Game Preview: Blue Jackets vs. Predators (Game #23) – Frustration Ventilation
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December 1, 2010
Whether it is Ndomukong Suh attempting to put Jake Delhomme’s head on backwards or James Harrison attempting to merely opt for wide receiver decapitation, Browns fans have often been left wondering where the comradery has been. Why didn’t an offensive lineman stick up for his quarterback? Where was the helmet-to-helmet hit on Hines Ward?
Well after this past Sunday’s incident between Houston’s Andre Johnson and Tennessee’s Courtland Finnegan, resulting in player ejections and league-mandated fines, Browns head coach Eric Mangini addressed his feelings on the matter and how he handles his team and retaltion for plays which they may deem dirty.
“The main point is that we always talk about with any kind of retaliation or any kind of fight, is it may make you feel better for a couple of seconds but at the end of the day, there is a penalty – or in that case, an ejection,” said Mangini. “It doesn’t help the team and you can’t let your personal desire for that immediate gratification affect the whole group.”
In the 2010 Lake Erie Classic, Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme endured what could have been an injury-inducing take down at the hands of rookie defensive tackle Ndomukong Suh. Though Suh was flagged for the play, nary a Browns player approached the “House of Spears” to tell him how they felt.
Many Browns fans questioned the chemistry between Browns players when Pittsburgh’s James Harrison injured both Joshua Cribbs and Mohammed Massaquoi in two separate instances. Harrison was later fined $75,000 by the NFL and would threaten retirement, but once again, no Browns players would retaliate either at Harrison or at a Pittsburgh wide receiver.
“You have to be poised in that,” said Mangini. “I didn’t use that example specifically, I had a small clip of it. But just our philosophy in general is you can’t [retaliate]. It just ends up hurting the group.”
A team that has had a philosophy of composure and focusing on the mental side of the game (aided by preseason lap-running), the Browns are among the best in penalty statistics, currently tied for ninth in the NFL at 5.5 per game. In 2009, the first year of Eric Mangini’s tenure with the team, the Browns were third in the NFL with 4.6 per game.
But would Mangini have sided with Houston head coach Gary Kubiak and awarded his ejected wide receiver a game ball?
“How well did he play prior to that?” Mangini asked. “I’d probably have to look at the [entire] body of work.”
3 Comments
I’m not looking for a Browns player to “go Andre Johnson” on Suh. All I want is Joe Thomas in Suh’s face to tell him ‘how it’s gonna be’.
No punches…no shoves. In the end, getting in Suh’s face after that play could possibly cause him to push a Browns player and get another penalty, which would be nice (a 30-yard swing in field position).
Maybe I’m splitting hairs with Mangini. Do I want someone to go ape on a player after a dirty hit? No. Do I want our players to make sure Suh understands that will be the last time he tries to re-assemble Jake’s upper body? Yup.
I agree with the coach on the retaliation. It seems like a lot of times the first penalty is missed, but the retaliation is always seen by the refs, thus hurting the group on the field. I do however think that if a referee slings a bean bag into a players eyes that said referee should be retaliated against ASAP!
I live in Pittsburgh and the talk radio here is amusing. Everyone here keeps wondering why the league is out to get the steelers and particularly harrison but no one points out HE KEEPS HITTING PEOPLE WITH HIS HEAD. Every single time. That’s how he hits people.
I’m not saying it is a good rule, but it is now a rule and a strictly enforced one. So stop hitting people with your head and you’ll stop getting fined.
harrison is like Bender in Breakfast Club getting 2 months of Saturday detention from Principal Goodell for not keeping his mouth shut or, in this case, his head up when he tackles people.