Mason Foster Slapped $20,000 By The Warden
August 24th, 2011
Bucs linebacker Mason Foster was largely drafted because of his physical nature in making tackles, like he did at the University of Washington.
But the Bucs rookie is quickly learning that type of play is verboten in NFL warden commissioner Roger Goodell’s world. Woody Cummings of the Tampa Tribune brought word via the TBO Bucs Twitter feed that the NFL has fined Foster $20,000 for his destruction of attention whore Patriots receiver MuchoStinko.
MLB Mason Foster fined $20,000 for blowing up Chad Ochocinco. Foster says fine won’t alter the way he plays.
Joe was going to write this before and now it’s time to put fingers to keyboard: The main reason the Bucs drafted Foster was for punishing hits and the main reason Bucs fans ran Barrett Ruud out of town was he wasn’t physical enough, yet Ruud’s style of play is what is necessary in today’s NFL.
Physical play results in penalties for a team, and heavy fines for a player.
The type of play Ruud was decried for, is the type of play the NFL has now become.
You wanted it Bucs fans. You wanted Ruud gone. You wanted, pined, cried for what is now illegal play in the NFL.
Always be careful what you wish for.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Wow Joe, that’s harsh! Smacked the Anti Ruud crowd in the face. That’s gonna leave a mark.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
i hope he gets fined every week. that means he’s blowing people up. you’re right, this is what we axed for and i hope it continues. God bless, bruh.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Man Joe dats some str8 up bull$#!t…how the hell can a linebacker in one of the fastest paced sports in all of america be fined when a soft ass recivever lays down to avoid contact.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Joe,
Sorry you like sissy football, Sometimes a flag and fine are worth sending a message to opposing receivers, That Message:
“If you come across this middle your going to get POPPED”
August 24th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
I wonder if Ocho will pay the fine for Foster, as he tweeted, or was he just blowing smoke out his tweet?
August 24th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
This is exactly what fans want. I’m struggling to see what the issue is here. James Harrison is fined regularly but he is still probably the best outside LB in the game. If Foster is smart, he won’t change the way he plays. You can play like a monster and don’t have to get fined – see Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis. I’m not comparing him to those two, just saying you can play physical and not write a check to the NFL each week.
I think this is a little overreaction there Joe. I doubt this is going to have people screaming for Ruud to be back in pewter and red.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
This means that even after reviewing the play in slowmo, they STILL think it was an out of bounds play. Sigh..
August 24th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
You hope he gets fined every week? You do know you can blow someone up with a legal hit, right? Even, John “the hitman” Lynch said that type of hit will draw the flag everytime.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
Picked off
“If Foster is smart, he won’t change the way he plays. You can play like a monster and don’t have to get fined – see Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis.”
– Exactly!
August 24th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Show me one player that the Rock-Star and Rah have shown the door that is still in the NFL on more than a 1 year deal (besides Caddy, his is 1 and an option I believe). Ruud, won’t be in Tenn next year, they’ll draft a hard hitting MLB which there one gap scheme calls for. Mason, just keep doing what you are doing, send a message to those slot and number 3 WRs, you want to come inside, I’m going to light you up.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Keep to interviews and reporting facts, keep your editorial to yourself joe. Maybe all of you infatuated with Barrett Ruud should get your tongue out of his anus and maybe you will witness a mlb who plays downhill, till then as the great Tort’s said, shut ur trap.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Wow! This league is turning itself into pu$$ies. $20K for that?? Are you f’n kiddin’ me? What was Mason supposed to do in that tackle?
Why don’t they just take off the pads and start from the 20 every time. Let them play 7 v 7.
The NFL is starting to suck.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
If Foster’s elbow was to the chest instead of to the face on that tackle we wouldn’t even be talking fines. It wasn’t helmet-to-helmet, it was forearm-to-helmet. Either way you can’t hit an exposed player in the head. Very simple. The rules are very clear and even though I might not like them it doesn’t seem too difficult for players to adjust their hits accordingly.
You can still knock the sh-t out of someone on a legal hit. Just look how Larry Asante lit up #11 of the Chiefs a couple weeks ago. Knocked him silly and bloodied his mouth at the same time, and it was all legal. Why? Because he went for the chest, not the head.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
I never wanted Ruud gone, he was key to hold the D together in my opinion. In the middle of a youth movement you need veteran leadership and solid/consistent play.
