12/21/24
December 02, 2010
Andre Johnson Miked Up During Finnegan Fight: Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson was miked up by NFL.Com during last weekend's victory over the Tennessee Titans. "Don't get frustrated," he says at one point to Titans defensive back Cortland Finnegan before the fight that ended with their ejections. Titans coach Jeff Fisher criticized the NFL's decision to fine both of them $25,000 even though only Johnson threw punches. "I thought that was probably one of the greatest examples I've ever seen of restraint and self-discipline and poise that I've seen in a long, long time," he said of Finnegan.
Finnegan wasn't showing great restraint. He was getting his ass kicked.
posted by bperk at 06:51 PM on December 02, 2010
Trevor Berbick should be commended for the restraint and self-discipline he showed in his fight with Mike Tyson.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 07:40 PM on December 02, 2010
Still can't believe they weren't suspended.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 08:08 PM on December 02, 2010
Can't access the video, did they have any audio from the fight itself (which I imagine is a string of profanities)?
posted by Bonkers at 02:08 AM on December 03, 2010
Unless they edited it out, there was no profanity during or after the fight. I found that odd.
posted by rcade at 07:00 AM on December 03, 2010
It looks to me like Finnegan chose not to retaliate during the fistfight. The first thing he did when the refs separated them was to gesture for Johnson to get the flag.
Punching somebody is stupid in football. You have more than enough opportunity to retaliate during play without risking an expulsion from the game.
posted by rcade at 07:02 AM on December 03, 2010
Finnegan wasn't showing great restraint. He was getting his ass kicked.
Semantics. Neither getting your ass kicked nor restraining yourself from fighting back deserve the same penalty as doing the ass kicking.
posted by bender at 08:33 AM on December 03, 2010
Finnegan yanked off Johnson's helmet, so it wasn't like he was trying to diffuse the situation. In fact, Finnegan started the fight in the first place. Also, when Johnson told the ref that Finnegan kept putting his hands to the face, the ref said he knew about that player and that he watched Finnegan every play. The guy is a dirty player who started a fight that he lost.
posted by bperk at 09:29 AM on December 03, 2010
The guy is a dirty player who started a fight that he lost.
These two have a history going back to last year. they are both physical players that let their emotions get a hold of them. That being said, they should both be suspended a game. The league has set a standard that this is ok, seymour hit Ben, these two threw down, it is ok to fight.
posted by Debo270 at 10:00 AM on December 03, 2010
Finnegan yanked off Johnson's helmet, so it wasn't like he was trying to diffuse the situation.
No, he (Finnegan) obviously wasn't trying to diffuse anything. But his helmet had already been yanked off, so it stands to reason he'd yank Johnsons off, too. As for Finnegan "starting" the fight, if you're talking about him going to the face of Johnson during play, then he started the fight, but if the official had been spoken to about the situation, and nothing was done even after repeated instances of that happening, then the officials have explaining to do. But Johnson, in my mind (minus a flag for Finnegan's actions, which should have come) appeared to start the actual fight part.
Finnegan is a dirty player and admits it, but how he plays has to be handled through officiating. Andre Johnson, who routinely goes off for 10 to 15 catches and 150 yards, with several TDs consistently, is going to draw this type of attention from DBs, especially when rules state they can only be roughed up the first few yards after the snap. If the officials are unwilling to flag Finnegan, or any defensive player playing the same way, then Johnson will have to keep his cool and continue to dominate all of them with performance.
posted by dyams at 10:55 AM on December 03, 2010
No, he (Finnegan) obviously wasn't trying to diffuse anything.
Indeed not, because if he had been, we must assume he'd have set up a big box fan, or maybe sprayed water on it, or something like that.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:10 AM on December 03, 2010
Truth be told I'm surprised that there isn't more of this sort of thing going on in football.. Probably the fear of punishment from the league keeps most of it in check. But in many respects I feel that as contact sports go football and hockey are close cousins. And let's just say that there is a much more lenient penalty for fighting in hockey.
AJ should have recieved a harsher judgement from the league. But I admit to having enjoyed watching Finnegan go fetal and take a whuppin'. AJ should have found a way to legally blow him up on a play. Call for a reverse or some sort of running play where he would be a "blocker" and then open a runniing path right through Finnegan's numbers.
posted by THX-1138 at 02:29 PM on December 03, 2010
Finnegan wasn't showing great restraint. He was getting his ass kicked.
Which is probably why he's now known around Tennessee as Cortland Innegan since he got the F knocked out of him.
posted by BornIcon at 02:45 PM on December 03, 2010
He showed restraint in not going to get a gun after getting his ass kicked I guess.
posted by Jackjeckyl at 02:50 AM on December 04, 2010
I thought that was probably one of the greatest examples I've ever seen of restraint and self-discipline and poise that I've seen in a long, long time
Restraint and self-discipline and poise are alot easier when you know the other guy can whip your ass.