NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Vontaze Burfict has his opportunity to change his play or go down with the league rules. Even he has said he must adjust his play, but as you said, winning is the culture of any team and turning blind eye to any character issues happens on every team.

 

I think the difference between Harrison and Burfict is that Harrison wasn't intentionally trying to hurt players. I don't recall any "after the play" or "away from the play" issues with Harrison like we have seen from Burfict. The twisting legs at the bottom of the pile and pounding his knee into Ben's shoulder, or his blatant cheap shot on the Ravens TE away from the play. Those are terribly dirty plays and Harrison was never accused of things like that. The only time I can think of a play like that involving Harrison was in the Cards Superbowl after an O-Lineman tried to cut him he pounded on his back. Looked like a punch if I remember it right, but that was pretty innocuous compared to what we have all witnessed Burfict doing.

If Burfict's biggest sins were being too violent between the whistles like Harrison was when the league first started cracking down on that violence, then I don't think people would be so horrified by his actions. Harrison was punished for shots to the head on defenseless players. Many of those hits were close calls, a couple of them were pretty bad and he was punished accordingly.

Burfict is a disgrace right now. He has the opportunity to change and hopefully he takes advantage of that. But the comparison to Harrison is just not completely accurate. Harrison was able to lower his target and comply with NFL rules. Burfict needs to change more than just his target, he needs to change how he thinks. Thinking its okay to twist a guy's leg, or knee a guy in the shoulder, or cheap shot a guy away from the play is the bigger issue here.

 

Harrison has even said that Vontaze has one or two things he needs to change but his play was very similar to Harrison before the meetings with the league. Hard nose player who plays over the line.

That is Harrison words, and guess who taught Burfict to play a more aggressive style. HARRISON.

Antonio Brown needs to learn to keep his mouth shut, I have met the man and helped him in a fire issue, I am part of his local VFC, but he is an airhead, doesn't even know his own house alarm code and password. Especially when you have now a Steelers coach coming out and praising his play. (Still shouldn't have been on the field, which was represented by a $10,000 fine.)

 

James Harrison was one of the dirtiest - if not THE dirtiest - players in the league.

 

Greg Hardy

 

Nah - Hardy's issues are OFF the field!

 

I think Rodney Harrison was pretty dirty. He has the fines to prove it too.

 

Doesn't make him any less dirty. What he did off the field supersedes what Harrison did on the field IMO.

 

Pardon the interruption ...

Falcons re-sign DE Adrian Clayborn, add DE Derrick Shelby

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) ? The Atlanta Falcons have re-signed defensive end Adrian Clayborn to a two-year contract and have added former Miami end Derrick Shelby with a four-year deal.

A day after making former Cleveland center Alex Mack the NFL's highest-paid player at his position, the Falcons turned their attention Thursday to shoring up a pass rush that's ranked no higher than 28th in sacks since 2012.

Their 19 sacks last season were fewest in the league.

Clayborn, a five-year veteran, led Atlanta with 15 quarterback hits and was second with three sacks in 16 games. The former first-round pick of Tampa Bay signed a one-year contract with the Falcons last spring.

Shelby, a four-year veteran who's missed just one game in his career, had 3.5 sacks last season.

The Falcons released defensive tackle Paul Soliai, a two-year starter, on Wednesday.
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Carry On...

 

I really don't care what James Harrison says about Burfict. Or what anybody in the league says about Burfict. Just watch the plays. I make my own decisions based on what I see, and Burfict has blatantly attempted to take players out of games with after the play, or away from the play, acts of aggression. That is not Harrison-like, its cowardly, unsportsmanlike and despicable.

Whatever. They played together for one year. Burfict was like this in college, Harrison had nothing to do with the way he plays.

What the heck does AB have to do with anything? Are you going to try and defer Burfict's issues on Brown now?

No argument here, but it was not the same kind of dirty. There is "not playing within the rules" dirty, then there is what Burfict does. Its a whole different level when you start intentionally trying to injure another player.

 

I love this topic on the dirty guy.

How much does the GM and coaching staff have to do with some of this stuff to? I think a lot.

The away from the play stuff can be tackled by sticking to the fines and suspensions. I think if they were to start calling this activity a little closer and stick to their guns and be consistent, the cheap-shot stuff could be handled.

If they keep pussy-footing around with slap on the wrist punishment, the away from the play cheap stuff will never go away.

Honorable mention on 'Dirty' goes to that Ndamukong Suh feller. He liked to walk on people... literally and a lot.

 

Of course it does. It makes him a terrible, POS human being, not a dirty football player.

If we were talking "dirty HUMAN BEING," I'd agree. But we aren't.

 

I'm not sure I agree. Can we know what James Harrison's intent was when he continually led with his helmet? When he picked up and body slammed Vince Young? When he dove into Jay Cutler's knees well after the ball was thrown?

 

Ya Suh did a lot but he also got by far the most flack for incidental stuff, by the refs, fans and media than anyone. Then again that comes with the reputation. He's not close to as bad as he's made out to be, but he is pretty dirty.

 

I don't care to get into a long drawn out debate but Harrison on his worst days was never the dirty scumbag that Burfict is. Anyone that tries to take another player's knees out is the lowest of the low.

 

Harrison did the same thing, take your homer glasses off. I never disputed that Burfict wasn't dirty. All I said is if there was anybody who condemned Burfict and the Bengals, and says that any teams culture is hurt by this, especially the Steelers, is ignorant and hypocritical to say the Bengals have a bad culture.

 

Harrison admits to hitting players in the knees:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...owered-my-target-now-i-hit-guys-in-the-knees/

 

As Will pointed out though, the Steelers' winning culture trumps all. They are both dirty but one cost the team a big game and has cost a win before I believe in season. Years ago the Bengals were a team where all the headcases in the draft were mocked because they kept taking them. Maybe that culture still exists and Burfict is feeding of it. The team doesn't seem to be doing anything to change it. The difference is results. They speak, even if it's unfair.

 

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