Darnell Dockett and His "Dirty" Play Isn't Going Away

by Bezekira on Nov 17, 2009 2:09 PM MST Comment 25 comments

Like it or not, Dockett's elbow to the throat of Matt Hasselbeck isn't getting swept under the rug. Darren Urban is talking about it at the team's official site, Mike Sando is talking about it on ESPN, Seahawks head coach Jim Mora has sent film to the NFL offices and even Nine-0 referenced the situation via his twitter account.

For anyone who has yet to see video evidence of what we're talking about, you can see it right here.

I think at the very least Dockett will be some kind of slap on the wrist fine but this could be the kind of thing where the league and perhaps more importantly referees start watching him more closely. We all know that Dockett can have a short fuse and he's picked up his share of personal foul penalties over the years. He's also got a reputation for "questionable" behavior at the bottom of a pile (just google Dockett and Earnest Graham or Dockett and Rex Grossman). I really doubt that any kind of suspension could be coming but one can never tell how Roger Goodell will respond. Luckily this didn't happen against Peyton Manning or some other high profile QB in a nationally televised game (like it not, that makes a difference), but this might follow DD around for a while.

Poll

What do you think of Darnell Dockett's elbow to Matt Hasselbeck's throat?

Dirty play that crossed a line....no question about it.

99 votes

It's just fooball.......get over it you pansies.

118 votes

217 votes | Poll has closed

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.

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Comments

No doubt in my mind it was a dirty play, but stuff like this happens in the NFL every week.

Your right though, because of how much media this is getting he might be watched more by the refs.

by Pyromnc on Nov 17, 2009 2:15 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I didn't think that play was that bad.

I’m sure dockett has done worse.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 17, 2009 2:36 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

is that a good thing or bad thing?

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Nov 17, 2009 2:48 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know

It’s an interesting sport. The fans and the league both want a physical game with great plays and crushing hits while minimizing injuries. So on the one hand we want players to be beasts and thugs, but then we want them to shut it off before the elbow. The players are not light switches that can be turned on and off.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 17, 2009 6:26 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

If we had to reduce it to a "switch" thing

I’d want that switch to be somewhere very close to the actual rules of the game. Dropping an elbow on some guy’s throat while he’s laying on his back after a play is over has nothing to with playing the game of football.

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Nov 18, 2009 6:06 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe we could put little shock callers on the players

that are tied to the referre’s whistle and zap’em if they keep going after the play is over. ;-)

In this game, I think you are always going to have a few thugs around. I think the NFL’s current system of penalties, fines and suspensions is adequate and for the most part appropriate. I think the league fines and suspensions are a pretty successful deterrent.

I would agree Dockett probably deserves a fine, but I think an actual suspension would be unwarranted.

by Drullin'OverDaCards on Nov 18, 2009 12:52 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Dirty?

Football is a very physical game and things like this do happen, but that doesn’t mean it has a place in the game.
I LOVE Wilsons big hits, even the helmet to helmets (its why you are wearing one, right?). Hits below the knees happen when a rusher is trying to get to the QB, grabbing the pads to bring a runner down is a legit tackle in my mind. I mean you can technically tackle an athlete by pulling his long hair (ala Polamalu) because it is part of the jersey. But forearm to the throat is crap.

by Jessesb on Nov 17, 2009 3:00 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I'm not going to say it right

But I said before that players will admit that stuff like this happens at the bottem of a pile, especially when you’re fighting for a fumble. Guys will be scratching, shoving, pushing, etc, whatever they have to do.

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 17, 2009 3:33 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

+1

I played DT in High School, and I wasn’t exactly the cleanest player. It is just football. You want them to think twice about you. Bring a little fear.

A man from Dallas who bleeds red, not silver and blue.

by Sir Whirly on Nov 17, 2009 4:13 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I keep hearing people (all card fans so far) compare it to what happens in a fumble pile.

