2017 Week 8 Thursday Game Ball

That wasn’t what anyone was expecting last night in Baltimore. From the 40-point shut-out from Baltimore to the head scratching performance by Miami’s offense, to the chippie nature that this game got after the Kiko Alonso hit on Joe Flacco.

The hit happened in the 2^nd quarter when Flacco was trying to extend a 3^rd and 10 into a first down. Flacco started his slide when he received a vicious forearm from Miami’s Line-backer Kiko Alonso. Flacco’s neck snapped to the left, forcing his helmet to rip off, and cut his ear. Immediately if you are watching the play or the replay, you can see that Flacco has no idea where he is and that is flat out terrifying. Miami was flagged for the late hit, but conversation started to stew up about the hit during the half, when the public learned that Flacco was put into concussion protocol, and was getting stitches in his ear. Flacco would be diagnosed with a concussion following the game, and the reaction from Miami’s locker room is just a bit unsettling.  

Alonso, of course, would say that it was a football play, things happened fast on the field, and I didn’t mean to hit him. That type of hit is not only dangerous to ANY player nevertheless a quarterback. The rule is place where you cannot hit a quarterback when he is starting to slide. If you watch the hit in real time, it is at least a second and a half where you see Flacco go down in his slide to when Alonso comes in with the hit. A hit like that is not a football play, and deserves to be rewarded with a fine and a suspension. Because this is the second time during Thursday Night Football this season that a play like this has happened—and perhaps the millionth time that it has happened in football. Plays like this are dirty, unnecessary, and dangerous to everyone involved. Something needs to be done about this, because you cannot just cannot continue to make hits like this on players. An example needs to be made of Alonso, Trevathan, and any other player that makes a hit like this.

I would compare it to what Major League Baseball did with people who tested positive for PED’s. Do that to people in football who make hits like this. It won’t hurt the sport because it will re-enforce the fundamentals of good tackling and make the game safer for the players.

Another thing that bothered me about the response is the fact the Dolphins didn’t send Adam Gase to the podium after the game, but instead Defensive Lineman Ndamukong Suh. Suh is a tremendously talented player who can wreak havoc on any given week, but is historically a dirty player. Suh is the poster child for a dirty NFL player because of his antics throughout his career. Suh would take to the podium last night and defend Alonso for not being a dirty player. Is this the guy that you really want to say something about playing dirty? A guy who choked the opposing quarterback later in THE SAME GAME as Alonso’s dirty hit! Is Suh really the decider who is and who isn’t a dirty player? Watching Suh’s response, I was just waiting for some self-awareness, and a comment that would go along the lines of “Alonso is not a dirty player because I have done stuff worse in my career.” Seriously, could you pick a worse guy to soften the blowback on the hit? Not only does it make Miami look like they are a group of dirty players, but they are not aware of what a dirty play is. It truly is sickening and needs to be addressed—with something needed to be done to change this type of “head hunting” culture in the NFL. I have no problem with the defense wanting to kill a player as long as you blast him in the chest instead of the head or knees.

Getting to the actual game, there wasn’t really much of a game to talk about. Flacco threw a touchdown on the first possession for Baltimore and the Ravens never looked back. The Ravens would blow the Dolphins completely out of the water—including three turnovers and two touchdown runbacks off those turnovers. None of that was as impressive as the night Baltimore Ravens Running Back Alex Collins had in Prime-Time last night. Collins was stepping in as the feature back in place of Terrance West. Collins would rush for 113 yards, on 18 carries, and would run for a touchdown. Collins would also add two grabs for 30 yards as well. This adds to a rejuvenated Ravens team who has had its fair share of ups and downs throughout the season.

Baltimore has struck gold seemingly adding Collins to the 7^th best rushing offense in the league. As the Ravens try to battle back into the playoff race, Collins will be a part of whatever plans they have, especially with Flacco out with the concussion. With this blowout, the half way point of the season starts off with a controversial start, and well, let’s hope this is the only bad talking point that we have to talk about in this week of football.