With the heated nature of the rivalry between the Steelers and Ravens, James Harrison’s place on the Steelers’ roster, and the belief among Steelers players that the NFL is “targeting” Harrison, the illegal-hits issue could raise its ugly head in tonight’s matchup between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the Post-Gazette points out. While many of the Steelers’ defensive players are upset about the recent crackdown, the Ravens’ Terrell Suggs says he doesn’t like it much either.
“In playing football, there are two things — getting it done and there’s not getting it done,” said Suggs, who is in his eighth season with the Ravens. “Great defensive guys get the job done by any means necessary. I really don’t care about the fines. I think they’re stupid, and I think there is injustice and it’s faring to the offensive side of the ball, but I don’t care. I’m always going to play my way.”
That’s the sort of attitude that should get the NFL to pay attention to this game very closely. Don’t be shocked if we see a controversial call or two. Just to recap, the NFL has now handed out $125,000 in fines to James Harrison, and has fined him as much for a very debatable hit to Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick as it did for two players (Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan) brawling on the field. Even Suggs thinks the NFL is treating Harrison unfairly.