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Sports

Is This the Hit That Could Get an NFL Player Suspended?

Sep. 20, 2011 1:28am Jonathon M. Seidl

NEW YORK (The Blaze/AP) — The NFL is looking into the hit by Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson on Philadelphia wide receiver Jeremy Maclin that drew a 15-yard penalty in Sunday night’s game.

Robinson was fined $50,000 last year for a similar hit on the Eagles’ DeSean Jackson that left both players with concussions. The fine later was reduced to $25,000, but Robinson falls into the category of repeat offender.

This is video of Sunday’s hit (which includes the boisterous reaction of announcer Cris Collinsworth):

This is the similar hit he placed on fellow Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson last year:

The league has said flagrant hits by such players could lead to a suspension. The NFL has not yet suspended anyone for such hits.

Normally, any league discipline is handed down in midweek. But the NFL could speed the process given the high profile of Robinson’s hit – during a prime-time national TV game – and the cornerback’s recent history.

Robinson drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter after leading with his helmet and crashing into Maclin. Maclin was slow to leave the field but returned to the game.

Replays clearly showed Robinson leading with his helmet, something the league has been adamant about eliminating. The NFL this year also banned launches into a defenseless opponent.

Falcons coach Mike Smith said Monday he had not heard from the NFL about the hit. Smith said after the game he thought it was a legal hit and “that’s the way we teach it.”

“My opinion didn’t change,” he said.

Last October, the NFL sent head coaches memos listing those players on their teams who were called for two or more unnecessary roughness penalties since 2008. Ray Anderson, NFL executive vice president of football operations, told The Associated Press this summer the league uses the last two seasons as criteria to determine repeat offenders.

“Player safety is a priority and we will not relent on it,” Anderson said in August. “Let me make it very clear, particularly in regard to repeat offenders, that egregious acts will be subject to suspension. We will not feel the need to hesitate in this regard.”

Anderson, assistant Merton Hanks, the former 49ers safety, and their staff go over every play following each weekend. Director of officiating Carl Johnson and his staff also are consulted. When it’s determined a fine or suspension is necessary, Anderson says the player and team are notified as quickly as possible.

The player can appeal to former NFL coaches Art Shell and Ted Cottrell, who are paid by the league and the NFL Players Association to handle those cases. Their appeal must be heard by the second Tuesday following notification of the discipline.

Commissioner Roger Goodell can become involved in the process at any time.

So what do you think?

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Comments (95)

MUDFLAPS
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 9:02am
Get that idiot out of football. Hes simply an idiot.

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- mils
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 11:03am
  his coach should also be reprimanded as he said the hit is how they teach them to do it…
  
  this was a dangerous intentional hit…suspend him.
  
  Report this comment
- DanWesson455
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 12:08pm
  Can’t teach a M Y. they only mimic.
  
  Report this comment
- SodamYat
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 1:20pm
  I played in highschool, I know a coward dive when I see it.
  
  Report this comment
- Clive
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:20pm
  you would think a $50,000 fine would stop you from doing this stuff… nope.
  
  Report this comment
- Killgreed
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:14pm
  Why not add a rule change that will kick any player out of the rest of the game plus an automatic 1 game suspension after being called for personal fouls. I love the game of football but these guys are getting so fast, so strong that hits like these will result in broken necks if not death on the field.
  
  Report this comment
- SICKOFLIBSBULSH
  Posted on September 21, 2011 at 9:09am
  Aren’t football players supposed to be tough? Don’t they make millions of dollars playing a sandlot kids game? They should be allowed to play like real MEN did back in the 60′s & 70′s.
  
  Did you know that there are less head injuries in Rugby which uses no pads or helmets than football which uses pads for every part of their body?
  
  Report this comment
- rdk
  Posted on September 21, 2011 at 12:20pm
  What about the coach?
  
  Report this comment
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:49am
.
73% yes it was dangerous! WTF Nancy? Ya’ll need to pull your Panties up, and Butch up a little. It’s Football. They get paid million’s to get hit like that……………..

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- IndyNWguy
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 11:28am
  I call this the “vagination” of the NFL.
  
  It is the result of America’s vagination.
  
  Nice hit Dunta! Way to be a man and gather yourself after taking the hit Jeremy. Thanks to both of you for making football exciting.
  
