spring. Now, we obviously don’t know where the Colts’ pick will be come May, but in this year’s draft, they selected 24th.
Simply put, this was highway robbery by the Colts, even if there are some injury questions about Richardson. Where they will likely be selecting, they wouldn’t get a player as talented as Richardson. Colts general manager Ryan Grigson fleeced his former superior in Philadelphia, Joe Banner.
It was good football evaluators like Grigson and former coach Andy Reid that created the numerous years of excellence for Eagles football. Somehow, Banner is viewed as the architect of that success (at least by new owner Jimmy Haslam), and parlayed that into a major role with the Browns, along with new general manager Mike Lombardi. The latter replaced Tom Heckert, who was also a large part of the winning that took place in Philadelphia.
Heckert and former club CEO Mike Holmgren drafted Richardson, Holmgren said on Seattle radio station KJR, “Philosophically, if I am the coach and someone came in anywhere and did that, I’d say, ‘OK, fire me, or I’m going to quit. Or we’re going to both go into the owner and talk about this and the we’ll see who’s still standing.’
“How do you make your team better by trading your best player? He’s their best offensive player. He’s a valuable, valuable guy.”
Meanwhile, Grigson said of Richardson, “The thing about him is he plays the game the way it’s meant to be played. He was born to run the football. He’s a powerful back, a back that can avoid tacklers or run over them. He can catch the ball. He adds an element on third down. He’s got a pretty broad skill set in a very compact 220-pound frame who happens to run a 4.48.”
As for the fact that Richardson has averaged just 3.5 yards an attempt since being the Browns’ third overall choice last year, Grigson said he will have more success with the Colts playing with quarterback Andrew Luck.
“I know the numbers,” Grigson said. “But the yardage is there. You see it when you’re watching the film. Obviously if you have a guy that’s your main threat in the offense, that’s who defenses are going to key up. Trent isn’t even near his ceiling. We’re talking about the third pick in the draft and that’s not because he’s a ham-and-egger.”
The Browns replaced Richardson by signing Willis McGahee, who wasn’t with any team throughout the offseason. Their other backs are Chris Ogbonnaya and Bobby Rainey. Wonder what the over/under is in days on when McGahee will be injured.
The deal prompted Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon to say he was “almost in disbelief” when he heard the news.
Speaking about hearing the news, Richardson learned of the deal while listening to the radio.
Speaking with Forked Tongue
The response from Denver Broncos coach John Fox was classic this past Monday when he was asked about reports that left tackle Ryan Clady had suffered a Lisfranc injury to his foot the day before and could be out for an extended period of time.
Refuting those reports, Fox said, “I’m not into fortune telling or tea leaves or any of that good stuff. I’m of the reporting nature of how we report the game. Right now, it’s exactly what I said, it’s a left foot sprain. When we know something, we’ll let all the fortune tellers know.”
Well, the fortune tellers were correct. Two days later, Clady was placed on injured reserve and will have surgery for … drum roll, please … a Lisfranc fracture.
