EAGLES: The NFL is becomming too soft; Harris fined for hit on Scheffler

The National Football League is starting to get a little out of control. On Sunday against the Broncos, Eagles safety Macho Harris was flagged for a “late hit” on Denver’s tight end Tony Scheffler. The hit came directly after cornerback Asante Samuel intercepted a pass on the ten yard line, which led to a personal foul and the beginning of a lull in performance for the Eagles in the second half. Today, Harris was fined $7,500 for the hit that the NFL thought was aimed too high at the head.

Here is a clip of the interception by Samuel. You can see the hit in the background.

I understand the NFL trying to take precautions toward player’s safety, but this specific incident is ridiculous. At some point you have to step back and realize that this is football. It is a contact sport and players are going to be hit. I am not advocating that hitting players is always the right way to handle situations, but in this particular instance with Harris, this penalty and fine is way out of line.

The most common reason to fine a player for a late hit is when they commit a helmet to helmet hit. If you take a look at the video clip of the hit, Harris made a legal tackle. He did not go for Scheffler’s head, but rather laid down a great tackle to the tight end’s chest. The NFL noted that he was intending to cause injury by lowering his shoulder into the tight end’s chest, but isn’t that still considered a legal hit? If you can’t use your shoulder to tackle players, then cornerback Asante Samuel has some problems coming his way.

If you look into this incident, you have to eliminate Asante Samuel from the play. Harris was running across the field to make a play on the tight end. There is no way that he could have stopped his momentum in the time that Samuel caught the pass and when he was trying to make a play. My main argument is this: if the ball were to go through Samuel’s hands or if he was taken out of the play completely, Harris would have timed the tackle perfectly and made a good play on the ball.

In my opinion, he was defending the over the top ball and was simply trying to prevent Scheffler from catching the pass. The argument against mine is that Scheffler was left defenseless, but Harris can’t necessarily rely on Samuel to make that play and he has to assume that the tight end is going to make a play there. You can see in the video that Harris is watching Scheffler’s eyes, which were looking up at the pass. Therefore, Harris was focused on preventing him from catching the ball, not trying to block him or cause injury.

Aside from the fact that Harris had his roughest game of his career, I don’t think that a fine from the league was appropriate. I am all for Commissioner Roger Goodell trying to prevent injury, but this particular instance is crossing the line. Players are getting stronger and faster and big hits are going to happen. Don’t penalize players for trying to make plays.

SIXERS: Iverson Returns to Lead Sixers in Upset over Portland

The Sixers got a huge win the other night against a very good Portland Trail Blazer team in the Rose Garden.  With Allen Iverson back in the lineup for the first time in four games, the Sixers followed their veteran leader to a huge upset, winning by double digits on the road.  Iverson had his best game of the season since he returned to Philadelphia, scoring 19 points on 7 for 11 shooting.  This is a big change from the Iverson of old, who used to score more points but would take (and miss) and ton of shots.  Rarely did we ever see A.I. have a night in which he shot over 50% from the field.  Iverson’s return helped spur the Sixers to a victory, hopefully one they will be able to build off of when they visit Chester native Tyreke Evans and the Sacramento Kings tonight at Arco Arena. 

Playing againts former teammate Andre Miller for the first time since he left for free agency, the Sixers received an outstanding performance from Elton Brand off the bench.  Brand dropped 25 points to go along with his 9 rebounds.  I have been very critical of Brand’s play in the past, but I will give the man credit in that he has been playing very good basketball as of late, especially in the team’s last two wins against Boston and Portland.  The good thing for Brand is that he can come off the bench and play efficiently, while not having to carry the entire burden of playing close to 40 minutes and defending the paint all night.  With fellow big man Marresse Speights having an excellent season thus far as well, the two bigs can split time to give each other rest when they need it.  Thaddeus Young seems to be able to play power forward too, and he has been the starter at that position since Lou Williams returned.  With the lineup of Iverson, Williams, Iguodala, Young, and Dalembert (who continues to be a disappointment despite still showing signs of promise), the Sixers have a good mix of young talent and veteran leaders.  With guys like Brand, Speights, and Jrue Holiday coming off the bench, the Sixers have some depth at each position.  Hopefully they can put it all together and get a few wins.  The team hasn’t won two straight since early November.  Tonight against the Kings would be a good time to turn that around.  They will need a strong defensive effort to get it done, as the Kings average over 104 points per game and have found their new star player in Evans, who is a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year.