The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Week 13 - Bengals

I have a hard time believing we weren't looking to destroy Burfict. I'm sure our coaches didn't mind. As a matter of fact, Tomlin didn't say anything about we need to stop hitting opponents like that, just that we can't be taunting them. Which tells me Coach T was kool with the hit.

 

The Good: we have finally found a kick returner.

The Bad: Bryant has been on our team for 3 years not counting his suspended season and we are just now trying him at kick returner.

The Ugly: getting that beautiful kick return called back.

 

And I agree with Tomlin regarding the hit on Burfict. The hit was a bit high, but I was fine with it. Didn't see J2S2 grabbing legs and twisting ankles. I'm almost certain that it was the taunting that brought on his suspension, considering he is a first time offender.

#SpiritOf86...
https://247sports.com/nfl/pittsburg...fore-Monday-nights-win-over-Bengals-111791896

 

JuJu did a number of bad things by standing over Burfict. He ruined the clean hands the Steelers had when it came to fighting the Bungles. He lost professionalism. He got himself suspended. The only very thin justification I have for him is that he's extremely young and lacks control of his emotions sometimes.

JuJu is just a rookie, but I'm sure before both games against the Bungles this season that Burfict was the topic of a lot of locker room talk. When JuJu saw a chance to lay the wood on Burfict, he took it. Then, he made a horrible mistake by sinking to their level. He wanted to earn the respect of his team by taking Burfict out and staking dominance in the situation.

If he had just floored Burfict, no one in Pittsburgh would have cared. Pittsburgh loved him. He's a fabulous blocker, especially for a rookie, and he's tough as nails. Crackback block my ass, if he had just thrown the block and walked away, we all would be crooning over how awesome he is today for slaying the demon. Instead, he became a demon himself, and possibly a Vontaze Burfict for Cincinatti to point to and say, "SEE! Steelers are dirty too!" Fucking idiot kid.

 

According to Steelers Depot:

With J2S2 being suspended, do the Steelers need to make a roster move this week to accommodate the Spence signing?

 

Not this week. Juju is on the suspended list and doesn't count against the 53...Monday they will need to make a move though

 

If you're going to suspend for helmet-to-helmet to try and take it out of the game than that's fine. But when you're only going to do it when it becomes national news it's not okay. Just this Sunday...

 

Again, the NFL is inconsistent and pointing at other wrongs doesn't make this right.

 

Doesn't make what right? JuJu was rightfully penalized and will be fined. Why does he (and Iloka) deserve a suspension that no other helmet-to-helmet defender has received this entire season?

 

The league is trying to show that if teams want to rev it up and lay an overall dirty game there will be consequences. Also in a game where players have some obvious bad blood things can be more premeditated and some benefit is lost. If Juju wasn't taunting maybe he is okay but by taunting it looks no better than Gronk. He meant it. Iloka may have been a victim of the flow of the game on a stupid high tackle trying to make a play whichever way he could before the TD was awarded. But with the way the game was going he was gonna pay for that.

 

Sean Spence is back with the team! Maybe he will be permanent depth?

 

probably, Fort has PS eligibility when/if Shazier comes back...or when Matakavich is healthy. Spence is better than Fort and Red IMO

 

For what it's worth, Baltimore talk radio this morning overwhelmingly in favor of the JJSS hit being legal, and he got screwed with the suspension.

 

Because it wasn't that bad of a hit. My opinion is similar to Joe's. When you factor in the actual dislike between the two teams, all the injuries that occurred in the game, JuJu standing over Burfict, Brown repeatedly yelling "karma" during JJSS' post game interview, etc, the league probably felt the hit was pre-planned in some form. Although it was likely as someone else said. JJSS hit the guy he knows has been a problem for his team's health and simply got caught up in the moment

 

Here's Mike Mitchell's take on it...
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/steelers-safety-says-roger-goodell-192630341.html

 

I don't think there's any doubt that he was suspended for taunting. I don't know Gronkowski's history, but Iloka is a repeat offender. Even though both JuJu and Iloka were suspended for acts in the same game, those acts weren't the same.

I agree that the disciplinary system for the NFL is a sham and always has been. We're just used to it being a total mess so we largely grin and bear it now. Even though what JuJu and Iloka did was egregious, their suspensions were largely based on the fact that the game they played in was nationally televised.

 

Well I just assumed he made helmet to helmet contact deliberately but I didn’t slow down to take a peek sometimes it looks like that happened and it doesn’t when you slow it down but then imagine what it’s like being a ref trying to make that call

Perhaps these kinds of penalty should be reviewable? Along with pass interference which I am in agreement with Bill Belichick should’ve been allowed to be reviewed eons ago

 

In complete agreement with saying the NFL’s disciplinary system is a scam.

 

Hadn’t heard that about brown yelling karma. As the NFL becomes more like the WWE, sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy a good show ha ha. That’s pretty damn funny

 

I really don't have a problem with the penalty because there was helmet-to-helmet contact. It wasn't intentional and he did lead with the shoulder into the chest as he is supposed to do. But even incidental helmet-to-helmet usually gets called. But the suspension is asinine. There were worse hits on the same weekend that will be fined. If that hit happened at 1pm on Sunday he wouldn't have been suspended.