  For those of you still upset over having to change your panties because of this hit, go look up some NFL archive video. Wrap your empty heads around the concept that football always has been, and always will be a violent game.
  
  I honestly believe this is little more than an attack on masculinity.
  
  Report this comment
- Hopeislost
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 11:29am
  Exactly. What a bunch of Nancys. Just another example of the death of masculinity and the ruination of football by the false notion that players need protecting. That was a textbook hit. Why dont you people grow a pair and stop screwing up the game?
  
  Report this comment
- Strife
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:47pm
  He hit him with the top of his helmet in the face, that’s not the way we were taught to tackle, you tackle facemask to numbers, drive through the player. You don’t launch the top of your helmet into another guys head. Concussions are dangerous and with the size and speed of the game, things need to be changed. I’m all for hard hits and all of that, but reality sinks in.. You don’t want these guys getting concussions that should be avoided. Look at the NHL, multiple players getting concussions there, some of them dying.
  
  Dunta needs to learn how to tackle.
  
  Report this comment
- Attention2Detail
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:03pm
  You are an idiot!!! This was not a tackle, it was an assault. Hard hits do happen in football, but only as part of the game. Maybe you would like them to carry bats so they can really lay out the opposition. If we kill all the players the NFL will go away.
  
  Report this comment
yougottabekidding
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:47am
The team should be suspended !

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- Mosell
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 9:53am
  As your screen name goes. You gotta be kidding! Suspend the entire team over a KNOWN repeat offenders actions. I do say the Falcons should immediately release him. But suspend the enitre team. Come on.
  
  Report this comment
TomFerrari
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:47am
@Ranger called it!
Go back to leather helmets.
Put more risk back into it, and people will be more responsible.
You have taken all the risk out of it for the aggressor.
He only gets hurt if he gets caught, and then, it is only a fine.
Leatherheads risk breaking their own necks!

Or, we could put wrap the existing helmets with either nerf foam or bubble-wrap!

Then, we could cover these much larger helmets with “mascot heads”.

We would have a field full of giant-headed blue broncos butting heads with drab dolphin domes.

And… just for kicks… we could make them bobble-heads!
.
.

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- Brizz
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 10:14am
  Exactly! The safety equipment has desensitized the players from any dangerous maneuvers and are now used like a weapon.
  
  Take the game back to the days of being a tough and SMART player, instead of just an ogre.
  
  Report this comment
tntlassiter
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:41am
I’m sorry…I’m not trying to be mean but…it’s football! You are supposed to expect to get hit…it’s football! “You can’t lead with your head”…what are you supposed to lead with? Your ****? “You can’t hit a defenseless person”…what does that even mean? It’s football! if they are going to turn it into a pansy sport then why even have the pads at all? IT’S FOOTBALL!!

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- TomFerrari
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:48am
  I hear ya, man!
  
  Report this comment
- CHULAIGUY
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 9:16am
  As a former coach (of kids football), I can tell you that this is NOT football. You’re out there to win, NOT cripple someone for life. This ‘PUNK’ needs to be suspended for the rest of the season or cut from the team. This was a deliberate attempt to hurt the other player. If they only ‘fine’ this clown, then he is going to go right on doing this until he does kill or cripple someone.
  
  Report this comment
- atechgeek
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 9:20am
  I’m with you .. it was a hard hit .. If anyone should get fined or punished it should have been Vick for setting him up to be killed.
  
  Report this comment
- dcrabb
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 10:30am
  tntlassiter is right it is “football” but it is no longer SPORT. Football used to be a sport where rules of sportsmanship based on chivary held sway. Now it is a profession where primadonna thugs get paid millions to inflict injury by taking cheap shots to take out opponents all in the name of winning a GAME. We’re on the slippery slope to the Roman Coliseum and people fighting to the death while blood thirsty (and drunken) crowds cheer them on. I haven’t watched a professional contest (football, basketball, or baseball) in years and I am less inclined to watch college ones now because they are no longer sporting events, they are contests where oversized egos show that winning at any cost and by any means is the motivating factor not the challenge of athletic competition.
  By the way, any good coach knows you lead with your shoulder not your head. Leading with the head increases the chance of injury for both players while leading with the shoulder increases the chance of actually tackling as it allows you to wrap up the ball carrier with your arms. It’s called form tackling, look it up you might learn something about the sport of football.
  Finally, I wouldn’t go mentioning the “no pads, pansy sport” stuff around any rugby players, you might end up at the bottom of a scrum!
  
