re: Updated: Redskins Meriweather suspension reduced to 1 game for illegal hits

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who the frick taught you football?

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This guy really plays with wreckless abandon. I truly think he doesn't give a shite if he knocks himself out on alot of these hits.

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On Sept. 20, Bill Polian, the NFL's vice-president for football development, announced that Cecil was being fined $30,000, one of the largest nonsuspension fines ever imposed on a player, for "two acts of flagrant unnecessary roughness involving the use of his helmet." He is appealing the fine, but he has reportedly been warned that another such hit will result in suspension.

Polian's statement read, "Cecil speared running back Ricky Ervins and tight end Ron Middleton of the Redskins. On each play, Cecil used the top of his helmet to strike intended receivers in the upper body." No matter that the two plays occurred during a crucial fourth-quarter Washington drive in a game that Phoenix would win 17-10, for its first victory at RFK in 15 years. No matter that no penalty flags were thrown on either play. No matter that Ervins bounced up after his hit or that Middleton outweighs Cecil by 75 pounds. The league had spoken: Spearing is illegal: Cecil was a menace to others and to himself. Striking with the crown of the helmet is prohibited, noted Polian, because of the danger it poses to the players involved, "including the one doing the hitting." Told that Cecil didn't think he had used the crown of his helmet for impact, Polian said, "Well, he's totally wrong then." And the fine was the stiffest ever, he said, "in light of Cecil's prior conduct outside the playing rules."

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like i said earlier, hitting with the crown of the helmet has been illegal for decades. so has launching

meriwheather was guilty of both

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Support for Cecil has come from many sources, including some who were at the game. After watching Middleton's helmet roll to a stop, CBS commentator Randy Cross said, "This, I gotta tell you, is how a safety gets to the Pro Bowl." After the game Redskin coach Richie Petitbon said, "That's football, man. This game is not played in short pants." Said Dallas Cowboy coach Jimmy Johnson, "That's the kind of football I like to see."

Even Middleton doesn't think the hit on him was against the rules. "It was just great lick," he says. "That's the nature of the game. Guys dream of licks like that."

Maybe so. But Middleton's tongue was numb for several minutes after the blow, and when Cecil had hit Ervins moments earlier, it was Cecil who had fallen to the turf in agony, a nerve stinger shooting down his left arm. These days, in fact, he moves his neck with difficulty, even off the field. Cecil says that his head was up on both hits, that he was tackling with his face mask and the front area of his helmet, nose on numbers, trying to drive his body through his opponent, the way coaches, fans and teammates like it. If he doesn't tackle like that, he says, he has little to offer on the playing field.

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Dude is a TPOS of the highest order.

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if they are serious about getting this out of the game the dude should be gone for the season. he's been fined already and warned repeatedly.

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It’s the third straight time in a case involving a suspension that the NFL’s decision was not fully enforced. Last year, Cottrell scuttled a one-game suspension given to former Ravens safety Ed Reed. Last month, Matt Birk overturned a one-game suspension levied against Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson.

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