The first round of the 2012 NFL Draft has come and gone (in just over 3 hours), teams are now settling in and getting ready for the second and third rounds, which will take place tonight. Outside of the first two spots occupied by Andrew Luck and RG III, the first round was highlighted by a flurry of activity with teams wheeling and dealing to jockey for positioning to get the player(s) they coveted. In fact, the wheeling and dealing began roughly 45 minutes prior to Andrew Luck being announced as the first pick. The Cleveland Browns — who started the night with 13 picks — traded the fourth pick over all and their fourth-, fifth- and seventh-rounders to take over the Minnesota Vikings’ third overall pick (detailed below). Apparently concerned that another team was going to try to get in front of them, the Browns made the move to select Alabama running back Trent Richardson. That was the first of a record 19 trades, the most since 1970, including two out-of-character moves up by the New England Patriots, which they used to shore up their defense.
The trades were made easier and more appealing by the rookie wage system that went into place when the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to last summer. That system reduced the price tag of the top picks by about half from what they were paid before the new deal, reversing the trend of just two years ago, when the price of the top few picks was so prohibitive that nobody wanted them.
Here’s a breakdown of each one of the trades made in round 1 on Thursday night:
Cleveland gives up a 4th, 5th and 7th round pick to Minnesota to move up from 1.4 to 1.3 - Minnesota made a killing! They got 3 picks for a player they clearly were not going to draft by simply threatening Cleveland with the idea that they could make a deal with someone else to jump up and get Trent Richardson. Minnesota gets the player they were going to take at 3 anyhow at 4 and now add 3 more picks. Nice move for them. Cleveland better hope Richardson is the real deal and is another Adrian Peterson-like performer o else they got fleeced on this one, big time.
Jacksonville gives 4th rounder to Tampa Bay move up from 1.7 to 1.5 - Huge move for Jacksonville! They got what they see as the best offensive playmaker in the receiving game and they only had to give up a 4th rounder to do it!
Dallas gives up a 2nd rounder to St. Louis move up from 1.14 to 1.6 -Bold trade by Dallas. They saw that Tampa Bay moved back to #7 and they immediately trade up in front of them to nab Morris Claiborne. Getting the best CB in the draft is worth giving up their 2nd rounder. As for the Rams, they have turned the #2 pick into the #14 pick and 2 second rounders this year and 2 first rounders next year. Awesome job by a team with lots of needs!
Philadelphia gives up a 4th and 6th round pick to move up from 1.15 to 1.12 – Seattle does well to get a 4th and 6th rounder to only move down 3 spots. Good move for them. But the Eagles get arguably a top-8 player in this draft in Fletcher Cox and only have to give up two late round picks to move up to get him. That is the definition of a great trade!
New England gives up a 3rd round pick to move up from 1.27 to 1.21 – We are so used to seeing New England move down and get better picks or future picks, that I am surprised to see them move up for once. They know what they are doing. And only giving up a 3rd rounder to end up with Chandler Jones is a hell of a move. Being the anti-Boston fan I hate them!…..but damn they are smart and good at what they do during the draft.
New England gives up a 4th rounder to move up from 1.31 to 1.25 – And the rich just keep getting richer. After one heck of a move to get Jones they land Hightower for simply a 4th rounder to move up. I am sick. Nice job New England.
Minnesota gives up a 4th rounder to move up from 2.03 to 1.29 – The trade itself was fair for both sides. But I did not like the selection for Minnesota. Baltimore does a nice job to fall back only 6 or so picks and get a player that is the same caliber of what they would have picked at 29 while adding another 4th rounder.
Tampa Bay gives up a 4th rounder to move up from 2.05 to 1.3 1- Nice job by Tampa. They moved back and still got Barron then used the pick Jacksonville gave them to move up in order to move up here and select the second best RB in the draft. Hell of a job working the board by TB.
Now that I’ve taken a look at the trades from round 1, it’s time for the winners and losers despite it being way to early to make any such determination but what the hell? Let’s do it anyway!
Winners:
Minnesota Vikings – Able to trade down one spot, still get the player they wanted.
Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers are great at evaluating players and the really good ones tend to fall in their laps. This year was no different when they grabbed David DeCastro at #24
Losers:
San Francisco 49ers – The surprise team of 2011 surprised everyone with the selection of WR A.J. Jenkins at #30. Jenkins is a very good receiver who might start at the next level. The question here is whether his value justified the selection.
What can we expect when rounds 2 and 3 get started tonight at 7:00PM? More trades? We’ll all have to tune in and find out. I’ll be back tomorrow to give my winners and losers just as I did today.
A very happy and prosperous New Year to each and every one of you. This afternoon while nursing my Ne Year’s Eve hangover, I watched all the happenings of of Week 17 with the rest of America and thought to myself, how much did we really learn that we didn’t already know?
Backing in to the playoffs isn’t such a bad thing: The Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans all backed in to post-season play despite unimpressive performances down the stretch including Week 17. However, if any of these teams win next weekend, no one will remember how badly they stumbled into the dance.
Backing in is better than not getting in at all: Just ask the Jets. Yeah, I know. That goes without saying. Twenty other teams would love to be in the position that the playoff bound teams are in no matter if you backed in or steamrolled in like the Green Bay Packers.
Santonio Holmes was not on the field for the closing minutes of the Jets' season-ending loss, and a team source said the captain "quit" on his team. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Mark Sanchez, Rex Ryan, and the Jets are all overrated: Remember when Mark Sanchez led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship games? Remember when Rex Ryan garunteed a Super Bowl prior to this season? Yeah, well, the bottom fell out of all of that for the Jets. How bad was it? Sanchez was intercepted three times and Santonio Holmes, who happens to be one of the offensive captains along with Sanchez, was benched following an argument in the huddle. In fact, after the game, one unnamed Jets teammate said Holmes “quit” on the team. Furthermore, sources tell ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen the Jets are leaning towards revamping their offensive coaching staff, despite an organizational philosophy of stability. There’s definitely turmoil surrounding the Jets and its safe to say the honeymoon period is over for Rex and the Jets.
Matt Fynn is going to get paid: No Aaron Rodgers, no problem. The 15-1 Green Bay Packers didn’t miss a beat with Rodgers holding the clipboard and Matt Flynn under center. The former LSU draftee completed 31 of 44 passes for 480 yards and six touchdowns. Wow! Flynn is the only quarterback other than Brett Favre or Rodgers to start for the Packers in the last 20 years, and he had better stats today than either of them ever had in more than 300 combined starts. Mr. Flynn is going to get paid big bucks in free agency next year. The only question is, where?
Tim Tebow is not the answer: The Broncos are going to the playoffs even if they aren’t a particularly good team. Their third straight loss puts them at 8-8 for the season and will raise further questions about Tim Tebow’s long-term viability as a starting quarterback.
This was one of the more wretched big game performances you are going to see out of a passing game. Tebow completed 6-of-22 for 60 yards and average of 2.7 yards-per-attempt. He was intercepted once and lost a fumble when in scoring range. Tebow was 30-for-73 with one touchdown and four picks in the last three weeks. He has seven fumbles in his last four games. That should be a clear indication for John Elway to start backing up the truck load of money in Matt Fynn’s driveway.
The Raiders are still the Raiders: Many fans in Raider Nation thought this would be the year the Raiders would snap out of it and make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Instead, the Raiders aren’t going to the playoffs after losing three of their last four games. The Broncos left the door wide open for the Raiders to sneak in the back door and all the Raiders had to do was beat the Chargers at home and they couldn’t do it. Yup, the Raiders are still… the Raiders.
The injuries continue to mount for the Texans, Steelers: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned to action following a high ankle sprain but despite is return, the injuries tontinue to mount for the Steelers. Running back Rashard Mendenhall went down with a knee injury in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns. He was tackled at the end of a carry and immediately grabbed his knee in obvious pain. He limped off the field and then to the locker room and did not return. After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged the injury appears to be significant and has already been ruled out of next weeks playoff game at Denver. Reports indicate it could be a torn ACL for Mendenhall. They could also be without safety Ryan Clark on Saturday.