August 24th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
And Joe is overreacting with the “be careful what you wish for” cliche. Ruud couldn’t put substantial hits on any player in any fashion, legal or illegal. Foster will be just fine. He’ll learn how to hit with maximum effect and minimum chance of being fined by the King of the NFL and he’ll learn it very quickly. Not worried one tiny bit.
I’d have Foster over Ruud on my team any day of the week and all day on Sundays. And I did wish for it. Thank heaven for small miracles.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
suh is fined 20,000 for ripping a qb’s head off who didn’t have the ball..(not the first time)
Foster is fined for a perfect hit…. STUPID Goodell …btw I didn’t figure you for sissy football either joe….
August 24th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Joe,
I’m sorry, but wtf are you talking about? Be careful what we wish for? The $20,000 isn’t coming out of our pockets. This has no impact on us whatsoever. We can continue to root for this style of play for as long as we want because we will never fall victim to Goodell. Get outta here with the scolding. In this case the grass is greener on the other side….in more ways than one. I love the way Foster plays. I don’t feel guilty for the $20,000 fine either. What are you trying to accomplish with this post? Make the fans feel bad for wanting a physical type player?
August 24th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Goodell should just chance it to flag football and get it over with. We all know that’s what he wants.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
OAR, Nobody is allowed to help pay the fine for Foster. The league office came out and said it after chad’s offer.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Bucin Cane:
It sucks. Totally agree. Joe LOVES physical football.
But partially because of the new CBA, hits like Foster laid out on MuchoStinko are now illegal. This is not the type of football Joe grew up with. This is not the type of football Joe learned from a former NFL player in high school. This is not the type of football Joe prefers.
But this is the NFL in the early decades of the 21st century and you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
below me:
Yeah, well, Goodell has already threatened to suspend players for continued physical play. And Joe is sure Foster won’t want to cough up his entire salary in fines.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:09 pm
rapheal:
Joe LOVES bone-crunching football but Joe is also a realist. That type of football is being phased out in the NFL. Sad but true.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
Foster’s teammates as well as Ocho have all said they’ll cover the fine for him. It doesn’t matter what Goodell or the league says about it. All it takes is an anonymous cashier’s check in the mail, or a meal out with his teammates and a fat envelope slid across the table, and it’s done. The league has absolutely no way to prevent that from happening or to monitor it in any way.
His fine is covered. He won’t pay a dime of it himself. Guaranteed.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
TommyBoy:
Again, Joe LOVES physical football, man. But that is more and more not just being phased out and guys getting fined, penalized and perhaps thrown out of games.
Sadly Joe, nor none of us here have any influence over how the CBA is formulated or can influence the competition committee.
Football is becoming more and more flag football. Joe hates it but there is little Joe can do about it. Joe is a realist.
As commenter Architek just wrote this morning: Evolve or dissolve. 🙁
August 24th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
But what is the purpose of turning this on the fans for wanting physicality? Why should we be careful what we wish for? Ruud sucked more than a Dyson. The Stay Puft marshmallow man thinks he was soft. We wanted something different and we got it. We the fans are happy. Why point the finger at us? I don’t follow your logic.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Tommy Boy:
Physical football like Suh and James Harrison and, well, Mason Foster is now the NFL’s forbidden fruit. In simply terms, it is illegal in the NFL which means, 15-yard penalties, ejections, fines if not suspensions.
Not unlike getting to know Rachel Watson in the biblical sense, even though she’s a married woman now. 🙁
August 24th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
i never once said i wanted ruud gone… speak for urself
August 24th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
I’d of been happy with keeping Ruud, Caddi and give Foster time to earn a spot. Cut Black and Whore.
Rah and Dom have made some mistakes and they are starting to pile-up.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
shut up Joe.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
The NFL should be a model to other contact sports…I watched the game and it looked like a clean hit, Foster was just trying to blow him up. I love that, great highlights of a guy coming across the middle and POW…but it’s the mentality of ‘blowing people up’ needs to change. That mentality is why Sidney Crosby is still having concussion symptoms and his status for the upcoming season is in doubt.
