Fins/Pats: The Fight

The play by play of the fight went like this. Roth blew up Hochstein during the kick and threw him on the ground. Light and Crowder stalemated, Light ripping Crowder's helmet off in the process. They both got up and pushed each other, but Light took it to the next level when he started pulling Crowder's hair and slapping his helmetless head. Crowder, unfazed and smiling, seperated himself from Light and ran to the middle of the field laughing because he was sure Light had just got himself ejected.

Now I point out Crowder's deficiencies about as much as anybody else, but you have got to love the guy. He absolutely crushed Wes Welker earlier in the game, with easily the biggest hit of the game, and here he got Light to make a huge mistake. He was smart and didn't retaliate at all; he just made Light look like an idiot.

Unfortunately, the officials got it wrong. They ejected both players, even though Crowder never threw a punch. I was sure they would get it right, handing only Light a suspension and giving Crowder the last laugh that he deserved, but the NFL got it wrong also by giving each of them $15k fines and no suspensions.

The NFL should be absolutely embarrassed. With the justification that Crowder played a part in the "verbal and physical" altercation, they proved just how arbitrary their disciplinary system is. As Armando Salguero put it, "Does the NFL want us to believe that Light punching Crowder three times in the back of the head while the linebacker's helmet is off, then pulling his hair deserves the same fine as Crowder pushing Light and perhaps saying mean things about his mom or wife?" He also pointed out, "Joey Porter gets fined $20,000 for ripping the officiating following the Houston game but Channing Crowder and Matt Light get $15,000 for a fight in front of 67,000 people that has been replayed countless times on ESPN and other national TV outlets?" Nothing about the ruling makes sense, and the NFL should be ashamed of itself.

Moreover, the NFL tries to punish Crowder for "starting it," yet everything that the NFL did ignores what really "started it." The Patriots came to play dirty today, as they have done countless times in the past. It is a calculated part of the team strategy that they try to get every cheap shot in possible to injure their opponents and gain an advantage. They know that history has proven that they can do whatever they want in any game and that they will reap the benefits when the opposition gets called for retaliating. That's why every team in the NFL without exception hates the Patriots. The sick thing here was that the Dolphins didn't even retaliate and they got the short end of the stick, because not only did Crowder and Light get equal fines, but Joey Porter got an additional fine. It's absolutely ludicrous.

I have no respect for the Patriots. I have no respect for Matt Light's dirty, hair-pulling antics. And most importantly, I have no respect for Belichick, who put Vrabel in on fourth and goal with the outcome already decided. I'm glad that almost every Dolphins defensive player went straight to the tunnel after the game, because very few people on the Patriots deserve the respect of a handshake.

I leave you with the video and this comment from profootballtalk.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA-z1KIamrI

"So, ripping a player’s helmet off, pulling his dreadlocks and clubbing him in the back of the head three times equates to the EXACT SAME FINE as pushing a player in the facemask and running away from the fight with a smile on your face????????????????????????

That’s a great message to send, maybe next time Crowder will actually fight back."