The Houston Texans used another quarterback on Sunday. It was the fourth different quarterback to line up under center for the AFC South champions this season. Third stringer T.J. Yates has started since taking over for backup quarterback Matt Leinart in week 13 due to injury. Leinart started week 12′s game against Jacksonville following a season ending foot injury to franchise quarterback Matt Schaub one week prior. In week 17′s season finale against the Tennessee Titans, Yates was knocked out of the game first quarter on Sunday with a bruised left shoulder but could have returned, according to the Texans. Veterin Jake Delhomme took over for Yates and wasn’t bad for a guy who was on his couch a month ago. No matter, don’t expect Delhomme to start a playoff game next week. The Texans fully expect the rookie to be good to go against Cincinnati on Saturday.
The Giants are streaky, but are heading for the playoffs: In the NFL’s regular season finale, it was a winner take all NFC East championship game. Eli Manning and Victor Cruz lead the way as they did all season, and the New York Giants are headed to the playoffs.
And the Cowboys finish a frustrating season by losing to their division rival. There will be no playoffs in Dallas. Controversy always surrounds the Cowboys and Sunday night was no different. Tony Romo’s unsuccessful fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak deep in Giants territory in the fourth quarter on Sunday night was a costly failure in the Cowboys’ season-ending loss, and afterward Romo and Garrett were both asked who deserved the blame.
Going for it on fourth down was the right call. But going through with the sneak, even after seeing that the Giants were lined up and ready for it, feels like a poor decision. Romo should have checked out of the play that Garrett called in from the sideline.
Now that the NFC East is decided, we finally can stop all of the wild and crazy potential playoff scenarios and seeding speculation. The field of 12 hopefuls is set and action begins on Saturday.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 to become the champions of Super Bowl XLV! Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers and their fans! Aaron Rodgers was named the MVP and the proud owner of a new Corvett.
Few can argue against the fact that the two best teams in the NFL will be playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Sunday when the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4) meet the NFC champion Green Bay Packers (13-6) in Super Bowl XLV. What might be the worst nightmare for the host Dallas Cowboys – since both teams playing in the league’s biggest game could equally be viewed as their top nemesis of all-time – promises to be a classic throwback matchup pitting two top defenses against two top quarterbacks with much different offensive philosophies.
Green Bay will be counting on a strong passing game from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has thrived in domed stadiums in his young career since taking over as the starter for Brett Favre. Rodgers has a passer rating of 111.1 in 12 career dome games, throwing 26 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. The Packers are averaging nearly 32 points per game in those games despite going 6-6 straight-up and figure to have a big advantage offensively.
The main challenge for the Packers defensively will be trying to contain Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall along with Roethlisberger. Mendenhall almost single-handedly beat the Jets in the first half of the AFC championship on the way to a 24-0 halftime lead, rushing for 95 of his game-high 121 yards and scoring a touchdown. He is probably the only other offensive player besides the two quarterbacks who can make a big enough impact to garner MVP honors with another huge performance. Green Bay has struggled at times against the run, ranking 18th in the league (114.9 yards per game) during the regular season. Packers rookie running back James Starks will be hard-pressed to crack the Steelers top-ranked run defense, which surrendered an average of only 62.8 yards per game.
One key injury of note for Pittsburgh is rookie center Maurkice Pouncey, who suffered a high ankle sprain along with a broken bone. Pouncey was named to the Pro Bowl and has started all 18 games. Doug Legursky is expected to replace him. That is probably the most intriguing story line heading in to a game that has all the makings of an instant classic.
Whichever way I decide with my pick, I’m not going to be fully committed to it because these two teams are so evenly matched. It seems as though the media has sell Green Bay to the world. Green Bay this and Green Bay that. Tomorrow, everyone comes back to reality and all things are even. Yes, the Packers were ravaged by injuries this year but how did a team that overpowering lose 6 games this year? How quickly do we forget that the Steelers were without their starting quarterback for the first quarter of the season. I’ve learned something this season: you can’t ever count out the Steelers. I haven’t done it yet this post season and I’m not about to do it now.