But this is something totally different. It was 1 player on top of the other teams QB after a sack. There are hundreds of sacks every year in the NFL, but this is the first time I’ve seen this happen. You do not take a cheap shot after the play on another teams QB, and I have no doubt you would not be singing the same tune if someone elbowed Warner in the throat after a play.

by Mind of no mind on Nov 17, 2009 4:55 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

agree completely

This wasn’t something that happened at the bottom of a pile. It wasn’t something done in an effort to secure a fumble recovery. It wasn’t something done to secure some kind of competitive advantage. The only intent behind his actions were to injure.

That’s where I draw the line.

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Nov 18, 2009 6:04 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Nobody is supporting the elbow from what I've read

I’m just saying that stuff like that happens. Regardless if it happens in a pile, it’s still illegal. If you are risking a penalty flag in a fight for the fumble, what difference does it make? It’s not right either way. My point is, stuff like that happens all the time, sometimes the refs or cameras see it, sometimes they don’t. And I’m sure it happens with every team. There’s 53 different personalities on the team and somebody’s bound to screw up.

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 18, 2009 9:41 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Do I think Dockett was deliberately trying to injure Hasselbeck?

No … it looked to me like he was trying to knock the ball out of his hands (admittedly, after the sack and the play was over) and his weight and his elbow came down on Matts throat

Maybe Matt deserves an apology, and simply because it happened Dockett should get a fine … but I don’t think for a second that Dockett was trying to hurt Hasselbeck

by quid pro quo on Nov 18, 2009 10:05 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I know the original view was of Docketts elbow and Hasselbecks upper torso.

I don’t remember seeing a larger view of them. You could be right.

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 18, 2009 11:30 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't think so

I don’t think he was trying to knock the ball out. I think he was just giving him a little extra and it’s going to cost him and maybe his team if he gets suspended. Dumb move.

by WeiWuWei on Nov 18, 2009 2:22 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Rather be known as dirty than soft

The Devil Birds just got cha

by DaCards on Nov 17, 2009 4:40 PM MST reply actions 1 recs

I guess I'd rather be a respectable human being

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Nov 18, 2009 6:07 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs

Saying "it's football"

makes no sense when you are talking about an attempt to injure a defenseless player when the play is dead. We are not talking about a helmet-to-helmet or a facemask here, plays that are more about indiscretion than intent. He was not trying to secure a fumble or anything, he was just trying to injure someone. That is not football.

This is also totally different than screaming in someones face and pushing him after a play, WHEN THE OTHER GUY IS STANDING UP.

What a coward.

by michaelfox99 on Nov 18, 2009 8:11 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Players shouldn't take any cheap shots regarless if they're trying to secure a fumble.

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 18, 2009 9:43 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

What about Brady Quinn

Ending Terrell Suggs season (we all remember Suggs, right)

Now that was pretty bad, but again, it was just Quinn being an idiot more than an intentional thing

by quid pro quo on Nov 18, 2009 10:16 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

True

Another player making a dumb choice.

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 18, 2009 11:31 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

i mean

if Brady Quinn wanted to hurt Suggs, I don’t know if he could

by quid pro quo on Nov 18, 2009 11:43 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

This is All Hasslewuss and Crybaby Junior

I completely agree that this stuff happens all the time. It’s football…players arent’ running out onto the field expecting to be offered flowers and fruit baskets from the opposition.

Everyone in the NFL is aware that the other team is out to put the hurt on them. I don’t think Dockett did anything intentional other than to play the pro game of football, and when you play that game, yer gonna get hurt.

Well, everyone other than Matt Hasslegirl and his crybaby head coach, Junior, that is.

Outside of fans of a losing team and children, I’ve never witnessed people that whine as much as the Chickens of the Sea do, and that crap comes from their leaders.

Junior and Hasslewoman need to take their pouting to their sewing circle or scrap book club or whatever group of estrogen-laden whiners that are out there that’ll be willing to hug them and kiss their boo-boo’s.

Get over your loss, ladies! Grow up, and take the fact you’ve been OWNED by the Cardinals like men.

Sheesh.

Below is a Pyrrhuloxia nest we discovered in a cholla near our home in the spring:

http://football.ballparks.com/NFL/ArizonaCardinals/turf.jpg

by Maynard Leopold on Nov 18, 2009 2:13 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Ouch!

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 18, 2009 2:22 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs