Cheap Shot Giants

by Billy on Jan 17, 2008 1:24 PM CST

In week 2 there were several altercations between Packer players and G-men. We call them altercations because its a bit extreme to outright call them cheaters, but thats pretty much what it is. Any illegal play designed to give a player or team an edge, be it real or perceived, I consider cheating.

Some of the "cheating" included:
--O'Hara going after Kampman's neck after the whistle
--Plex hitting A.J. Hawk in the back after the whistle
--O'Hara actually punching Jenkins in the face during a play
--Toomer diving for Barnetts knees after being shoved during an incomplete pass

You can look all these incidents up, its all published here

So can we look forward to more unsportsmanlike contests? Surely, thats the way the Giants play, especially from behind. Can we expect Green Bay to retaliate again? I think not. The coaches have been railing against it all week after reviewing film of the Week 2 beating and the trash-talking in Dallas. Of course, you should always expect to trash-talk in Dallas, they have "UFE" for flucks sake.

The point is, why do they feel the need to try and gain a edge like that? Are they consciously making a decision to cheat because they know they can't match up, or do you think its more sub-conscious, character-flaw type of decision to go after someones knees or neck? All comments are welcome to me.

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It seems to happen

when a team who thinks they're better than their competetion is losing. Remember what Dallas did to John Jurkovic? Or Sapp to Clifton? This whole thing just seems to give Kampmen motivation. Maybe being pissed to begin with will wake him from his sack slumber. No one on either team is Jack Tatum.

by packfan on Jan 17, 2008 6:57 PM CST reply actions

Playing Mad

I remember Nick Barnett saying something earlier this season that he always has to play sad or mad. You'll see guys like Favre or Jennings crack a smile when they are having fun, but never Barnett. He's always intense, even when he's celebrating a big play.

The diary just reminded me of Barnett's play last weekend. After Grant had his second fumble, Seattle ran a quick slant pattern in front of Barnett and he gave the receiver a forearm a good couple of seconds before the ball got near them. One of the authors at Football Outsiders called it pass abuse instead of pass interference. He got flagged and no one got hurt, but he had to be frustrated with the game so far and he took it out on the nearest Seahawk. I doubt he was even thinking about it.

But when your team is losing or you're not making a play, things happen and I doubt they are thinking of the consequences with all the adrenaline. I just think it happens all the time, and it's just part of game.

by Brandon on Jan 18, 2008 1:34 AM CST reply actions

The Shot

Barnett's shot, to me, looked like he was re-establishing the defense's attitude. Just letting them know it wasn't coming easy. That attitude carried over to Bigby and Harris among others. That's football. That's why I don't have a problem with what O'Hara did. He was just establishing some attitude. Toomer's shot was cheap.

by packfan on Jan 18, 2008 8:36 AM CST reply actions

Amazing

I remember watching that and immediately I thought "Wow". Barnett had to be really ticked off right then...

And yeah, it definitely looked like it carried over to Harris and Bigby..I think that played a HUGE part in that game. After a while the recievers became scared they were going to get crushed. Same thing has to happen Sunday.

by clutchhit20 on Jan 19, 2008 7:05 PM CST reply actions