Antoine Winfield Sparks New Era Of Penalties?
August 18th, 2021
Iconic image now illegal?
If the NFL goes through with its apparent no-tolerance attitude on “taunting” — Joe put that in quotations marks because of how will the NFL and the zebras define that term — Bucs safety Antoine Winfield may be a historic figure.
Winfield, in just one year of football, already is part of NFL history. He and the Bucs won the Super Bowl in February.
Recently, the NFL has announced it will be more strict in enforcing taunting penalties. Giants owner John Mara yesterday — he’s part of the competition committee where rule changes and adjustments first begin — came out and said he and his fellow NFL suits were fed up with all the yapping players do on the field, documents Giants.com.
“That’s something we discuss every year in the Competition Committee,” Mara said. “We get kind of sick and tired of the talking that does go on from time to time on the field. We tried to balance the sportsmanship with allowing the players to have fun and there’s always a fine line there, but none of us like to see that. It’s just a question of whether you can have rules that can be enforced and without taking the fun out of the game too, but nobody wants to see a player taunting another player. I know, I certainly don’t. I think the rest of the members of the Competition Committee feel the same way, too.”
In particular, Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports points out, NFL movers and shakers were sick of seeing Cheetah Hill’s act of flashing the peace sign and doing backflips in the end zone.
Winfield flashing the deuce in Cheetah’s face at the Super Bowl in retaliation for Cheetah doing the same on Winfield (followed by a backflip into the end zone) during the regular season, well, that was about the last straw, per Robinson.
And Winfield rightly giving proud remarks after the game apparently cinched that the wheels would be put in motion to crack down on taunting.
[A]ccording to two league sources familiar with conversations between members of the NFL’s Competition Committee. Both pinned a large part of the renewed push to tamp down taunting on Hill, who had previously made a habit of throwing up “deuces” at opposing defenses as he coasted away for touchdowns. That, along with a few backflips into the end zone last season, helped fuel the momentum for new taunting emphasis.
“[The backflips] — when you’re watching that and the gesturing, it’s not a part of a touchdown celebration,” one source said. “It’s obviously taunting. It’s purposely being disrespectful and you saw in the Super Bowl where it came back. A guy retaliates because he saw that it was being disrespectful and then now he’s getting him back.”
Joe thinks what Winfield did was just righteous. It was the perfect response and the perfect answer. Personally, Joe thought someone from the Bucs’ defense should have clotheslined Cheetah for back-flipping in the end zone.
With that opportunity lost, the next best thing was what Winfield did and the timing. The Bucs just clinched the Super Bowl on that incomplete pass and there was no better time to throw Cheetah’s deuce in his face.
For Joe, the photos of Winfield flashing the deuce is an iconic Tampa Bay sports moment. Joe hopes that won’t be remembered for the NFL tossing flags right and left because stick-in-the-mud John Mara doesn’t enjoy unbridled emotions.
August 18th, 2021 at 8:04 am
Its like holding or pass interference, to some degree guys are constantly trying to rattle their opponent mentally on every play. Refs could literally call any one of those three penalties nearly every single play. Seems like another way for the refs to impact games….which creates controversy…..which creates headlines….which is the business model for modern day PR.
August 18th, 2021 at 8:11 am
It’s not a popular idea but i proposed a 5 yard unsportsmanlike penalty but not with an automatic first down. Refs are hesitant to call a 15 yarder.
August 18th, 2021 at 8:37 am
I put Winfield’s “deuce” right up there with Varitek’s mitt to the face of A-Rod. Iconic.
August 18th, 2021 at 8:41 am
Like your idea Dewey. The coaches would tamp down on players if someone cost the team a 1st down because of unsportsmanlike conduct.
August 18th, 2021 at 9:15 am
It was beautiful in that scenario! If we were losing or it made the game close my attitude might be different.
It’s FOOTBALL….there’s no crying in FOOTBALL!
August 18th, 2021 at 9:15 am
Trendsetters:
Bert Emanuel – receiving rule change
Mark Barron – hitting the QB too hard
Antoine Winfield Jr. – taunting
Tom Brady – Tuck rule (well he is a Buc now)
August 18th, 2021 at 9:23 am
Has anyone ever seen a response from Cheetah to what Winfield did, my guess is he thought it was cool (in the name of competition), it’s the suits that don’t get it. You can tear each other’s head off but don’t say nothing (gotta control the …)
August 18th, 2021 at 9:25 am
I knew when this foolishness came out that they were going to put it on Winfield, but hey this professional football. This game is what these guys played for fun as kids and that is where all the taunting and flashing running of the mouth belongs because these guys are now making millions, on TV and its a job. A boss has the right to lay down rules and the worker has to follow.
August 18th, 2021 at 9:31 am
Let’s just take emotions and psychology put of the game altogether.
Just put cyborgs on the field who assimilate each other on command.
Another bit of evidence of the pu$$ification of American culture. When the arena warriors are put under the thumb, you know the End is Near.
August 18th, 2021 at 9:43 am
I wonder how much of this is a product of the bruised egos of narcissistic billionaires. I’m sure that many of them tie a lot of their identities to owning their teams and another player taunting their team is rubbing their team’s shortcomings in the owner’s faces since taunting rarely happens when the team doing the taunting isn’t winning handily. So, I doubt that it has as much to do with them fearing retaliation so much as them just not wanting to have someone not only beat their team but also make fun of them while doing it.
August 18th, 2021 at 9:47 am
You don’t have taunting in the NHL because someone will physically kick your a$$ if you do it. Let’s let the NFL players manage it the same way.