I’m sure in many cases there isn’t an intent to injure but there definitely isn’t an intent to not injure the other player and that is wrong.
Would you love to see Freeman hit like that on a scramble this season? Mike Williams catching a ball over the middle? LaGarrett Bount mid air while hurdling a would be tackler? If it happens, I’ll be the first one screaming at my TV for the penalty flag.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Geez, some of you sound like you got chalk in your mouthes from having to clean the erasers at recess!
August 24th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Wow, Joe. That was rough, man. I was on the fence with the Ruud issue the entire time. I still am, but that Foster hit is exactly what football fans want. Don’t ever expect fans to just accept sissy footbal. It is only a matter of time before those rules are lifted or at least less aggressive towards aggressive play.
If the NFL continues this march towards soft play, the fans will simply leave. Monopolies can’t last forever, even with government aid, if you are not giving the fans what they want and what they want is what Foster brought on that hit.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
I, too, did not want Ruud gone or Caddy. I think, the defense will suffer from the veteran knowledge Ruud had, of said defense. Was he a slobber knocker? No, but without him this young defense will probably suffer from wrong calls and/or bad adjustments.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
@Joe If that type of play is being phased out of football, then football will be phased out of fans.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:48 pm
There was absolutely nothing wrong with that hit. He didn’t lead with his head. He went after the ball to knock it loose.
I don’t get it. I understand safety, but at some point VERY SOON, players, owners, whomever, need to stand up say enough is enough. It is football, the players know the risk and are rewarded with a large paycheck.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Mauha Deeb:
Can’t argue with that point at all man. Sad but true. 🙁
Physical play in football has slowly been phased out for the past 30 years but in the past two years, it’s been dramatic.
For those with NFL Network, next time they show highlights of games with the Raiders and Steelers back in the 1970s, half of those plays would be 15-yard penalties today. Dudes were going after people’s knees, headhunting, closelining, every friggin’ play. There was a play where Franco Harris broke free up the middle and George Atkinson runs right past Harris, never even tried to tackle him, just so he could level Lynn Swann. LOL
Today, Atkinson would be thrown out of the league for a year for that.
When Jack Tatum paralyzed Daryl Stingley, if Joe recalls correctly, it wasn’t even a penalty. Today, Tatum would be suspended for life.
Hell, Conrad Dobler would have been fined so much he would have played for free.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:58 pm
“If that type of play is being phased out of football, then football will be phased out of fans.” by Mauha Deeb
EXACTLY!
August 24th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Joe,
How about McMahon being body slammed by Packer Charles Martin?
Killed the Bears season. McMahon didn’t even have the ball and was like 30 yards from the play. That would also get a year ban in todays “football.”
August 24th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Chris:
Joe was with a bunch of Packers fans watching that game live in college. They flipped out not because McMahon got hurt, but Charles Martin got a penalty for roughing the passer when in fact it should have been a holding penalty. The interception was already made when Martin pile drived McMahon into the turf. McMahon was a defensive player at that point. LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTLlaMY_9PM
August 24th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
This is beautiful football and today, half of these dudes would be banned from the NFL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MJyn_Y8zSU
August 24th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
I guess you could say he was a defensive player after the INT but would todays league allow a Dline slam a QB on his head/shoulder w/o a penalty?
No. He might even get ejected in todays game for playing to “physical.”
August 24th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
The fans should get to vote on the comish.. And I vote him out! Hes horibble its people and politicans like him that mess everything fun up in the world.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
From youtube link:
Charles Martin, one of the dirtiest players in NFL history was suspended for two games for this season-ending injury to Chicago Bears starting quarterback Jim McMahon on November 23, 1986
Marin was a roid monkey.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
or Martin. damn no edit button.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
Anyone know the CFL schedule? Might as well go watch some real football. Suddenly the XFL doesn’t look so bad
August 24th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@nick I’m right there with you. CFL is how the NFL should be played, as far as rules and penalties go.
August 24th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Joe I am not an expert like most of the above, but in the replays it looked to me like his right forearm hit Ochco in the face or below the jaw, would that be the main reason for the fine, other then he can fine them and wants to show he is tough on this?
