Vontaze Burfict (Bengals Linebacker) Hit on AB

[S3mper]

If you watched the Steelers VS Bengals Wildcard game you probably have seen the hit Vontaze Burfict put on Antonio Brown (Steelers Wide Receiver).
I personally would NOT categorize this as a "football play" at all. To me it certainly appeared as a malicious intent to put as much of a devastating blow on the star Wide Out as he could.
The hit could have paralyzed or potentially killed AB.

Of course this hit isn't the only time I would point to if I wanted to categorize Burfict as a dirty player. I could point to the time where Burfict TWISTED Cam Newtons (Carolina's QB) surgically repaired ankle after a tackle. Or I could point to the time Burfict twisted Greg Olsen (Carolina's Tight End) ankle after a tackle. Or I could point to a few weeks ago when Burfict was fined for diving at Ben Roethlisberger's (Steelers QB) ankle/back of the knee not long after he was coming off of a sprained MCL. (Burfict claimed he was pushed Roethlisberger didn't think so, neither did the camera)

As a Steelers fan I may be biased so let me know what you thought of the hit and what the punishment should be?

 

[VinnyStrat]

Disclaimer: Bengals fan for 50 years.

I would agree with you on Burfict, he just seems out of control.

Having said that, I've seen too many games where Bengals quarterbacks have been knocked out of a game or injured by the Steelers.

And then knowing that with the tensions pre-game were escalated and having a Steelers coach mid-field calling Bengals players MFers and trying to enflame the situation + having a penalty on a Steelers coach I say if you get what you ask for, you can't bitch about it too much.

 

[OzExorcist]

Speaking as someone who lives on the other side of the world and doesn't have a backing interest in either team, the hit looked super-dirty to me. It made me cringe watching it live... and I watch a lot of MMA so I'm kinda desensitised to watching people get KTFO.

I'm expecting a huge fine and a suspension will be in order for him.

 

[S3mper]

Disclaimer: Bengals fan for 50 years.

I would agree with you on Burfict, he just seems out of control.

Having said that, I've seen too many games where Bengals quarterbacks have been knocked out of a game or injured by the Steelers.

And then knowing that with the tensions pre-game were escalated and having a Steelers coach mid-field calling Bengals players MFers and trying to enflame the situation + having a penalty on a Steelers coach I say if you get what you ask for, you can't bitch about it too much.

I disagree.

To say "Your 65+ year old coach pulled our player" (After the player drove his shoulder into him) is a reason to intentionally look to injure a player with a dirty hit that could have killed him is absurd. (I agree the Steelers Coach was in the wrong btw)

There is 0 legitimate reason to make that hit and every reason not to make that hit.


@Bolded: You mean after the hit on Brown?


Edit: Here is the coach part you mentioned for transparency

 

[S3mper]

I honestly hope he gets banned. He is a danger to players safety who is a "repeat offender" who has been warned previously.

 

[S3mper]

He got a 3 game suspension. Which I don't think is enough. Martavis Bryant got a 4 game suspension for smoking weed. Repeatedly breaking player safety rules 3 games....?

This coming off of the game where he was fined $50,000 for an illegal hit on the Ravens TE.

I would think with all the scrutiny the NFL is going through with concussions (including a movie called "Concussion" starring Will Smith out) that the NFL would penalize a player who repeatedly breaks player safety rules more than a player who smokes pot.

 

[VinnyStrat]

I disagree.

To say "Your 65+ year old coach pulled our player" (After the player drove his shoulder into him) is a reason to intentionally look to injure a player with a dirty hit that could have killed him is absurd. (I agree the Steelers Coach was in the wrong btw)

I wasn't trying to imply that Burfict was in any way justified, he should be required to get some counseling before the let him back on the field.

Having said that, the coaches should be above the fray. Reports are that Joey Porter was on the field before the game calling Bengals Players MFers. And he shouldn't have been on the field at the end of the game trying to inflame the situation. The penalty against Jones could have just as easily been called against Porter for a net of 0 yards instead of +30 for the Steelers. ESPN is reporting that he will be fined also.

 

[S3mper]

I wasn't trying to imply that Burfict was in any way justified, he should be required to get some counseling before the let him back on the field.

Having said that, the coaches should be above the fray. Reports are that Joey Porter was on the field before the game calling Bengals Players MFers. And he shouldn't have been on the field at the end of the game trying to inflame the situation. The penalty against Jones could have just as easily been called against Porter for a net of 0 yards instead of +30 for the Steelers. ESPN is reporting that he will be fined also.

I in no way think Porter was in the right. There has been a couple of incidences now where he's upset me (his celebration with Gay after Gays pick 6) wasn't coach like behavior.
I think the Steelers need to be more disciplined.

