Posted on 12/19/2004 7:19:22 PM PST by Diddle E. Squat
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Green Bay Packers wide receiver Robert Ferguson temporarily lost feeling in his legs Sunday night after a vicious clothesline hit by Jacksonville safety Donovin Darius...
...Darius hit the defenseless Ferguson across the neck, stunning the crowd and infuriating the Packers with 4:41 left in their 28-25 loss to the Jaguars. Darius was ejected.
Ferguson, according to teammates, was knocked unconscious. He gave a thumbs-up as he left the field on a stretcher, but didn't regain feeling in his legs until he'd left for a hospital for X-rays and further evaluation, coach Mike Sherman said.
...Darius said he's seen players stay in the game for hits worse than his.
"It was not intentional, I was just trying to make a play," he said. "I've done that in the past when I know I couldn't get an interception, I swung up, trying to get the ball. That's a technique."
Darius said he would appeal any fine the league hands down.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.foxsports.com ...
Based on the replay I couldn't say the clothesline was intentional, but it was brutal and tough to watch. Darius' attitude in post-game comments shows him to be a world-class jerk.
I didn't see the play, but I was under the impression a "clothesline" is perfectly legal.
I don't agree with you here - I simply think Darius was saying that "football is a rough sport" and more and more the NFL commission seemingly looking to put dresses on every player on the offensive side of the ball -
In no way does D. Darius (or any other player) want to seriously hurt another player - But the fact is, when you play defense your job is to go out and "HIT"....it simply to try and break the will of your opponent (that is the bottom-line when you throw out all the PC talk) -
Again, that doesn't mean you want to seriously hurt them....but you do want to hit them hard enough to do everything BUT that -
And the more and more rules the NFL keeps putting in...to give offenses advantages...the more shots like this you are going to see -
Again, I think in 5 years we will probably be able to fit every offensive player in football with their own personal dresses -
Brace yourself, Donovin Darius --- payback is a bitch..
And you can take that to the bank...
More for your comments after the fact, that the fact..
Semper Fi
Um, no. He was assessed a 15-yard 'unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and ejected.
A clothesline is slapping a player at full-speed with a forearm to the throat, or if they are lucky just the head. Considering how easily that can break a neck, its illegality should be self-evident.
Twenty years ago. Too many receivers were getting crippling injuries so the rules were changed.
Darius is a good guy. Seeing him in the community here for four years gives me a better insight than a 2 minute sound bite. He was a typical Pasqualoni player, better in the pros than he was in college, good citizen, graduated. When you see SU players like him on virtually every NFL roster wyou wonder ho the best P could do was 9-3. Then you watch tonights game and you see Miami's Edgerrin James on one side of the ball and Ed Reed and Ray Lewis on the other, then you know.
It was a 'Clothesline'. Darius literally took his head off.
From the looks of that hit, Darius should never be allowed to play NFL football again.
Point me to the section of the rules stating so, or specifically what was done in violation of a rule.
Football is a rough game. Of late the league has been throwing out penalties and fines for perfectly legal hits that are just very hard. In just about every game I've seen this season I've seen at least one bogus "roughing the passer" call.
Most of the time an attempted "clothesline" is going to get the would be tackler hurt, not the target. There is a reason arm tackling is discouraged by coaches, and it has nothing to do with the rules.
Not from what I saw.
What a cheap shot.
I really hope the NFL fines the living $hit out of him.
And bench him for a game or two.
No, I'm not a GB fan.
That was a really cheap a$$ shot.
What a loser.
LVM
To me, it looked like a clothesline, too. 15 yard penalty and he was ejected from the game.
I'm reserving judgement until I hear/read his comments and/or apology for this tomorrow.
I heard a late news report and Fergie appears to have had his bell rung, but he can move all apendages. They'll keep him overnight and do some MRI work on him tomorrow.
I still cannot believe we lost that game! 28-25, and it came down to the wire. If we can still stay in the game with those turnovers and bad officiating, there is hope for Friday's game against the Vikings. NFC Champs? Probably. :)
Oh, and as an addendum, as I think about it, I have seen any number of legal "clotheslines" over the years - Warren Sapp grabbing a running back (M Faulk maybe?) by the neck in the crook of his arm and throwing him to the ground being the most recent...
You have obviously never played football on a competitive level - That is what football is -
Your job on defense is to impose your will! You do that by hitting - And while no player wants to seriously hurt a fellow player....you absolutely do want to hit them hard enough to do everything BUT that -
Please, never play football again - Guys in the NFL are seriously going to be wearing dresses soon -
There of course no section in the rules stating such. That being said, it was fair to call a penalty and eject. Nothing more. No handwringing. Packers fans are naturally going to be mad as hell. Their guy got hurt bad and they lost.
I watched the whole game. It was brutal. Leftwitch and Favre were getting blasted the whole game. The referees tried the failed policy of throwing a flag evey other play to get it under control.
What a loser to judge someone via one hit in a game that demands hitting! -
You don't have a clue to competitive level football - Go read by #4 post -
I also watched the hit, and the replays, and I will beg to differ with you about this. That was a deliberate clothesline if ever there was one!
The League needs to be all over this with a significant fine and suspension for many games! They cannot be seen as tolerating this kind of potentially fatal hits!
Strawman here? - When / where did I ever say this?
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