The decision to only fine the two men has brought a lot of uproar. Should they have both been suspended? Should Finnegan have been handed a suspension and another fine? Finnegan was fined $25,000 just earlier this season for his after the whistle actions and several personal fouls spanning 3 games. The league also had a meeting with Finnegan earlier this season to tell him to watch his actions after the whistle. Johnson on the other hand is known as well mannered, soft spoken and non-confrontational, earning him respect across the league. So what could have caused such a mild mannered man to throw and land 2 solid punches?
Finnegan is known as a "dirty player" an up in your face bump and run cover corner. It's almost as if he was just trying to get Johnson off his game. I understand that getting under the skin of your opponent is a big part of the game, but I think that you do that in a fair and legal way. You do not get your guy off his game by pushing him in the back after the whistle or blocking him in the facemask and not in the chest. Then after the fines come down on them Cortland Finnegan comes out and says that if he had thrown a punch, he would have been suspended. I both agree, and disagree with this. If he (Finnegan) had been the only one to throw punches or he and Andre Johnson went toe to toe, I think if he would have been suspended. The fact that he kind of got his ass kicked worked to his advantage. Had he landed, or even thrown a punch, I think he would have received a suspension. Thank Goodness your face was in the ground the whole time Cortland. Thank Goodness. I can't say what happened on sunday. I wasn't there and I didn't hear what was said between these two on the field. All I know is that at some point Finnegan Crossed the line and Johnson Snapped.
On the other side of the ball Andre Johnson has not been known for any incidents on or off the field. He has been known only as an upright soft spoken individual with a heart of gold. Johnson is among the leagues elite wideouts and shows no sign of slowing down. The best part is, I don't even know if we've seen Johnson at 100%, since his ankle injury in week 2, and he is still tearing secondaries up. All of this aside, Johson still threw a few punches this weekend. 2 of these punches landing cleanly as far as I can see. I haven't heard any direct quotes from johnson about the incident, but then again I don't think you're going to. I do know that after the game coach Gary Kubiak gave Johnson the game ball. Kubiak insists it was for Johnson's 9 catches for 56 yards and a TD. Putting Johnson over 60 catches for the 8th straight year.
Both Players avoided suspension and the situation is diffused with mere pocket change to them. If you ask me I think both guys got out lucky. If I had to put money on it I would have definitely guessed they were both going to be suspended. The game is definitely changing, with the helmet to helmet rules, the protection of the QB, and the defenseless receiver. I'm all for safety but where do you draw the line? What happened to the game that our fathers played? Is the next step to put a red jersey on the QB and he doesn't get hit at all? Put Flags on him? Well no matter where the game goes we'll be there to follow it. It's been a while since we've seen a good NFL fight. We don't get them as often as the NHL, or even NASCAR. This one should hold us over until the next big one gets us talking again. Please send all questions and comments to jl_sports@ymail. com. On a side note, these teams meet up on Sunday December 12th. Enjoy.
Click Here To See The Fight.
Good idea for a post! I love JL Sports :)
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