This win feels… really deflating, like a group of New England Patriots footballs. How often is it that we can say that when a team drops a forty-burger? How often can we actually say that when a team has two defensive touchdowns in the same game? This game should leave Ravens fans feeling on top of the world, but that is not the case in the following days. In fact, following this win, I personally am more concerned for the Baltimore Ravens than I was at any point during the season.
We as Ravens fans should be feeling amazing about the future of the Ravens season after a game like this. Alex Collins finally broke out with a 100-yard performance on just 18 carries. Joe Flacco finally had a game that Ravens fans wanted to see when he mixed in short, intermediate, and deep passes perfectly, including a 30-yard touchdown strike to Jeremy Maclin that left many wondering if shades of 2014 Flacco might return in the upcoming weeks. Brandon Williams again looked like an absolute monster with three tackles for loss against Jay Ajayi. Ajayi gained 21 yards on his first carry of the game, but gained just two yards on his next 12 carries. Jimmy Smith and CJ Mosley both intercepted Matt Moore and returned their interceptions for touchdowns. Even better, Jimmy Smith allowed a 0.0 passer rating on the night. This should be the type of performance and day that teams dream of. Everything that could go right did go right. But again, here we all are with a somber feeling hanging over us.
Late in the second quarter, Joe Flacco scrambled out to his right and saw open field in front of him. He took off for the first down, but saw an oncoming defender, Kiko Alonso, beginning to close the gap. Flacco began to go down to the ground and was drilled in the head by the helmet, shoulder, and forearm of Alonso. It was a dirty hit that would knock Flacco’s helmet off and leave Flacco feeling visibly woozy and nauseated as he struggled to get off the field. The hit was unnecessary and excessive and it highlighted a major issue with the NFL. The NFL simply does not get it yet when it comes to player safety.
The NFL likes to pretend that it cares about player safety. The kickoff was moved up from the 30-yard line to the 35 to prevent run backs, considered to be an especially dangerous play. Hits to the knees of players were outlawed to prevent torn ACL’s. Yet, here we are, left wondering why hits to the head, the command center of the human body, are treated so lightly. In week four, Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan was flagged for an illegal helmet to helmet hit on Packers wide receiver DeVante Adams. Adams was in a defenseless position when Trevathan clearly led with the crown of his helmet and knocked Adams out with a blow to the head. Adams would have to be carted off the field. Similarly, Flacco gave himself up with five yards between himself and Alonso, but Alonso led with his shoulder, helmet, and forearm and drilled Flacco without even attempting to let up. Again, a flag was thrown and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty was issued, but it should have been taken a step further in both cases.
Both players, Alonso and Trevathan, showed reckless abandon when they delivered their blows to Flacco and Adams, respectively. Neither showed any self control or desire to let up, looking rather to head hunt and take out a player. In both cases, both players stayed in the game after knocking another player out of the game. Yes, both players were allowed to continue in the game where they could potentially continue their head hunting habits and injure more players. For a league that prides itself on player safety and has been under intense scrutiny for the connection between football and CTE, why would the NFL even take a chance in these situations? Why would you not eject both players for their dirty, illegal hits? Vontaze Burfict, a player with a notorious history, delivered an equally dirty hit against Antonio Brown in the playoffs following the 2015 season. It came at the end of the game, but rather than being ejected, Burfict was allowed to continue on.
Players get ejected consistently for fighting and shoving each other. If a player uses their bare hand to take a swing at a player wearing a solid helmet, they are thrown out of the game immediately, but use your hard helmet and full speed momentum to blow up another player’s head? Have at it; you will continue to play on the day.
The NFL still does not get it when it comes to player safety. The insistence that player safety is of upmost importance is difficult to believe when plays like this are only flagged with no ejections being issued. How can the NFL claim to care about the minds of its players when they allow head hunters to continue to play? Mark Cuban once predicted the downfall of the NFL and he may actually be right if hits like this are not more severely punished. No player will continue to play if they feel like their head is always at risk. When will the NFL learn?
We as Ravens fans should be feeling amazing about the future of the Ravens season after a game like this. Alex Collins finally broke out with a 100-yard performance on just 18 carries. Joe Flacco finally had a game that Ravens fans wanted to see when he mixed in short, intermediate, and deep passes perfectly, including a 30-yard touchdown strike to Jeremy Maclin that left many wondering if shades of 2014 Flacco might return in the upcoming weeks. Brandon Williams again looked like an absolute monster with three tackles for loss against Jay Ajayi. Ajayi gained 21 yards on his first carry of the game, but gained just two yards on his next 12 carries. Jimmy Smith and CJ Mosley both intercepted Matt Moore and returned their interceptions for touchdowns. Even better, Jimmy Smith allowed a 0.0 passer rating on the night. This should be the type of performance and day that teams dream of. Everything that could go right did go right. But again, here we all are with a somber feeling hanging over us.
Late in the second quarter, Joe Flacco scrambled out to his right and saw open field in front of him. He took off for the first down, but saw an oncoming defender, Kiko Alonso, beginning to close the gap. Flacco began to go down to the ground and was drilled in the head by the helmet, shoulder, and forearm of Alonso. It was a dirty hit that would knock Flacco’s helmet off and leave Flacco feeling visibly woozy and nauseated as he struggled to get off the field. The hit was unnecessary and excessive and it highlighted a major issue with the NFL. The NFL simply does not get it yet when it comes to player safety.
The NFL likes to pretend that it cares about player safety. The kickoff was moved up from the 30-yard line to the 35 to prevent run backs, considered to be an especially dangerous play. Hits to the knees of players were outlawed to prevent torn ACL’s. Yet, here we are, left wondering why hits to the head, the command center of the human body, are treated so lightly. In week four, Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan was flagged for an illegal helmet to helmet hit on Packers wide receiver DeVante Adams. Adams was in a defenseless position when Trevathan clearly led with the crown of his helmet and knocked Adams out with a blow to the head. Adams would have to be carted off the field. Similarly, Flacco gave himself up with five yards between himself and Alonso, but Alonso led with his shoulder, helmet, and forearm and drilled Flacco without even attempting to let up. Again, a flag was thrown and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty was issued, but it should have been taken a step further in both cases.
Both players, Alonso and Trevathan, showed reckless abandon when they delivered their blows to Flacco and Adams, respectively. Neither showed any self control or desire to let up, looking rather to head hunt and take out a player. In both cases, both players stayed in the game after knocking another player out of the game. Yes, both players were allowed to continue in the game where they could potentially continue their head hunting habits and injure more players. For a league that prides itself on player safety and has been under intense scrutiny for the connection between football and CTE, why would the NFL even take a chance in these situations? Why would you not eject both players for their dirty, illegal hits? Vontaze Burfict, a player with a notorious history, delivered an equally dirty hit against Antonio Brown in the playoffs following the 2015 season. It came at the end of the game, but rather than being ejected, Burfict was allowed to continue on.
Players get ejected consistently for fighting and shoving each other. If a player uses their bare hand to take a swing at a player wearing a solid helmet, they are thrown out of the game immediately, but use your hard helmet and full speed momentum to blow up another player’s head? Have at it; you will continue to play on the day.
The NFL still does not get it when it comes to player safety. The insistence that player safety is of upmost importance is difficult to believe when plays like this are only flagged with no ejections being issued. How can the NFL claim to care about the minds of its players when they allow head hunters to continue to play? Mark Cuban once predicted the downfall of the NFL and he may actually be right if hits like this are not more severely punished. No player will continue to play if they feel like their head is always at risk. When will the NFL learn?