August 18th, 2021 at 9:48 am
They say “Payback is a Bitch”, so who can forget when Tyreek Hill grabbed the field phone in our stadium, on national TV.
All Winfield was doing was returning the favor.
Roger Goddell is trying to pussify the game, and take the emotion out of it as well.
August 18th, 2021 at 9:54 am
One of my screen savers. ✌️
August 18th, 2021 at 10:06 am
It’s a part of the game I don’t understand how a supposed competition committee is trying wring out competitivness out of the game wow. It’s football you have grow ass me talking competitively if you don’t want to see or hear that watch the grass grow.
August 18th, 2021 at 10:13 am
but why now?….
players have been taunting each other for the pass few years…the nfl acts like they had a “malice in the palace”…
just send a memo out telling the players to pipe down a bit….no need to penalize them….
GO BUCS!!!!
August 18th, 2021 at 10:19 am
“but nobody wants to see a player taunting another player.”
Oh BS.
I think we need MORE taunting.
August 18th, 2021 at 10:43 am
So next time he can drop a deuce (k) on cheetah face?
😂
August 18th, 2021 at 10:43 am
Something like this sounds like a Boomers vs. Millennials debate. The Boomers were brought up in the Vince Lombardi creed, that whenever you score a TD, “Act like you’ve been there before.” It isn’t sportsmanship, it’s intimidating if you act like scoring on your opponent is expected, that they’re not that big a deal. But that’s changed as the Millennials see the world through a different lens and listen to different music. I would think most Millennials want to see their athletes wear their hearts on their sleeves, and that the intimidation factor springs from showmanship and trash talk.
Just leave the game alone. It’s fine the way it is. Times change and so do the fans and players.
August 18th, 2021 at 11:20 am
This is so dumb and this would not be a rule if most of the players in the NFL were white. Is “yapping players” the new term for “uppity”? Taunting takes *nothing* away from the game nor does it extend game times. The NFL owners don’t actually hear what is being said on the field from their owner’s suite and fans aren’t affected by it.
August 18th, 2021 at 11:35 am
I never played in a game where there was no non-stop taunting.
He’ll, even little league baseball: (Full team in unison:) “We want a pitcher, not a cement mixer.”
I can’t count all the threats of brutal security assault on my sister, mother or girlfriends tossed my direction in games.
August 18th, 2021 at 11:37 am
What happened to if you don’t want somebody to do something (taunt) stop them. These guys train their whole lives for this game and when they do something huge they wanna celebrate it and flex their skill. They have a right to trash talk whoever they beat it’s apart of the game
August 18th, 2021 at 11:46 am
We want a pitcher! Not a belly itcher! Sitting in your locker! Eating Betty Crocker! There ya go Cobraboy.
August 18th, 2021 at 12:02 pm
So D Rome, when people praised B Sandersfor the way he acted was it because he was black? Let good behavior and bad behavior be what they are, leave race out bro.
August 18th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
Come on, D-Rome. Why did you have to go there?
August 18th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
This is another case of the NFL needing to fix a problem they themselves created. 30 years ago, Cheetah would have gotten smoked going over the middle for his antics. Hell, the sissy rules pretty much created and certainly popularized the position of slot receiver. Small, quick dudes able to withstand the hits that we’re allowed back in the day are rare as all hell. The owners seem hell bent on ruining a still great (no longer awesome) game.
August 18th, 2021 at 1:28 pm
LOVED when Wi field did that.
Cheetah Hill is an absolute POS too. Go look up how he’s abused his child and the mom on multiple occasions.
August 18th, 2021 at 1:28 pm
*Winfield
August 18th, 2021 at 1:56 pm
My favorite moment was the mic’ed up Super Bowl video. After Mahomes gets intercepted by Winfield, Mike Evans walks onto the field and sees Hill:
Evans: “What’s up Cheetah?”
Hill: (stunned silence)
Evans: “Yeah, I’m good buddy.”
It would be hypocritical for the NFL to call something like that a taunt after promoting it on one of their videos.
August 18th, 2021 at 6:54 pm
It was worth 15 yards in the Super Bowl after we had a large lead.
It will be worth 15 yards in the next Super Bowl if we have a large lead over KC again.
August 18th, 2021 at 7:05 pm
Tyrek Hill is the ass-clown who started it. He wanted to show up everybody when he scored by putting up the peace sign. Just because someone gave him his own BS back now KC fans and others want to cry. I HATE taunting, celebrating and acting like a fool. “Act like you have been there before and plan on being there again!” Words to live by but, acting like an idiot for doing your job should not be banned or made illegal. People have the right to act how they want. I in turn have the right to judge them as insecure, juvenile morons in turn.
August 18th, 2021 at 7:59 pm
That penalty was worth every single inch of that 15 yard penalty. When I’m old and can’t remember sh!t, I pray that that memory remains.
August 18th, 2021 at 9:26 pm
@gotbbucs: You and me both. 😛
August 18th, 2021 at 11:36 pm
THIS IS STUPID.
We need more taunting, not less.
Don’t want someone flashing the peace sign at you or doing backflips after they burn you for a touchdown? THEN DON’T LET THEM SCORE.
Honey Badger taunted and jawed at Brady and Brady shut him up with the AB touchdown pass and other plays.
It’s part of the game.
It’s like boxing… if you want to showboat and dance and taunt, be careful or the other guy may use it as motivation to KO you and send you crashing to the canvas.
Taunting is great for the game. It gets the players fired up in a physical, dangerous game where they put their bodies on the line.
LET THEM TAUNT. LET THEM PLAY. LET THEM HIT.
August 19th, 2021 at 2:51 am
The smile on Winfields’s face was even better than the deuce sign.