The NFL is emphasizing player safety, but that doesn’t mean they want hard hits eliminated from the game. To prove this point, they had noted hard hitter Ronnie Lott participate in a video sent to teams.
Jay Glazer reported on the FOX NFL Sunday pregame show that the NFL sent a video to all 32 teams to send the message that hard hits are still acceptable in the game, so long as they are legal.
The video featured hard hits from last season’s playoff games — including the conference title games and Super Bowl. Lott, who is a 10-time Pro Bowler and Hall of Famer, narrated the video.
Glazer says the NFL has mandated that teams have all their players watch the video. Teams were instructed to confirm that their players have seen the video.
Lott is one of the hardest hitters the game has ever seen, so asking him to narrate the video was an attempt to emphasize to players that they can still commit hard hits that are within the rules.
Alabama’s LaMichael Fanning can expect a suspension in the near future.
The redshirt freshman defensive lineman absolutely annihilated a helpless Missouri running back during the final minutes of No. 1 Bama’s 42-10 win in Columbia on Saturday.
Fanning, who is listed at 6’7″ and 298 pounds, shed a block on an inside handoff to freshman running back Russell Hansbrough, snatched the little man, bear-hugged him, and then lifted him up and slammed him over his head backwards. That’s what we call a suplex in wrestling.
Fanning received an unnecessary roughness penalty for crushing the 5’9″ 180-pounder, and as you could hear Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist saying on CBS, SEC commissioner Mike Slive will likely punish the man for the play.
Fanning hasn’t seen much action this season, but there’s little doubt he got his coaches’ attention with that play.
Minnesota running back Donnell Kirkwood was hit so hard on a second quarter run against Northwestern Saturday that the decal on his helmet literally came off.
Kirkwood danced through a nice hole and lowered his shoulder to prepare for contact with Northwestern DB Ibraheim Campbell who met him with such force that the “M” on Kirkwood’s helmet came off.
We’ve seen uniform issues with decals before, but those were due to “wardrobe malfunctions,” not hard hits. This was a unique case.
Kirkwood, a sophomore from Delray Beach, Fla., gained 73 yards on 18 carries in his team’s 21-13 loss.
Trailing Utah State by 12 with less than two minutes remaining in the game on Saturday, Colorado State decided to attempt an onside kick. Jared Roberts, the kicker for the Rams, made two mistakes in executing the play. First and foremost, he didn’t kick the ball far enough. As you can see from the video above that Kegs ‘N Eggs shared with us, the ball went about seven yards when it has to go 10. Wait, you weren’t focused on that? I guess that’s understandable.
What likely caught your eye when watching the play was Roberts nearly coming out of his cleats and losing his head. Utah State linebacker Jake Doughty sprinted right toward Roberts as the ball was rolling and decided to completely take him out of the play. Doughty was called for unnecessary on the play, but the only thing that was really uneccesary about it is that it was helmet-to-helmet contact. Aside from that, Roberts learned a very valuable listen — keep your head up when jogging toward 200-plus pound linebackers with a live ball on the ground.
For more big hits that result in guys listening to the same ringing noise that undoubtedly filled Roberts’ head, click here.
From Australia’s National Rugby League comes the above video of one of the most vicious hits you’ll see in contact sports. St. George Illawarra’s Dean Young was knocked unconscious on a punishing tackle made by South Sydney’s Greg Inglis in Saturday night’s contest. The ball was jarred loose (fumbled?) and when play stopped both sides had to separated when tempers flared.
Young was put in a neck brace and carted off the field. He reportedly was “heavily concussed” but showed no other signs of injury. Inglis could receive a staggering three-week suspension from the NRL, to which even Roger Goodell is dumbfounded.
This video comes to us from a middle school indoor lacrosse game in suburban Philadelphia, where one brave (and naive) young player thought it’d be a good idea to be like Patrick Kane and put some pazazz on his free play. As he trotted toward the net, he flipped the ball to himself twice. But the goalie wasn’t going to take any of that and rushed up to absolutely demolish him mid-second-flip, which, judging by the lack of appalled reactions from the adults, is perfectly legal.
The goalie, padded like he was about to defuse a bomb in “The Hurt Locker,” gave a”Yeah, son!” taunt to his now sprawled-out, seemingly dead nemesis before striking a “King of the World” pose as he got dap from his teammates. This has a happy ending, though. As the shooter headed back to his bench, both players shared a respectful glove pound. This, spoiled millionaire professional athletes, is called sportsmanship.
Tis football season indeed — at all levels. While the NFL continues to protect its players from devastating hits at all costs, the big hits continue to pile up in other leagues across North America. Earlier this week, we showed you a sack from the CFL that is one of the best you’ll ever come across. As Dr. Saturday showed us on Friday, the NAIA has decided to get in on the act. Check out this hit that Drew Yeargin from the University of Cumberlands (Ky.) put on running back Ryan Bouldin from Virginia-Wise last weekend:
As Dr. Saturday mentioned, the hit was clean. There’s nothing wrong with a solid football play where you lead with your shoulder. The sad part about it is that hit would have almost certainly drawn a flag in the NFL. Unfortunate as it may be, you can now be flagged for simply hitting someone too hard in the No Fun League.
When it comes to big hits in football, it doesn’t get better than this one. This CFL quarterback learned the hard way that buckling one’s chin strap is probably a good idea:
The headline from that hit is what you would expect: Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce is banged up and may not play Sunday. Dude should just be happy if he can remember his address and how to wipe his butt after taking that hit. Brutal.
Thanks to Jimmy Traina for the video, and yes, we agree, that is the best sack ever.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sub-professional baseball teams using gimmicks to sell tickets. If giving away a hilarious pair of boxer shorts on the night of an equally hysterical competition will help fill the stands we’re all for it. If you have to shoot a guy out of a cannon to create a buzz then so be it. However, an annoying short man dressed as a monkey dancing around crosses the line. That’s why I really have no problem with the follow clip. Check out the video of the Nashua Silver Knights’ “monkey boy” getting laid out, courtesy of YouTube user Humbera:
Maybe the hit was a little excessive, but you have to know to keep your head on a swivel if you’re going to do something that obnoxious. If you can’t stand the heat stay out of the kitchen. Mess with the bull get the horns. Add any other “he asked for it” cliches you want, but I don’t feel sorry for this character no matter how you look at it.
Much like Phillies fans, we are all aware of how crazy Boston Red Sox fans can be. Some are crazy in a fun way while others are crazy in an obnoxious way. Then there are those who are just plain stupid. Since we all love to give security guards crap for using excessive force (see Cal security guard who slapped a choke hold on a fan), it would be unfair to snub them out of a well-deserved pat on the back. That is exactly what this Fenway Park security guard — who we call Ray Lewis for the purpose of this discussion — deserves for the hit he put on a Red Sox fan Monday night. Check out this video of a Red Sox fan getting laid out by a security guard, courtesy of Jimmy Traina:
That hit by Ray Lewis could be even better than the one that Fresno State staffer put on a shirtless maniac in the Fall. Note to the fan: if you’re going to run onto the field, put a little hop in your step. The idea is to see how long you can go without getting caught, not to tip-toe around like you’re trying to win a Miss America pageant. Wake up.
The NFL is emphasizing player safety, but that doesn’t mean they want hard hits eliminated from the game. To prove this point, they had noted hard hitter Ronnie Lott participate in a video sent to teams.