  Report this comment
- Tom K
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 11:23am
  @TNTLASSITER: Robinson’s job and pay should be discontinued – fire the jerk. This MIGHT get the attention of some of the other jerks in the league. This is how the rules stand NOW, after the slow and steady wussification of the N.F.L. I understand the safety issue. Going back to leather helmets could work but that face guard is important when you get faceplanted on the field. Robinson can be replaced even though he probably thinks way too much of himself. Headhunters be gone.
  
  Report this comment
scrapadapolis
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:37am
Take off the equipment!! there’s none in rugby.******..

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itsmyfirstday
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:37am
Time for “Flag Football”! You have to be kidding me, This is what happens when you take away dodge ball, tag, monkey bars, swing sets from our schools…a bunch of wimps (democrats).

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Rickfromillinois
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:05am
What I would really like to see is a high paid athlete who repeatedly does things like that and have his team coach/owner say that they are not going to have people on their teams who do things like that and fire him. In addition I would like to see that none of the other teams will pick him up. Not just this particular incident but for many others where athletes seem to feel that they are a privileged class, mostly because since high school many have been treated that way.

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- thestickman
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:18am
  Guy hit him with his SHOULDER. If anything he could have been fined for throwing his forearm. It’s FOOTBALL. You wear protective gear for a reason because you are GOING TO GET HIT. This game has near been ruined with all this nonsense. Don’t want to get hit? Don’t want to jeopardize your body for millions of dollars a year? DON’T PLAY PRO FOOTBALL!
  
  Report this comment
BrerRabbit
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:52am
Thug!

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INTHEBEGININGGOD
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:24am
$ 40,000. is not enough. It also should be on the coach for saying this.

Falcons coach Mike Smith said Monday he had not heard from the NFL about the hit. Smith said after the game he thought it was a legal hit and “that’s the way we teach it.”

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- txbigfoot
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:43am
  I agree, for the coach to say that this is the way we teach it, he should be fined and suspended also.
  Totally unprofessional and dangerous. Should a player get his by this moron and hurt, I say sue the player and the team.
  
  Report this comment
Gonzo
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:14am
Ryan’s Falcons beat Vick’s Eagles! YES!!!

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HKS
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:09am
I was amazed that he was not thrown out on the spot. That was a calculated head hunter hit to inflect damage. That should have been a trip to the showers with more to come.

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- claymoremacm
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:57am
  He belongs in a zoo with the other animals
  
  Report this comment
jungle J
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 6:48am
it is the ghetto mentality…

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- decendentof56
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:48am
  You can take the boy out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the boy. It’s the way that many (not all) blacks are brought up. Violence is the way of life.
  Don’t like what I’m saying? Look up the statistics or the police blotter in any local paper where there is a high black population.
  Camden, NJ; Detroit; Philly; Newark, NJ; E. LA; E. St Louis; Gary, In.; Jacksonville, Fl. Shall I go on until I run out of characters?
  
  Report this comment
- staggerlee32
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 10:54am
  @decendentof56
  All those stats are true, however it’s the Democrats (progressives) that have made them that way. Just research Margaret Sanger the sick progressive lady that started Planned Parenthood and why she started it. To kill blacks. The Germans loved her.
  
  Report this comment
Cat
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:45am
Haven’t been a fan of football since 1972.
Recall head hits use to be illegal.

That said … The article notes Dunta is a repeat offender.
Does that mean he contacted someone unfairly, again?

Isn’t football supposed to be a contact sport?

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- Rowgue
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:56am
  Hitting with your helmet has never been legal in football, they were just more lax about calling it before. They still never call spearing even though it’s just as dangerous if not more so. There was an incident not long ago where a college player paralyzed himself by spearing the ballcarrier on a kick return.
  
  And yes football is a contact sport, but using your helmet as a weapon is not only idiotic and dangerous it’s also the biggest ***** move there is in sports. It’s what weak players that are scared to actually hit somebody with their own body do, because 95% of the time the player hitting with his helmet isn’t going to feel a thing.
  
