PackersRS
Cheesehead
If anyone believes a team won't use a key way to win by trying to be more physical the other team, they must live in another world.
Hmmm, also good points.
Yes, a horsecollar is one of those penalties that just seem dirty regardless of the players intentions. Although some horsecollars seem much worse than others. And I also agree that if the league’s motivation for some of the rules is to prevent injury then pulling a guy down by his hair should also be illegal.
So it seems pretty reasonable to define dirty plays as both illegal hits (not illegal plays, but illegal hits/tackles) and ill-intentioned hits. But I think it becomes an issue when the dirty conduct occurs throughout an entire game. I wouldn’t define a team or player as playing dirty with one horsecollar, or one illegal hit/tackle in a game. But if a player continuously tackles by the horsecollar throughout a game or season, he becomes known as a dirty player. Also, if the team is playing with ill-intentions throughout an entire game I think the team is considered to have been playing dirty. The more games in which that team plays with ill-intentions the more it will be considered a dirty team.
So, I guess I have my answer. I think the Saints were playing dirty against the Vikings as their intentions were to injure a player and take him out of the game. But I don’t know that they are a dirty team.
As I said, their intentions were clearly to get to Favre. To be on his face and punish him. It's up to the refs to call any out of place moves.
But to affirm that they were trying to hurt him out of the game, that's absurd.
Or did you see any Saints players kick him, bite him or go for his knee or helmet?
He had brutal hits, no doubt. But Rodgers was hit in the helmet, and pulled the facemask, for crying out loud.