How do you guys feel about Darius?
 

[url]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/8023581[/url]

75K fine but no suspension. Watching the hit and his reaction, I feel that it wasn't intentional, but it did happen. The 75K is good but maybe knock him out for the rest of the regular season. I do feel bad for him, and I bet mentally it is killing him. It's a violent game and unfortunately things like this happen from time to time. I hope Fuergeson and Darius are able to recover and continue their careers. Just curious what you guys think of the punishment.

Looked pretty damned intentional to me. The guy should have gotten at least a 2 game suspension. I understand that he wasn't suspended because he hasn't gotten into similar trouble before.

I am inclined to believe Donovin Darius when he says he was going for the ball. People have to understand that football players are put in positions where they have hundredths of a second to make a decision as to their actions. Darius was maybe a second late and that made it seem like the ball wasn't anywhere near Darius's arm when he hit Ferguson. I don't think it was right, by any means, but I would give Darius the benefit of the doubt; it's like Jack Del Rio said, if he had wanted to hurt the guy he would have launched his body and gone helmet to helmet.

I don't know that the NFL did the right thing by fining him so heavily. This sets a dangerous precedent. I don't know if it matters whether or not it was intentional. What I do know is that when Darrell Jackson went down and had a siezure on the field in Dallas the Cowboy didn't receive a much stiffer penalty. I don't like the fact that the NFL takes more harsh action if a player is injured. Players easily could be injured on many plays. I think that some legal tackles in the NFL are dirty, I think a lot of blocking is dirty, but I, for one don't believe that all of these "unnecessary roughness" calls are dirty. I think that leading with your head should be illegal and I agree that clotheslines should be as well, but officials throw some very iffy flags and it has bothered me from day one. :soapbox:

Should be suspended, even if he didn't mean to, just to make it clear that this cannot happen. It looked to me like he meant to, but who can say? Better to send a clear signal here.

If we rationalize the hit by saying he only had 1/100th of a second to decide how/where to hit him, you could excuse just about every yellow flag ever thrown. Roughing the passer, helmet-to-helmet hits, tackling out of bounds, etc. most everything in football is decided in less than a second.

To me, the guy looked like he was trying to close line Ferguson. He could have easily gotten a nice bodyshot in there but instead clothes-lined him. If you have an opportunity for a body shot you take it - it's the best means to ensure the guy goes down. That he chose to tackle Ferguson in the way he did says to me it was intentional.

Ferguson could've been killed or paralyzed and the league needs to send a signal. I just hope some TE or RB knocks him out.

Anyone remember that hit ST had on Rudi Johnson a few weeks ago? It was a very similar hit. ST wasn't fined because Johnson wasn't hurt.

If Ferguson wasn't carted off the field, everyone would be talking about how great a hit it was.

I didn't think it was intentional.

The ball came in high and since they weren't coming in to each other straight on he just stuck his arm out there, dumb decision that I'm sure he wishes he could take back but I don't think he meant to knock the guy out and put him in the hospital.

Darius doesn't have a history of being problematic so I think the fine with no suspension fits the crime.

Regardless of what Darius said about going for the ball this looked like he was trying to take him out.........this could've resulted in a player being paralyzed.........so deserves a suspension IMHO

Sean Taylor made a hit just like on Rudi Johnson (bascially clothsline across the neck) and we were all going nuts, because it was a cool tackle. The only thing that makes this any different is that a guy got hurt.

Should he have been fined, yes I agree with the fine. I dont think he tried to hurt him or "take him out". This is somthing everyones going to have a different opinion on though.

I heard that Ferguson bears no ill will, no one else has the right to if Ferguson doesn't.

The players have cleared it up and the fine was brought down so that should be the end of it.

There's only one person that really knows if it was intentional or not, and that's Darius.

I am conflicted on this one.

I've looked at the play several and it sure LOOKS intentional to me.

I also had the opporutnity to meet Donovan Darius when he was in college - before he was drafted. He was a mature and rational young man who understood that he played a violent game but that did not mean he had to be a violent person. That young man would NOT have done this on purpose.

Since I don't read minds, I just don't know what really happened.

You hit the nail on the head SC, we're not mindreaders so who really knows what was going through his head in that fraction of a second.

I hate hearing these blowhards in the media getting all hyped up saying there's no doubt it was intentional.

It's a violent game, stuff like that unfortunately comes with the territory.