It was a cheap shot even if he didnt get flagged for it. The guy was 35 yards away from the play and was leveled by Sapp who was head hunting for anyone..........then to celebrate it as if he had just made a sack.......what a joke.
How is me killing you a crime if I'm not caught? Also, your ******* right is different. Clifton could have been paralyzed playing a game. Sapp should have his dick cut off.
Another Brother -- Since you seem to be in the severe minority on this issue, I think we would appreciate a well-thought out post by you which explains: 1) Why you defend Warren Sapp's cheap shot 2) Why you defend Warren Sapp's verbal abuse in the locker room 3) Why you believe tax breaks and investment are a "blind side" to the old and the poor 4) Why you believe Warren Sapp was justified in his jubilant behavior at the feet of a player he just crippled We're waiting.
I don't have a problem with criticising Sapp's altercation with Sherman, but the hit was not a cheap shot. Sapp summed it up perfectly when asked about it after the game. He pointed out that he did not hit him low, and he did not hit him from behind. Going further than 'it did not get a penalty,' under no circumstances would that hit EVER get a penalty, as it was straight up legal and therefore legitimate. The player was moving, and moving in the direction of the ball, and looking at the ball, which is why he got blindsided. Whether or not he would ever have caught up to the play is irrelevant. It happens all the time with QBs who are moving toward a defensive player after a pick.
TEXX Before you considered if I'm a Bucs fan, if Sapp is a relative, if Chad Clifton had stole my girlfriend, if I was at the game, if my favorite color is orange or anything else, you automatically assume that my ONLY motivation for posting my admittly vague point is that I'm black... ...wow dude, I would normally insert a trailor park reference here but it's not even worth it. TJ If I appeared to take up for Sapp I wasn't, but I firmly believe that Sapp is no more liable than guys like Ken Lay, Andy Fastow and Jeffrey Skilling, they ruined lives too, remember? Did I ever say it was right? no. Did I say it was legal? yes. Unless you saw something differently, Sherman approached Sapp and he lashed back. One more thing, why is this board so adament about something that the experts have split opinions on?
So let me get this straight, you attempt to defend Sapp's behavior by saying it is no worse that corporate fraud? That is just laughable. You didn't answer my questions either.
I admit that Warren shouldn't have been celebrating a hit on which another player could have been paralyzed, but it is like HS and AB said that was a legal hit. If y'all think that was a cheap shot, then I guess Ray Lewis's hit on Keith Burns of the Broncos on that Monday Night Football Game this year when Chris McAlister returned that missed field goal 104 yards or so was a cheap shot too. After all, Burns was just like Clifton in that he was running and got a vicious blindside hit. It is a part of the game. But the celebrating shouldn't have taken place. Also, I don't think it is very smart for Mike Sherman to get involved. Let someone on his team like Favre say something to Sapp. He (Sherman) is just going to come out looking like a martyr & his saying something to Sapp is going to make Sapp look bad, regardless of how he handled it.
Corporate fraud is worse! Although clearly out of my league given your background, I would personally rather be hit with a cheap shot on the field than have my life savings snatched out from under me. BTW thanks for arguing without personal attacks, some of us haven't gotten that yet.
Let us not forget the countless number of times a kicker has been leveled by an opponent away from the play. These types of shots are a part of the game whether it is cheap or not. Now, if Sapp is celebrating the fact that he injured another player, then he is a scumbag. As far as the altercation afterwards, if a coach tells a player to "f*ck off", then my reaction wouldn't be that nice, either. Sapp probably overreacted but so did the coach. The way the NFL has been dishing out fines this year for supposedly bad hits...then Sapp definitely deserves to be fined. I recall Darren Woodson of the Cowboys got fined for a hit on a receiver who just caught the ball and I thought that was just a terrible fine for a good, clean hit. I think Sapp's post-hit behavior is questionable but, as for the hit itself, we've seen hits like that many times before over the years so... . Let the league deal with it how they see fit and let that team and its players seek revenge the next time they play each other. Surf
I don't think it was necessary, but it is FOOTBALL we are talking about. Maybe if the guy did not want to get hit, he should not have been chasing the play. Come on, Sapp hit him within the rules plain and simple. Football is a violent sport. Warren Sapp is a very very good player. I have no problem with what he did.... And guess what? I am a white man !!! AB...got your back. DaDakota
Agreed, but that has absolutely no relevance to this debate. Agreed, but that has absolutely no relevance to this debate. We all agree the hit was legal. We also all agree the hit was unecessary. We also all agree that Sapp was wrong to celebrate the injury of another player. The verbal altercation *on* the field was bad on both sides. What gets me is that Sherman was able to collect himself after the game in the lockerroom and think with a level head. Sapp was only able to sound like a 3-year old with his cursing spree and threats. Sapp also showed no remorse.