Pick: A shootout turns into an instant classic and Pittsburgh gets it done, 33-31.
Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu, right, received 17 votes Monday from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who cover the league, edging Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews by a hair — two votes. (Getty Images)
If this were a WWE or even TNA wrestling mach, it would be hair verses hair for Clay Matthews and Troy Polamalu.
If the Super Bowl XLV matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers wasn’t already interesting enough, things are about to get even more intense after the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award was announced yesterday.
Steelers safety Troy Polamalu beat out second-place vote getter and Packers linebacker Clay Matthews. Clay Matthews, who was largely favored to win the award, lost by just three votes while Polamalu earned 17 of 50 media votes.
So did Troy Polamalu deserve the award this season more than Clay Matthews? Absolutely.
There’s no question Troy Polamalu’s play is down when you compare his 2010 season, but this is due to injury. But when you consider Polamalu missed two games this season and still finished the season with 49 solo tackles, 14 assisted, one sack, 18 passes defensed, seven interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, that’s pretty darn impressive.
Some might argue there were stronger performances this season even on the Steelers’ roster. After all,Pittsburgh had three secondary players with more tackles than Polamalu this season, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark and Bryan McFadden.
But simply put, Troy Polamalu is a playmaker. And the style Pittburgh’s defense definitely changes when he is not in the game.
Despite missing a few games this season, Polamalu still led the Steelers with seven interceptions — that’s five more than any other defensive player on the team — and matches Clay Matthews’ interceptions.
Speaking of Matthews, he finished with finished with an impressive 54 solo tackles, but that is just five more than Polamalu.
Matthews should have more tackles considering he is a linebacker and Polamalu is some freakish hybrid of safety and linebacker.
You have to wonder if Clay Matthews is a little chapped about losing out to Polamalu considering the type of season he had but you couldn’t tell by his response.
“Despite defensive player of the year, I get the chance to play Sunday for the world championship.” – Clay Matthews
By now we know that Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers are on the brink of another Super Bowl. This time they face an even more formidable opponent in the person of Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers. The game will be talked about at nauseum by the time we get to the game in Dallas and that is just fine with me. However, you and I both know that plenty of other topics will be touched on during Super Bowl Media Day.
A video clip from Sunday’s AFC Championship Game has turned into a viral video, and it involves Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall celebrating after the teams victory in a very unique way.
The chances of that topic surfacing on Media Day are pretty good, don’t you think?
How could you not be excited about this game? The NFL’s oldest rivalry, played out on a rare stage: this is the first time these two teams have met in a play-off game since December 14, 1941, a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor. And to top it all off, both teams are playing pretty well.
On the one side, the hottest quarterback in the league. On the other, one of the best defences. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers has a preposterous passer rating of 134.5 after two games so far this postseason, yet in the two regular season meetings he could only get his team into the endzone three times. Opposing quarterbacks have had an average passer rating of just 77.4 against the Bears over the course of the year.
Green Bay can play pretty decent defence too, though, and with the Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler remaining inconsistent they appear on paper to be the more complete team. But when the margins are as fine as this it only takes one big play to turn everything on its head. Where Green Bay look to Rodgers, Chicago have Devin Hester, one of the most explosive kick returners in the league. Something tells me this is going to come down to one special teams play.
New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers
The Jets talked the talk, and then they walked the walk. Sports Illustrated found just the right picture to sum up New York’s brutal subduing of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots last week and now Ben Roethlisberger must be fearing a similar fate. Big Ben may be a big boy who can roll with the punches but another pounding would not be welcome after he was sacked six times by the Ravens last week.
There has been almost no trash-talking from the Jets’ players this week, a stark contrast with their approach to the Patriots game, but don’t expect this game to be any less brutal. The Steelers’ cornerback Ike Taylor broke ranks yesterday by warning that he planned to “lay out” his former team-mate Santonio Holmes. The Jets’ defence may have been ranked third in the league during the regular season, but the Steelers were second.