  Report this comment
- rangerp
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 6:40am
  get rid of the helmets, and put on little leather hats with ear flaps like in the old days, and see how many hit with their heads.
  
  Report this comment
- ThoughtfulConservative
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:25am
  Rangers Right!!! Go Back to the Leatherhead days. We’ll see some real athleticism as well!
  
  Report this comment
- Cat
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 9:38am
  @ROWGUE
  
  After watching this clip in slow motion, I get the strange feeling there is something else going on here.
  It almost appears to be gang activity instead of a regulated sport played by sporting millionaires.
  
  It ain’t polo, that’s for sure.
  
  Report this comment
POdVet
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:24am
Easiest and quickest way to stop the blatant cheapshots from no talent cowards like that. LIFETIME BAN!

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- Rowgue
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 6:06am
  Actually the easiest way would be to return to playing without helmets and much smaller pads. People hit like they do because they are provided with equipment that allows them to deliver such shots while barely feeling anything.
  
  More and bigger protective equipment makes the sport MORE violent not less.
  
  Report this comment
knownokoolaid
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:16am
It’s a pattern with this “stud”. One year out of football. Then you will have a teachable moment.

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NuffSaid
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:52am
Why are the other players NOT stomping the **** out of this squirrel? Fear? Stupidity? Approval?

These are not professional sportsmen. These are just more whores.

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- Rowgue
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:47am
  Because “stomping” on him would get them automatically tossed from the game and a mandatory minimum one week suspension.
  
  There’s a reason you don’t see fights in the NFL anymore, and it’s not because society became more civilized.
  
  Report this comment
Dustyluv
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:47am
You can stop all of this really easily…Go back to leather helments. It will stop it completely. Either that or put a dress on the QB and receivers…

This si a contact sport and you are going to have CONTACT. But if you make the person doing the hitting less protected he will stop doing it out of self preservation. Scale down the padding and it will all stop.

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- M1A2_Tanker
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:44am
  You can see him launch forward put his head down, There is ZERO attempt to “Wrap up” on Jeremy Maclin or to even use his hands, arms or shoulders. Yes there is going to be contact, but a blatant helmet to helmet hit is banned and rightfully so for the players own safety. We’re not talking about a sprained little finger.
  
  .02
  
  Report this comment
- loriann12
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:06am
  I was thinking the same thing. These super helmets they have only make them cocky.
  
  Report this comment
paperpushermj
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:26am
His penalty should be his playing without a Helmet.

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Weiners Wiener
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:12am
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/19/dunta-robinson-fined-40000/

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Weiners Wiener
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:08am
This article is a little late. It was already announced today that he’s been fined $40,000 for this hit.

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TSUNAMI-22
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:56am
If I got paid what these guys were getting paid, I’d take the hit and STFU about it.

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rickroland
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:58am
Watch the video, he lead with his shoulder, not his helmet. The penalty and the talk of possible suspension is just bunk.

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- the hawk
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:51am
  You need glasses my friend ! his hands are down at his sides ! total top of the helmet shot !
  
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- mlcblog
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:11am
  No, it was his head.
  
  Report this comment
- Weiners Wiener
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:14am
  You’ve got it backwards. The head is the round thing in the middle wearing a helmet. The two shoulders are on each side of the head. He lead with his head.
  
  Report this comment
- decendentof56
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:54am
  Ricky…. So, you paint yourself the color of your team, get drunked up at tailgate parties, pee in the stands, throw batteries at and insult opposing teams fans? Typical pro football fan. Don’t believe me?
  Be a Cowboy or Giants or Redskin or any opposing fan and go to Linc. Financial Field in Philly. You’ll see a perfect example of the level of intelligence of pro football fans.
  No illegal hit here. Right!
  Enjoy the ‘sport’.
  
  Report this comment
Fabian_Hunter
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:46am
WIMPS… this is what you call DEFENSIVE FOOTBALL… take out the opponent_!!

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- mlcblog
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:11am
  This is OFFENSIVE not defensive. Get a dictionary.
  
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Exrepublisheep
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:34am
Say it…

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- Stoic one
  Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:40am
  I woke up ..say what?
  Contact Sport?
  
  Report this comment

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