The infamous hit delivered by Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison on Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy in Week 14, and the aftermath of it, with his appealed suspension upheld Friday morning, has obviously drawn considerable attention.
And much of it has come from NFL players, most of whom have declined to comment publicly because of the potential ramifications from the league and from concussion-conscious fans. One effect from the Harrison incident, though, is a groundswell movement of sorts that could prompt players, particularly defensive players and running backs, to address commissioner Roger Goodell and the competition committee at an annual meeting that is part of the league's combine sessions in February.
The meeting, which has quietly become a part of the combine the past several years, is essentially a forum for players to address issues of health and safety and potential rules changes about which they are concerned. And some players told The Sports Xchange this week they may use the meeting to again raise concerns about rules regarding defensive - as opposed to "defenseless" players - and runners.
The consensus of the players who spoke to The Sports Xchange is an oft-cited reaction: that defensive players aren't granted the same protections as their offensive counterparts when it comes to helmet-to-helmet contact. A few defenders are actually seeking out anecdotal examples, and even some videotape when available, of defensive players who have been impacted by obvious helmet-to-helmet contact.
And some runners feel that there are examples, as well, where they have not been protected by the rules. One veteran referred to a play in the Cleveland-Pittsburgh game, one, in fact, raised by The Sports Xchange in discussing the Harrison-McCoy situation, in which Steelers tailback Rashard Mendenhall was stuffed by Browns linebacker Chris Gocong on a goal-line play, and on an obvious helmet-to-helmet tackle. The play occurred on second down on Cleveland's fourth-quarter goal-line stand, and pretty clearly demonstrated the perils some running backs face when going into a hole and not being able to change direction.
There was no flag and Gocong was not fined for the play. But as two veteran running backs insisted, there was virtually no chance for Mendenhall to change direction on the play and Gocong came from at least a yard or two off the line of scrimmage to deliver the hit. The problem, as described by the running backs: According to the rules, Mendenhall was not deemed as "defenseless" on the play.
Said one back, who saw the play on television: "It's (crap). There's basically no way (Mendenhall) could have protected himself. And there's no doubt he gets hit in the helmet by (Gocong's) helmet. It wasn't as bad as (the Harrison tackle on McCoy), but it was still dangerous."
Expect the issue to be raised in Indianapolis in February.