August 24th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
oh my dear god, now you are saying that we hurt ourselves with getting a physical player?
thats it, your gone from my feedreader
August 24th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
I just hate like heck that a rookie in his 2nd NFL game gets fined that much for what looks like a textbook hit… With Chad’s body position, what was Mason’s alternative? Moving target moving from perpendicular to horizontal to the ground, catching ball… you’re asking a keck of a lot for a tackler to guage all of that and hit in the “legal” spot…Maybe QB’s shouldn’t put their receiver in that position… Furthermore, you are asking the defensive player to play tentatively which increases his chances of being injured… Really sucks but on the bright side, I suppose people now know who MASON FOSTER is… He’ll adjust and still bring major passion and wood… watch out when he has the benefit of experience under his belt… Kid’s flown under the radar his whole career and he proves the naysaers wrong every time!! Has a rare kind of passion for the game… Keep doing what you you do Mase!! Can’t wait to fly out to Tampa to watch a game….
August 24th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Joe, do you not think Foster will learn the defense and be able to make the calls the way Ruud did? I’m not talking by week 1, but over the next couple seasons. Combine that with his physicality and you have a hell of a linebacker right there.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Espo, Joe hopes Foster will learn. But “physicality” is no longer as much of a desired attribute as it once was.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Runciter:
Joe’s not saying it, Roger Goodell and the NFL is saying that every week.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Get used to the background commercials on this website and the new NFL rules on player safety. It’s all about the Benjamins. The NFL does not want to appear before a congressional senate committee and answer questions as to why they have done little to lessen the impact of brain-related diseases in retired players. Someone mentioned Jim McMahon, who along with others is suing the Nfl for not protecting players earlier – McMahon himself suffering from early on-set dementia. The NFL does not want this type of publicity to affect future growth and future revenues. I don’t like the automated commercials and I don’t like the new rules, but I think they’re here to stay!
August 24th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Joe,
I think you need to spell it out clearer for some of the readers that missed the entire point of your article. People are attacking you as if you are agreeing with Goddell, or as if you were blasting the organization for getting rid of Ruud!
August 24th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
Uh, “physicality is no longer as much of a desired attribute as it once was”
Are you serious? Joe, you’re losing a lot of credibility with this post and these comments. Especially with the “blame it on the fans” mentality when it was Dominik who let Ruud go, not us.
Football isn’t a contact sport, it’s a collision sport. There are plenty of hard hitting, bone crunching plays every sunday that are legal. If you are too blind to see that, then you wouldn’t have such a successful site dedicated to football, and you know it.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Personally, I think this was a message to the rest of the league as much as it was a fine to Foster. After looking at replays, I think Foster was going for the mid-section (as he is supposed to do) and it was simply a matter of Chad falling into Foster’s plane, causing the head-to-head. In today’s NFL, that type of thing will happen, and Foster’s number just came up earlier than most.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
With the NFL(and BUcs) getting bigger and bigger and players getting stronger and faster, I really doubt “physicality is no longer as much of a desired attribute”.
Even CBS are getting bigger. More teams are playing man. More teams are blitzing. If anything this league is becoming too physical hence the new rules. But teams aren’t gonna stop drafting huge LBs, CBs, DEs etc just because of the rule changes. The size of the players, and their physicality far outweighs the few penalties they might incur over a career.
These new rules hurt the players far more than the Owners. They actually benefit the owners. The NFL spreads out that “fine” money among all the other teams. The owners love fines because they get money back, which is why 26 of them voted in favor of the new rules.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Muaha,
The owners are for this because they are concerned about liability and healthcare bills, not because they want to make 5 figures a year on a few fines. They are concerned about facing huge class action lawsuits in the future, given the lack of plausible deniability on the effect of this game on players moving forward.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
These rules are also a way to protect their greatest investments i.e. WRs and QBs. The passing game is the NFL now. The NFL realizes this and wants to keep all of its passing game stars healthy because those are the players that generate the most amount of revenue. At least so they say.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Joe is just saying this is the direction of today’s “football” like it or not.
I’m glad old players are trying to get retribution. It sucks to hear that a physically gifted person can barely walk or has mental issues at 50 or 60.
