Jets Safety Suspended One Game
The NFL has suspended New York Jets safety Eric Smith for one game for his hit Sunday on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
Smith also was fined $50,000 for what the league called a flagrant violation of player safety rules.
Cardinals Coach Ken Whisenhunt had said earlier today that he expected the league to study the hit for possible disciplinary action.
Boldin was taken from the field on a cart but tests taken at a New York hospital revealed no serious head or neck injuries, according to Whisenhunt. Boldin returned to Arizona and was resting at home today. His playing status this week is unclear.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently sent a memo to all coaches and players warning them that on-field actions that risked injuries would result in severe penalties.
The Jets have a bye this weekend. Smith is to miss an Oct. 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Smith made helmet-to-helmet contact with Boldin after the wide receiver had been hit from behind by Jets safety Kerry Rhodes. The league issued a written statement saying that Boldin was in a defenseless position when Smith hit him.
Smith told reporters earlier in the day that he wasn't certain whether he would appeal any penalties. He said before learning of the suspension that he hadn't been trying to hurt Boldin.
"I'm coming to break up a pass and if I don't, it's going to be a touchdown," Smith said, according to the Associated Press. "So I'm going 100 percent and so is Kerry from the back side. Sometimes somebody gets hit, angles change and things like that happen. It's not like I was directly leading with the top of my head from what I saw on the film."
By
Mark Maske
|
September 29, 2008; 7:39 PM ET
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Cardinals
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Jets
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Posted by: Anonymous | September 30, 2008 5:25 PM
It doesn't seem as though Smith tried to hurt Boldin. It was one of these things where getting hit by either Rhodes or Smith alone would not have resulted in any kind of injury but the combination of the hits rendered Boldin defenseless and turned his head into a pin-ball.
I don't think the fine and suspension are warranted, but understand the league's intention to protect players. It's one of those situations that will happen from time to time in impact sports.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 30, 2008 4:28 PM
The hit may have been accidental and unavoidable but none the less he made a reckless play with his helmet in the lead. Let's say that he hits him in the chest with his helmet, which was his intention it looks like, what was he doing leading with his helmet in the first place. I agree with the NFL on this ruling. The intent was not to knock Bolding out or even injure him but his actions, leading with his helmet, warrant this suspension and fine. The referee's of the game should have flagged the play immediately but I understand as an official how fast things are in real life and without slow motion replay's. Bravo NFL for doing the right thing.
Posted by: Ryan | September 30, 2008 12:35 AM
This is ridiculous. Smith isn't in the wrong here; RHODES is. Smith came in for a perfectly clean tackle. The person who SHOULD be getting fined is Rhodes. He VERY clearly speared Boldin's helmet from behind with his own helmet (and I saw nothing resembling an attempt at a tackle. Just Rhodes rammed himself into Boldin), which smashed Boldin's head into Smith's just as he was tackling him! If Rhodes hadn't done that, Smith would have made a perfectly clean tackle. I watched that clip a million times on Youtube (because I like to get all the details). How can you NOT see that Smith's collision with Boldin was unintentional and Rhodes was? I even clearly saw it the first time and had to re-watch it to make sure. That really ticks me off. WTF is wrong with the NFL.
Posted by: Gina | September 29, 2008 11:12 PM
to the above poster...
Boldin was on his way down IN THE AIR during the catch. What can you do at that point except try to get two feet on the ground. He was in fact defenseless ( He wasn't able to ready himself for a hit, like all players are trained to do )
Posted by: ryanck | September 29, 2008 10:58 PM
Players deserve to have that kind of punishment for doing something stupid that they know they shouldn't do.
Posted by: Valerie | September 29, 2008 9:30 PM
If you watch the hit in slo-mo, you can see that Kerry Rhodes hit Bolding first, which forced Bolden's head downward, putting it more in line with Smith's helmet.
He basically got sandwiched - Smith was lined up as he should have been.
And that's a ridiculous statement by the league - that Boldin was in a defenseless position? The guy was jumping to make a catch? He wasn't lying face down on the turf with his eyes closed..
No one wants to see anyone get hurt - but the NFL took the apple on this one.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 29, 2008 9:17 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
To Ryanck..
Why do you think players hate going over the middle in football?
Since when can't you touch people when their feet aren't touching the ground?
Besides - Eric Smith hasn't tackled anything all season. He's not good enough to be a dirty player.