I love all of the "if you would have hit him" posts. He didn't hit him. In related news, if he had installed Wolverine style claws in his gloves and swiped at him, he could've killed him. If he reached in his trunks and put on brass knucks like Ted DiBiase, he could've killed him. And punish him as though he hit him, when he didn't? What kind of fool nonsense is that? He didn't kill him, but he meant to. Let's give him life. GTFO of here. As far as I'm concerned, Antonio Smith could have pulled out an STD-ridden used syringe and stabbed Richie Incognito in the neck with it, and as far as I'm concerned, Richie got what he deserved. No one in the NFL has more negative karma hovering over his head than Richie Incognito. Jay Glazer talks nonsense because he's never had the same guy try to injure him multiple times over multiple games, and then have that same guy punch you hard up under your facemask. But then again, they don't do that in the FoxSports offices, do they?
The NFL double standard, Antonio Smith is a defensive player so obviously if anything goes wrong its his fault, even when the video shows Incognito's actions as clearly as it shows Smith's retaliation. If Smith would have let Incognito's hands poke out one of his eyes or violate any of his facial orifices at worst Incognito would have been ejected from the preseason game and fined but since Smith had retaliated and Fox/other media chose to focus on the helmet like its a weapon Smith will take the blame. NFL protecting ALL its players as usual ,
Roger Goodell makes me sick. What an absolute fraud of a leader. Ed Werder started with this this morning: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Unless there is a substantial fine, how is suspending Antonio Smith for from preseason for helmet-swinging incident any punishment?</p>— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/Edwerderespn/statuses/369784244023083008">August 20, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Then, magically an hour later... <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>NFL is considering substantial fine and regular-season suspension for Texans DE Antonio Smith, whose history also a factor. Player safety</p>— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/Edwerderespn/statuses/369792048624586752">August 20, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Newsflash: Adam Schefter doesn't get scoops wrong. He's even better than Woj. What happened? The NFL used Schefter as a "trial balloon" on the preseason suspension, but when the moral police (Werder) openly b****ed and moaned, they couldn't take it and decided to reverse themselves. If Smith misses any regular season time, it's just the latest in a line of PR-driven decisions for Roger Goodell. Player safety my ass.
I'm sure there will be some type of suspension but it's pretty clear that the "swing" was not intended to make contact, so I think that should limit the amount of time missed.
Doubt the NFL agrees with that. Intent is pretty much impossible to determine. Bottom line for Antonio is that it was dangerous and unnecessary. His history (which is news to me) will also play a factor. I think he'll be suspended for the rest of the preseason and fined. Incognito will continue being a life-sized turd. C'est la vie.
As long as he's back by the Baltimore game, I don't care. One game is probably appropriate, and I'm well aware that Incognito is a POS that instigated the whole thing. We should be able to beat SD and Tennessee without him.
Last time they fined Antonio he appealed and had amount chopped in half because of Incognito's role in the incident. I'm sure an appeal is coming and now after the initial outrage has had a chance to bloom no one will care when they lower the penalty.
What is the history to which they are referring? I don't remember anything happening with Antonio in his time here as a Texan. Did he get into it with people when he was in Arizona?
Eh, I guess 1 game suspension is okay. Could've been worse. As far as "history" are they talking about his last run-in with Incognito? When Incognito grabbed his ankle and tried to break it by twisting it and Smith kicked him to get it away from him?
I don't want to say that Antonio shouldn't have been suspended, that was warranted but, I clearly saw Incognito throw a right hand up under Smith's facemack (which he was holding with his left), is that not also punishable? That was what set Smith off, it was the punch Incognito threw at him.
Because no one complained from the Texans or on Antonio's behalf. That's all this comes down to. The official stared directly at it on Saturday night. Didn't even throw a flag. Antonio was asked about it after the game. It wasn't a secret. It was just an altercation between two guys who don't like each other. Got a little dirty, but that happens a lot in the NFL. People understand that, and given that nothing actually happened to either of them, everyone moved on. That is, until Joe Philbin complained like a crying, whining b**** to the league office on Monday. (I'd be fine with a coach defending his player if the player weren't admittedly a dirty SOB... that's why it's over the line in this case.) Jay Glazer then played the video on his show, didn't emphasize the context, and the holier-than-thou morality police had a field day. The apparent resolution was then a two-game, PRESEASON-only suspension. That's what the league leaked to Schefter last night, noting the announcement wouldn't come until business hours on Tuesday. But then, out of nowhere, a supposedly neutral journalist rolleyes in Ed Werder tweeted something disapproving at 6:33 a.m. today, before the office opened. And an hour later, lo and behold, news "breaks" that the league is considering a suspension that involves the regular season. Look, if the league truly believed that Antonio threatened player safety in a way that demanded that level of discipline, I'd be fine with it. I wouldn't necessarily agree, but I could respect the decision. But they actually made a decision on the incident TWICE that did NOT involve a regular-season suspension, only to go back on things when they didn't like the PR. If they were actually concerned about preventing incidents like that in the future, there's NO DOUBT that Incognito should also be disciplined. But they're not worried about player safety. That's not what drives Goodell. He's a weak, fraudulent leader who blows with the PR winds, and no one made the case against Incognito. So, he's fine.
I think you're a little too confident in your conspiracy theory and a little too easy on Antonio not being able to keep his cool. Players face agitation many times per game. Ripping off a helmet and swinging it at another player's head is not an appropriate response.
It's not a conspiracy theory. The league knew of the incident and made decisions twice -- once, on Saturday night, and then again on Monday night (Schefter's sources are as good as it gets). There wasn't any "new knowledge" available to them today. The only thing that changed was a little bit of bad PR. You're right about Antonio. He needs to keep his cool better than that. Then again, I never said or implied otherwise. It's possible to be disappointed in Antonio while simultaneously acknowledging the joke that this "process" was.
I'm inclined to agree that Smith didn't mean for it to connect. There was no follow through with the swing of the helmet. At least he didn't intend for it to cause much harm. These "he could have killed him" comments are extremely overblown. However, both players warrant punishment. Incognito is a douche.