That being said there needs to be a line drawn. Fosters hit, in my book, was perfectly legal and adds to the game. This bogus fine is taking away from the game because it is punishing a player for playing the game 100% correctly.
This play happened so fast there was no way for Foster to “hold back” or anything like that. He dropped in coverage, saw the play, saw the direction of pass, saw WR and tried to do his JOB by disrupting the play.
Yes, NFL guys make a lot of $ for what they do but they should have been protected from Day 1. Who knew ramming your head into another’s or the ground repeatedly would cause brain issues?? People, behind that thin skull is a powerful organ that has the consistency of an orange. Go peel an orange, put it in a tin can and drop it a few times. You get a lump of mess.
And get the F off Joe’s arse. THIS IS HIS SITE! You bastards are lucky enough to read Joe’s articles. LEAVE JOE ALONE!
August 24th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
@BucsNBeer I highly doubt it is anything with lawsuits. There is so much paperwork filled out by these players that no loop hole exists for lawsuits.
You have no case when you file against a legal contract that you agreed and signed multiple times. That is like saying a boxer could sue the Boxing association, or a player could sue a college, or MMA fighters can sue the Ultimate Fighter. Never gonna happen.
The health care argument is far more probable, but even that is minute considering much is paid for by the players.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
“You bastards are lucky enough to read Joe’s articles”
Joe is just as lucky and thankful to have the readers. I guarantee it.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
@Mauha Deeb, I agree. But Joe gives you what you want. Who out there in the net universe sat out watching practices in Floridas heat and got awesome player interviews/quotes with pics no less! None of you.
You come to this site because you like the Bucs and this site has the inside scoup on the Bucs.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
@Chris Derek “Old School” Fournier did all of that. Nick “the Optimist” Houllis did it. St. Pete Times did it too. I did it for myself, personally(not interviews but pictures). Joe is not the only one to get interviews/pictures in the heat, but Joe is definitely the only one to deliver it like, well, like Joe.
Joe posts what Joe likes, regardless if I or others like it or not. It just so happens that many fans like it. Some clearly do not.
But I haven’t bashed Joe for this article, so don’t get on me.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
@ Mauha. Ok, twist what I said. I’m aiming at the bloggers on this site. I didn’t ask for a list of pro’s that cover the Bucs.
I ain’t mad at’cha MD.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Which came first, the readers or the articles? Not since, the age old which came first, the chicken or the egg, has there been a more pressing question!
August 24th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
BTW I thought I heard Sapp mention back in the day that player fines went to charities? Joe, any clarification on that?
August 24th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
@Chris Derek and Nick are both Bloggers. Not even Joe is pro(but I guess that depends on what you call pro. To my knowledge out of the three, OldSchool is the only one with a premium Bucs press pass so I’d put him closer to the “professional” title).
I wasn’t trying to twist your words. Sorry if you took it that way.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
LOL @ OAR
…the articles, of course. We are the flies on Joe’s s%it.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:55 pm
@ Mauha, yeah again I was aiming at bloggers who are in a tizzy ‘cuz Joe wrote something they didn’t like. I don’t see Oldskool piping in and saying negative things. Next time I will be more clear MD.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
@nflcommish Dad no disrespect but I don’t agree with @mason_foster fine n I’ll be reimbursing him personally.Please feel free to contact me- Chad Ochocinco.
How can anyone not like this guy?
August 24th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
@nick,
Under my previous employment who were heavy pro bowl sponsors, I got to semi-hang out with the pro bowlers. Of all the ones I met, there were none nicer than Chad Johnson (his name at the time). He seemed very genuine, and he was extremely friendly to me and my family (we were all in Bucs gear). I also found it interesting that while most of the other players were getting totally blasted, he was not drinking at all, and was very very low key. Say what you want about his antics, I’ll take him over a lot of other players any day. He just wants to have fun while playing a game, yet he continuously gets blasted for it. I just don’t get it.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Does Ruud even have a stat with the Titans yet? What a joke!!
August 24th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
He better learn quickly that you can’t headhunt in the NFL (since 1996). He’ll be sitting out a game like Mack did in his first year….