They terrorised Baltimore’s Joe Flacco last week and will come after Mark Sanchez. An NFL record-equalling four road play-off wins in two seasons show that he can handle pressure better than many give him credit for, but the Jets will need to run the ball to succeed. They did that better than any other team in the league has this season when they beat Pittsburgh 22-17 in December, amassing 106 yards on 27 carries, but the Steelers were without Troy Polamalu at the time. Polamalu is back, though it must be noted that he looked short of his best against the Ravens.
Ultimately, the Steelers have the better quarterback, the better defence and a running game that – while worse than that of the Jets – is hardly shabby. Being at home on top of all of that, they really should win. But once again this week, my instinct is leading me against my logic. After all Jets can’t go through Indianapolis and New England and still not make it to the big dance … can they?
*Picks for the game will be posted tonight or later tomorrow, stay tuned!*
The Baltimore Ravens dropped a 31-24 nail-biter against arch-rival, Pittsburgh Steelers, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, ending their season.
The Steelers bounced back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to outscore the Ravens, 24-7, in the second half of the game. The score was tied at 24 with only three minutes left in the game, but two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did what many, including myself, have come to expect from him, leading Pittsburgh to a game-winning touchdown.
Pittsburgh will now advance to the AFC Championship for the fourth time in seven years, and will face the winner of the New York Jets-New England Patriots.
While the Steelers trailed by two touchdowns at the half, it was the Ravens who fell apart in the in the second half as the team they love to beat most came back to knock them out of the postseason. The Steelers are 9-0 against division teams in the postseason.
The Steelers were trailing 21-7 after turnovers created two Ravens touchdowns. But they came back with the help of three Baltimore turnovers in the third quarter. It was so bad, the Ravens’ minus-4 yards in offense wasn’t the worst of it; they ended with 28 yards in the second half. Baltimore was outgained 263-126.
One of the key cogs fueling the rivalry by the two teams, Hines Ward caught the tying touchdown summed things up by giving the Ravens some buliten board material heading into next season.
“What better way to put the Ravens out of the tournament, they keep asking for us and we keep putting them out of the tournament. They’re going to be ticked about this for a long time.” - Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward
You’ve got that right Mr. Ward.
Later in the third quarter, Joe Flacco overthrew tight end Todd Heap, and Ryan Clark returned the interception 17 yards to the 25. Three plays later, Roethlisberger found ol’ reliable Ward, absent in the offense most of the day, for an 8-yard touchdown pass and it was tied at 21.
Along the sideline, the Ravens had the look of a team that couldn’t believe it had squandered the lead — and couldn’t figure out how to get it back. They never did.
“All you can do is take a shot at being great, our guys did that all year. We just weren’t great enough today to win the football game.” – John Harbaugh
Carving up the NFC’s top-seeded team, Rodgers threw three touchdown passes, ran for another score and led the Green Bay Packers to their second straight postseason road victory with a stunning 48-21 rout of the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night.
The Packers will have to win one more on the road to complete their improbable run from sixth seed to the Super Bowl, but nothing looks out of the question the way Rodgers is playing. He’ll lead Green Bay into the NFC championship game at either Chicago or Seattle next weekend.
Rodgers completed 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards, more than Brett Favre – the guy he replaced in Green Bay – never threw for in a playoff game.
It’s time to look at the schedule for the weekend. Just like last weekend, the four games will be spread across two days, but this time only Fox and CBS will handle the broadcasting duties. It all kicks off on Saturday afternoon when the Baltimore Ravens head to Pittsburgh to battle the Steelers.
Here’s the full schedule for the weekend.
Saturday, Jan. 15
AFC: No. 2 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. No. 5 Baltimore Ravens, 4:30 p.m. at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The game will be televised by CBS.
NFC: No. 1 Atlanta Falcons vs. No. 6 Green Bay Packers, 8:00 p.m. at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The game will be televised by Fox.
Sunday, Jan. 16
NFC: No. 2 Chicago Bears vs. No. 4 Seattle Seahawks, 1:00 a.m. at Soldier Field in Chicago. The game will be televised by Fox.
AFC: No. 1 New England Patriots vs. No. 6 New York Jets, 4:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The game will be televised by CBS.
