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View Full Version : Steelers face Ravens with much at stake



stillers4me
12-05-2010, 07:13 AM
By Scott Brown (sbrown@tribweb.com), PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, December 5, 2010
More may be at stake tonight at M&T Bank Stadium than just first place in the AFC North.

That is because a nationally televised contest between the Baltimore Ravens and Steelers could also offer a portal into how NFL policing will affect games in the coming years. Those who decry commissioner Roger Goodell's crackdown on unnecessary roughness will watch officials as closely as officials monitor the players.

To them, the latitude allowed between two teams as associated with defense and teeth-rattling hits as any in the NFL may be just as significant as the outcome.

"I'll say this much: I think it's a brand of football people appreciate," Steelers president Art Rooney II said of rugged defense. "Whether any of that is a referendum, probably somebody else has to make that call."

An unofficial referendum on the NFL's handling of player safety took place in the Steelers' locker room last week.....................

.................................. Steelers linebacker and defensive captain James Farrior said the new rules regarding unnecessary roughness were a point of emphasis when referees met with players during training camp in August at St. Vincent College.
"We were clear with that, thought we had a good understanding of that," Farrior said, "but now it's evolved into a whole different monster."

The line between a legal and illegal hit, Farrior said, has become more blurred than ever when it comes to quarterbacks.

"You couldn't hit him in the head. You couldn't hit him in the legs," Farrior said of quarterbacks. "And now they're saying you can't hit him at all with your helmet. You can't hit him in the chest, so we're kind of confused. Where are you supposed to hit him?".......................................

Read more @ http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_712334.html