August 24th, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Dick “Night Train” lane. Now that was physical football. I remember being banned from a few playground games in my time for imitating the “night train necktie”
August 24th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Hawaiian Buc:
OchoCinco is a coach-punching attention whore who Joe got sick of all the self-promotion ca-ca.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
LOL Guess that’s a compliment. 🙂
August 24th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
BecklesHeartsRuud:
Indeed!
August 24th, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Oar:
BTW I thought I heard Sapp mention back in the day that player fines went to charities? Joe, any clarification on that?
They do, that’s correct. United Way/NFL Charities.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Bucnjim
Are you questioning pre-season stats? LOL! Now thats a joke!
BTW how many minutes has Ruud played with them in this pre-season?
August 24th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Joe
Thanks. I thought that’s what I had heard, not only from Sapp, but others.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
Mauha Deeb:
You don’t know how much Joe treasures his readers. Joe is humbled every day he sees his traffic figures.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Mauha Deeb:
Bingo, that and lawsuits from players who are broken down when they reach middle age. Scot Brantley is all messed up and he’s not even 60 and he was one helluva physical player.
The quarterback “in the grasp rule” was perhaps the first example of NFL owners protecting their investments that had nothing to do with the game. Then, the NFL started going after players who went after knees. Then, after players started “going high” to avoid the knees, the league started going after players for that.
It’s been an evolution just like it’s been an evolution of players getting bigger, stronger, faster.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Jrock:
Just look at that clip of the Raiders/Steelers Joe posted and look at the hits that are costing players seven figures each week today.
The game is getting less physical, not more physical. A guy with a white cane can see it.
Again, Joe LOVES physical football. But the game is getting less and less physical. It’s pretty obvious.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Macabee gets it.
August 24th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
OB:
Joe thinks Foster’s hit was awesome. Sadly, Joe is neither an owner nor a member of the competition committee. Joe had no problem with Ndamukong Suh ragdolling a quarterback either.
More and More the NFL is turning into flag football.
Officials are just calling the rules that they are told to flag.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
I love physical football as much as the next guy, but I don’t necessarily agree with the argument of looking back to football of the 70s and 80s. First of all, most of those guys can’t even walk today as a result of the way they played, which (hopefully, but not likely) is what the NFL is trying to avoid. Second, if the guys of today played like that, I truly believe that people would die on the field. Guys are just too big and strong nowadays. Quarterbacks are bigger than linemen were back then. You can say “that’s the risk they take” all you want, but I bet you would be singing a different tune if you were at a game and one of our players died right there in front of everyone.
It’s also a stretch to say today’s football is flag football. These guys knock the s(p)it out of each other, and 99% of the plays get no penalty or fine. The only people that say it’s like flag football are the ones not playing, or the ones getting fined. People only start to cry when they disagree with a call. Obviously, some of these penalties and fines are bad calls. However, I see very little difference between those and when a referee blows a pass interference call, a holding call, etc. etc. Besides, show me a player that admits to holding or committing a pass interference. Of course the players are always going to say the hit was legal! The Foster hit in my opinion was legal because Ochocinco fell into the helmet to helmet hit, but if it were the other way around and a Patriot hit Mike Williams, I would probably be screaming for a fine and suspension.
It is a tough situation for the NFL, as well as the players. Most of the current players are going to criticize all the rule changes. However, when they are 50 and they can’t walk or even remember their kid’s names (except Cromartie already can’t, but that’s a different story), I think it’s safe to say many would change their opinions. The NFL wants to protect it’s stars, as well as avoid future lawsuits, but at the same time keep the game physical and nasty for the fans. That’s no easy task. I don’t think there is a real solution, but I really wish people would stop pretending like the NFL is some pansy league, when none of us would last one play without getting our heads separated from our bodies.
August 24th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
According to PFT, Foster can’t be fined more than 25% of his weeekly salary… so he’ll only end up losing a little over $5,000 because he makes a little over $22,000 a week.
August 24th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Maybe we should change the name of the league to the National Wussie League where no hitting is allowed !!! Hey I got it, maybe we can go back to playing “flag” football so there will be no contact at all, I am sure the fans will pour into the gates to see that !!!