The picks are in.
Ravens @ Steelers
This one might get ugly in a hurry. Two hard hitting, penalty prone teams going head to head. A tough talking and tough playing rivalry for the ages. The Steelers have really put an emphasis on ‘D’ this season, and their ‘O’ has, for long stretches, struggled to score points. The Ravens made a tricky trip to Arrowhead look easy last week. The Steelers are understandably the home favourite, however the Ravens have a comparable (note, comparable, not equal) defence, and a superior offence with more weapons. Look, I’m not doubting they are capable of waltzing into Heinz Field and come out smiling the other end but I don’t see it happening. It’s tough for me to bet against Ben Roethlisberger in a close game in the fourth quarter at home no less. I’m not about to start now.
The Pick: Steelers 17-16
Packers @ Falcons
Now that’s what you call Saturday night entertainment. What a potentially fantastic game. Here’s the thing, doesn’t it seem every season the Packers play great, entertaining football, beat a few people up and then lose an absolutely fantastic shoot-out against someone? You hate to ‘hex’ a game, but we should expect fireworks here. Matty ‘Ice’, given a minute to work with, drives the Falcons into game winning field goal range, after a barn-burner of a showdown.
The Pick: Falcons 30-27
Seahawks @ Bears
Last weekends shocking upset by the Seahawks over the former champion Saints was an incredibly generous gift, beautifully wrapped, for the Chicago Bears. Instead of facing Green Bay they now get to face one of the worst road teams in the NFL. The Seahawks played with great passion and pride in front of their home fans and truly deserved that win last weekend, but this Sunday evening reality will hit home. Reality in the form of that swarming Bears ‘D’ will hit home hard. It is hard to see how the ‘Hawks will move the ball with any regularity against the creative and aggressive Bears blitz packages, and they will certainly not be taking Lovie Smith and his crew by surprise, after unseating the champion Saints. Meanwhile, the last couple of months Jay Cutler, Matt Forte and the rest of the Bears offence look like they have really bought into offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s schemes. The Bears are scoring freely and Cutler looks really comfortable. Hard to see anything but a Bears win.
The Pick: Bears 30-17
Jets @ Patriots
Couple of things came to mind this week, as the Jets, and everyone associated with them, ran their mouths all week long. It should be interesting to see what Belichick and Co come up with against Cromartie. Bear in mind Cromartie was absolutely torched by Manning and the Colts. All credit to the lad for his nice kick return close to the end, but before that we should all remember he was absolutely abused by Manning and his gang. If Rex Ryan really thinks he is going to distract Brady with some pathetic, asinine media garbage, he has another thing coming. The Jets are all talk. They keep telling us they are going to win the Superbowl, they have been doing that for two years now. However, we’re not stupid, right? We can all see they snuck past an injury depleted Colts team, and we all noted they gave up 80+ points in two games to the Patriots and Bears. We’re not falling for this pathetic bluster coming out of New York, right?
The Pick: Patriots 30-17
Do you guys agree or disagree? I’ll be back next week before the Conference Championship round to give my thoughts.
James Harrison has been a repeat offender for helmet to helmet violations resulting in $125,000 worth of fines, including $25,000 for a hit on Buffalo Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (pictured above).
In regard to the recent controversy over helmet-to-helmet hits in football, I believe that this attention is long overdue. I know much of the excitement in football is about good hits, but are the NFL and ESPN responsible for the recent injuries?
Every week viewers watch the action-packed replays of the best and hardest hits. The more people see the hits, the more they want to see. This activity encourages players to deliver the thrilling plays that will sell airtime, ads and tickets.
Every once in a while, players were suspended or lightly fined for illegal hits, but most of the time, the only penalty result was 15 yards on the field. After years of wrist slaps, the players involved in the recent injuries have been hit with $50,000 and $75,000 fines. I think the NFL was simply trying to cover itself by saying it is cracking down on the rules; however, I do not see how the players can be expected to follow the rules if the rules are not enforced on the field.
Instead of focusing on the players, the NFL should focus on itself and the officials.
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