If Jones wouldn't of touched the official your right that flag may have been called on Porter. Jones did touch the official though and he doesn't have the best reputation himself either.

 

[99TERRANCE99]

REFS ARE LOSING THEIR MINDS IN THE NFL

 

[S3mper]

REFS ARE LOSING THEIR MINDS IN THE NFL

How so?

 

[tke001]

What do you expect of the Bengals? Pacman Jones and Vontaze B. are troubled guys with a history of bonehead behavior from their early years of college to Pacman in the strip clubs. On the field they have continued with the to act like idiots whether it is late hits, unnecessary roughness trying to hurt somebody, or just getting into fights. In the NFL you can only get away with having so many malcontents regardless of their talents.

 

[Kenzie 96]

Bengals are once again at home, having managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[ckingriches]

While I agree that Burfict should have been flagged for the hit on Antonio Brown, I don't believe it was worth a 3 game suspension. The hit that Shazier put on Giovani Bernard was just as bad IMO. And I don't understand why the referee was so quick to flag Jones on the second penalty. If it were my league, the first rule to remember would be that we don't want the referees to determine the outcome of any game.

By the way, both Burfict and Shazier were clearly impacting the game in borderline out-of-control ways that could only have resulted in some sort of craziness. For better or worse, that game was intense.

 

[OzExorcist]

If it were my league, the first rule to remember would be that we don't want the referees to determine the outcome of any game.

Setting aside how impossible that may or may not be, surely it's on the players to NOT do things that will require the referees to get involved in the first place?

 

[ckingriches]

Setting aside how impossible that may or may not be, surely it's on the players to NOT do things that will require the referees to get involved in the first place?

Less than a minute to go and someone is called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when it has nothing to do with the play on the field and everyone out there is jabbering at each other. They could have made a point by calling penalties on both teams, or called none at all. He did nothing that "required" a flag. No one would have complained if the refs had simply moved the players and coaches away from each other. So while I see your point, I disagree that it is relevant in this limited scenario.

 

[S3mper]

While I agree that Burfict should have been flagged for the hit on Antonio Brown, I don't believe it was worth a 3 game suspension.

The suspension wasn't for the hit alone it's the fact that he is a repeat offender. Just look at his track record. The very week before he was fined for a hit on the Ravens TE.

If the NFL finds evidence of him spitting on Steelers players it will be even longer.

The hit that Shazier put on Giovani Bernard was just as bad IMO. And I don't understand why the referee was so quick to flag Jones on the second penalty. If it were my league, the first rule to remember would be that we don't want the referees to determine the outcome of any game.

Giovani Bernard was not a defenseless receiver. If you want to say that Shazier hit with the crown of his helmet and should of been a penalty I'll go with that.

But I would categorize Shaziers hit as a "football play" Burfict had a hit to the head on a defenseless receiver after the ball had already soared passed him. Intentional or not this is a flag every single time.

Less than a minute to go and someone is called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when it has nothing to do with the play on the field and everyone out there is jabbering at each other. They could have made a point by calling penalties on both teams, or called none at all. He did nothing that "required" a flag. No one would have complained if the refs had simply moved the players and coaches away from each other. So while I see your point, I disagree that it is relevant in this limited scenario.

Jones made contact with the official. That will also be a flag quite often. Do I think that, that flag is more likely to be called on Jones than someone else because of his reputation? Sure.. If you don't want that reputation then don't rip off players helmets and slam their heads into it.

The referees did not decide the outcome of this game the players did. You're not allowed to push an official whether there be 15 minutes left in the first or 22 seconds in the fourth.


On a side note Boswell hits that 50+ yard FG right down the middle anyways. Guy is clutch.

 

[OzExorcist]

Less than a minute to go and someone is called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when it has nothing to do with the play on the field and everyone out there is jabbering at each other. They could have made a point by calling penalties on both teams, or called none at all. He did nothing that "required" a flag. No one would have complained if the refs had simply moved the players and coaches away from each other. So while I see your point, I disagree that it is relevant in this limited scenario.

*shrugs*

Still the player's fault for being dumb enough to do something that could draw a flag in the first place. Bengals have only themselves to blame here. And are you seriously arguing that there should be one set of rules for, say, inside the two minute warning and another set of rules for outside of it?

Regardless, my point was broader than this one instance: it'd be impossible to have a league where the outcome of a game is never decided by the referee - unless you somehow come up with a sport that doesn't have referees at all.

Think about it too, pretty much all the decisions referees make "decide the outcome of the game", not just ones made in the final seconds.

 

[ckingriches]

I made my point. I'm not going to argue with either of you.

 

[lcid86]

it was like watchin the raiders and steelers in the 70s. Lots of dirty play, fighting, and stuff that distracted from the game.