bottom line is that there are unwritten rules in all sports. all players understand that their life and method of earning an income are on the line during every play. to level an unnecessary hit like Sapp did is just a slap in the face at the "code" within professional sports. if the pack and bucs meet up in the playoffs, expect sapp to get his. first moss, than owens, now sapp. boy am I bad at picking my favorite NFL players.
Thanks DaD, HS and Manny Man, people are even calling me names! TJ you say that Sapp is an embarrassment to football, nah dude, Terrell Owens, though a great player defines that because he did something that isn't part of the game. Warren Sapp will not win the Nobel Peace Prize but he is not an embarrassment. Sherman should have collected himself a lot sooner, if he had I'd be at the driving range by now. Ultimately I agree with VooDoo in that what goes around comes around, and that my friends (and others) is the game of football.
Also, if you think about it, then the offensive lineman is running after the play toward the ball. He is not looking around to know who is around him and, therefore, is not aware of his surroundings. In football, you going to sit there and tell me Sapp was at fault for hitting someone cleanly. That player has to be aware of his surroundings at all time. He can't run around out there expecting not to be hit even if he is away from the play. The offensive lineman in question clearly has some fault in this. You don't trust that your not going to get hit away from the ball. Your out on that field during a live play. You are as susceptible to being hit as the next guy.
The guy was nowhere near the play, and he wasn't running fast by any stretch of the imagination. I think it was rather obvious he wasn't expecting to do anything, and since Sapp had such a huge acceleration before the hit, I think he knew the guy wasn't in the play either. For that reason, Sapp's hit changes from a clean hit that was done within the realm of the sport and its strategies to a brutal hit adminstered for the sole purpose of hurting someone and making yourself feel good about it. For that reason, I am now fully convinced that Sapp is a complete piece of ****.
Perhaps the NFL should change to Flag or Touch football rules so we don't have to worry about players actually hitting other players and possibly causing injuries. It seems to me that if the O-lineman didn't want to be part of the play, he should have walked off the field or sat down or something. If he's going to wander aimlessly on the field and not look around during a live play, that's his own problem. I was under the impression that one of the key strategies to winning a football game was out-physicalling opponents, and that means hitting players over and over hard (as long as its legal) and wearing them out. If Sapp was trying to HURT the guy, that's one thing. As long as he's just drilling the guy for a hard hit, go for it. Safeties are taught to bash the hell out of defenseless receivers whenever they get the chance to knock the ball loose. For those of you who say its part of a play, are you saying that the guy's life/career/health is important, but not that important if he has a football near him?
It means hitting them over and over again...in the context of playing defense or stopping a play. Sapp's hit was neither. He just chose a player that was completely out of the play, and hit him as hard as he could. I can understand hitting guys hard while playing defense...that is indeed part of the game. But Sapp's hit wasn't like that. What Sapp probably would not have helped his team at all unless he injured the player. I don't agree with allowing hits like that. And as for saying Clifton should have been walking off the field if he didn't want to be in the play...I don't believe that slowing sauntering over to where the ball is is that much different than walking off the field in this case. Sapp had to have known Clifton wasn't trying to make a play on the Buc who intercepted the ball. The difference between this and a safety hitting a receiver is that the receiver has the ball, and should fully expect people to play defense on him for that. That is part of football. I don't think hitting a player that is not involved in the play and not paying attention is part of football. I'm not saying what Sapp did should get him fined. It was legal under the rules. What I am saying is that, based on what I saw from the replays, I am fully convinced Sapp made that hit solely with the purpose to hurt someone, because I think he smart enough to know it had no chance of helping his player return that interception. And if that is Sapp's mindset, then I think he is a piece of ****, and I think that is the main beef most people in this thread have with him.
