Steelers' Harrison: I don't care if I hurt players

[nashvillegoldenflash]

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Steelers linebacker James Harrison states his objective matter-of-factly: He's out to hurt any opposing player who roams into his vicinity.

If he sees players down on the turf ? as he did Sunday when he sidelined Browns wide receivers Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi with punishing hits only minutes apart during the second quarter ? he feels as if he's done his job.

Harrison said he doesn't want to put any player out of a game or jeopardize his career. The former AP Defensive Player of the Year also realizes it can be difficult to draw a line between merely hurting a player and badly injuring him as plays take place at full speed and hits are delivered with little time to consider the consequences.

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I never played organized football but share the same view as Harrison and Lambert. When I had an opportunity to hit someone, I hit him as hard as I could and that was without wearing a helmet or pads. When Lambert was tossed out of the game for hitting Brian Sipe too hard, I thought it was ridiculous. I know Browns fans hated Lambert but I always loved the way he would annihilate opposing players.
This post was edited on 10/19 7:13 AM by nashvillegoldenflash

Steelers' Harrison: I don't care if I hurt players

 

[nashvillegoldenflash]

I don't want to look like the bad guy here by defending Harrison but I believe the one responder is right when he offers the following statement:

"How can the league expect helmet-to-helmet collisions never to take place when the shoulder pads are obviously so close to the helmet? How can you determine intent? What if you were trying to hit with shoulders first and just missed? Is it that hard to believe within the context of such a hectic and fast-paced sport? You can't be expected to tackle with sniper-like accuracy. These kinds of hits probably happen many times during a game but only get highlighted when injuries occur."

I feel bad for Cribbs and hope he is alright but to suggest that Harrison is a dirty player for this hit doesn't seem fair to me. Thoughts?

James Harrison hit on Josh Cribbs

 

[Polish-Hammer]

Always hypocritical that the NFL would sell the smashmouth part of the sport and market Crunch Course videos yet then sanction the same players for those same hits. Harrison did say he likes to hurt players, but he also described what he considered the difference between hurt and injured players meant so maybe it didn't come out right. Left out of the articles is the fact that Harrison and Cribbs are good friends and no way would Harrison try to be cheap with his buddy.