Lets see they get paid a hefty salary to act like MEN, if they don’t like the game because they get hit, then quit !!!
August 24th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
My mom actually went out with Dick “Night Train” Lane a few times when she was a young stewardess……. and my dad was still playing football. It’s a pretty good story. My mom was a hoot.
Great post Brandon on the $5K thing. I hope your right.
Hawaiian Buc on the money as usual. It’s a tough sell either way.
And lastly, “The Dom” made up his mind about letting Ruud go long before we started the lynch mob.
August 24th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
This is a no win situation for the NFL. If they fine players for these hits it upsets that player and the fans of the game (for it being a flag football game now). If they let it go, they get sued by 75 former players for brain damage due to concussions (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/19/report-nfl-sued-for-concealing-brain-injury-risks/). To top it all off, players choose what helmet they wear, not the team or the NFL. The NFL only says if it’s not Riddell, they have to cover the other logo. And a recent study showed 38% of players in the game today choose to wear one of the least safe helmets rated 1 star and some rated worse (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/10/riddell-urges-players-to-switch-helmet-models/).
So, the NFL can’t tell players to wear this helmet or that (or they open themselves up to mass lawsuits if that equipment should fail or not live up to expectations), players choose to wear helmets that don’t protect against concussion and then sue the NFL for damages. All that leave the NFL to do is change the rules to make hits to the head illegal. If players want hits like that to be legal, then wear safer helmets, reduce concussions and the NFL will allow more contact.
But, as I think Joe said earlier…. you can’t put the toothpaste back in….this is out now, and we’re gonna have to deal with it. Because players would rather wear cheap helmets than good ones. What do they do with that money they make anyway????
August 24th, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Agree with you Hawaiian. I don’t want to see big hits like Foster got go away from the game but I don’t want to see people get brain damaged over a freaking game either.
Joe- Here is where you missed the boat though when it comes to us “getting what we wished for”- Mason Foster isn’t just a “hitter”. The guy is also as reliable a text book wrap tackler as there was in college football. The difference is that Mason Foster can drive ballcarriers back when he wraps up, versus getting driven back for extra yardage himself, like Ruud.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Terrible post, Joe. You sound like a jackass. At least it would make sense if it actually was an illegal hit. It was a great play and you should know that.
August 24th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
OchoCinco will still pay his fine… that and he called Goodell ‘Dad’ on twitter… lmao!
August 24th, 2011 at 8:42 pm
Why do the Bucs year after year always have to have so many stinkin injuries? Benn, McCoy, Price, etc….can we just ever stay healthy?!
August 24th, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Devin Holland got hit with a $10K fine for clocking Woodhead… and another $5K for hitting the Chiefs return man before he caught the ball…
“Big Hits” don’t need to be head shots. Live in this century…
August 24th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
NEWS FLASH!!! In an attempt to stop this runaway train. PFT is reporting that Foster’s fine under the new CBA will be reduced to about $5500.00 for a first offense. I know this won’t make a difference for those who feel there should be no fine at all. But I’ll bet Foster likes it!
August 24th, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Ochocinco can still write Foster a check for $5500 if he wants to. Goodell can’t stop that.
August 25th, 2011 at 1:02 am
CalicoJack – Holland’s hit was twice as bad as Foster’s, but because the way it was (erroneously) called in the game (plus probably with the star factor with Chad Johnson, which is kind of pathetic), it probably influences the fines.
Pretty classy move by someone who changed his last name – otherwise known as one’s genetic legacy – to Ochocinco, though.
August 25th, 2011 at 2:04 am
It is clear to me that Tampa will no longer be known for having a soft linebacker, with Foster here. That hit on Chad Johnson sent a clear film message to every team that Tampa will face this year. The great Tampa teams of recent years were known for their physical defense,and players who would knock the snot out of you. That WAS Tampa Football, bend, dont break, and break you in the process. It looks like Foster is going to be a real snot knocker,something we have missed, IMHO.
August 25th, 2011 at 7:52 am
Masons hit and Ocho’s reaction have made headlines all around the NFL our MLB position drew no attention prior to Foster at least now opponents will think twice before going up 😉 the fine is covered and I’m happy with our new bone crunching style of players Go Bucs!