The Pittsburgh Steelers’ last trip to the Super Bowl was after the 2010 season in Super Bowl XLV. The NFL began cracking down on how defensive players played the game in earnest that season and the Steelers, particularly James Harrison, was a favorite target for league discipline. It is a dozen seasons and a billion-dollar lawsuit later and the concept of defense seems like lip service after watching the latest installment of the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
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Steelers James Harrison
The Steelers players may have seen the brave new world of the NFL coming and knew that the way they played the game was going to be made obsolete. Pittsburgh became the only team that did not ratify the collective bargaining agreement in protest of how the league levied fines. It wasn’t the only reason but the power that was afforded the NFL by the agreement, particularly Roger Goodell, didn’t sit well in Pittsburgh.
“With Roger Goodell having total control over the fine process, that’s a deal breaker for us in this situation,” Ryan Clark was quoted in 2011. “We’re the team that gets fined the most and we play a brand of football that sometimes subjects us to opinion.”
The NFL players union didn’t heed the warning and thought the Steelers players were just crying about personal issues. The other teams ratified the agreement, and it took them a decade to get any concessions about fines or the disciplinary process from Goodell and the other NFL owners. The damage done to defenses and officiating is on display weekly in an NFL that has gotten into bed with daily fantasy sites that evolved into full-fledged sports books in many states.
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Steelers Legends Joe Greene, Mel Blount, and LC Greenwood
Football has changed a lot over the years and the roots of today’s changes can be traced back to outlawing the head slap because of Deacon Jones. Mel Blount treated Drew Pearson like a rag doll in Super Bowl X and the NFL was forced to act to make America’s team more competitive with the bullies in Pittsburgh. Six decades later, they are trying to outlaw tackling because another Cowboys player got hurt in a playoff game.
The NFL has thrived because offenses have become high scoring, but there is a substantial group of fans, most of us a little older, who enjoyed good defense. It isn’t enjoyable to watch two-hand touch or flag football and the NFL looks like it will have to learn that lesson. Player safety is important and this is not meant to imply it is not, but when was the last time a significant collision didn’t draw a flag? It doesn’t matter if it is a perfect hit, if it is too hard it is a penalty.
The NFL and NFLPA after the last collective bargaining agreement installed Derrick Brooks and James Thrash as appeals officers to review hits that players did not agree should result in a fine. It is a better system, but there is no one to review the endless avalanche of bizarre penalties that do not result in fines. The roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness penalties are not reviewable and if they were officials aren’t qualified to do it.
James Harrison Still Harboring Grudges With NFL Over His Record-Setting Fines
The NFL should strongly consider making these plays reviewable by a three-player committee that will issue independent reports on every one of these penalties publicly. If the committee finds a pattern that certain officials are currently interpreting the rule incorrectly, they can be pulled from games until they complete a training course. Harrison does not have to be on the committee, but it would sure be fun to watch a Manningcast-style broadcast of their deliberations.
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Steelers James Harrison
In fairness the NFL officials should be employed full-time, it is an embarrassment that a multi-billion-dollar league leaves the integrity of the game to part-time employees. The NFL has chosen to get into bed with legalized gambling and subjective penalties are the fastest road to corruption and scandal. The 2011 Steelers didn’t endorse it, but maybe they could fix it. Nobody would question the committee's decisions if Harrison was the head of the committee.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Would you want to see Harrison helping referees legislate physicality in football games? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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