SportsGirl

Tensions are apparently running high in the NFL these days. I’ve always heard the holidays are tough for a lot of people, especially if they’re away from their families, but I never realized it could get this bad!

First, we have Nick Barnett who was restrained by a referee during a melee in the Chicago-Green Bay game last weekend. I’ve seen the replay and agree that umpire Jim Quirk was aggressive in his attempt to remove Barnett from the situation. But now it comes out that Barnett is filing a grievance with the league pertaining to the incident. You’ve got to be kidding me. If anything, Quirk was trying to prevent Barnett from getting in the middle of the fracas which could potentially have prevented him from making a bad situation worse. And Quirk is an older guy, hardly someone who could harm the 6′2″, 232 pound linebacker. So what’s the grievance about? Ok, you don’t want officials feeling like they can get physical with the players because the reverse wouldn’t happen without a stiff penalty being levied against the player. But the NFL already spoke with Quirk and spoke publicly about not condoning his actions. So drop it at that, will ya?

Then we have Warren Sapp who got fined $75,000 for his verbal “assault” on the referees in his game against Jacksonville. He was also ejected from that game because the ref thought Sapp bumped one of the officials. I can’t make up my mind fully on whether or not I think that’s too high a fine. Jawing at the officials is kind of like holding to me–it happens on almost every down of every game in the NFL. As long as it doesn’t get personal, flag them for unsportsmanlike conduct on the field and be done with it. If it gets nasty, then ok, there’s a line that can’t be crossed without a fine. Nothing happened to the ref that upset Samari Rolle by allegedly calling him “boy”. And nothing should have happened. This is a physical, intense game and you’re crazy if you think the refs don’t put up with their share of name calling. And to a certain extent, I’m ok with a bit of a double-standard in favor of the refs (they’re not wearing pads, mind you) as long as it doesn’t go to the officials’ heads. But a $75,000 fine, even when your paycheck is as hefty as Sapp’s, seems a bit excessive.

Champ Bailey felt the need this week to speak out against the reported taunting of Broncos QB Jay Cutler by fellow QB Philip Rivers. Bailey didn’t mince words in basically telling Rivers that he has not earned enough credibility in the league to be yapping at a QB’s poor play on the field. Rivers claims he was merely congratulating his defense on a great stop, but that seems suspect to me. If I were him, I’d own up to it. May not earn you points with the other teams, but I bet your own team would respect you a bit. I’m not usually a supporter of trash talking unless you can back it up, but if you’re caught doing it, own up to it! Trying to play innocent after the fact just makes you look like a loser.

Hell, even John Clayton and Sean Salisbury were going at each other’s throats the other day on Sports Center! They were doing a “four down” type segment on the show and they were debating various points. I’ve seen them do this before and it’s not always civil. Frankly, I want to punch John Clayton in the face even though I think he provides great coverage of the NFL. He’s so damn smug in those nerdy glasses! So I don’t blame Salisbury for getting annoyed. But in this particular segment, the two were debating who you’d start in a playoff game if you’re the Redskins. If Jason Campbell is healthy, do you take the reins away from Todd Collins, who has been managing the team well enough to get them to the point where they could even make the playoffs. Salisbury was stating that he’d continue to start Collins, which for the record I agree with, because Collins gives you the best chance to win. When you’ve got the momentum, don’t make a change even if your starter is healthy. Clayton disagreed, quite vehemently, and said that by not starting Campbell if he’s healthy, you’re sending the wrong message for 2008 and 2009; that basically you’re telling your starter that you’ve lost confidence in them. To which Salisbury replied that if your QB can’t handle that then they don’t have the mental make-up to be a starter in this league (again a point I agree with). That turned the discussion into an insult-flinging contest with Clayton reminding Salisbury that he was an inconsistent back-up at best, and Salisbury telling John to set the pen down for a minute and watch some damn game film before he stated his opinions. Good golly I thought they were going to find a way to teleport to the other’s location and start beating the crap out of each other. Which really would have been a one-sided fight…Go Salisbury!

So here’s hoping that things calm down a bit this weekend. With not many teams having much to play for, the tensions should fall a bit. And my attention will be locked on the Pats-Giants game hoping Eli plays as well as he has been so my Pats lock the game up in the first 10 minutes!