Posts Tagged ‘Green Bay Packers’

Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith is an ethics hero: plays starters all the way in game that’s meaningless to the Bears, critical to the Packers

January 2, 2011

 

Ethics in sports means trying your best to win while behaving with integrity.  Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith is an ethics hero for his stand in trying to win a game that was meaningless to the Bears but critical to the team they were playing.

The Bears were set as the no. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs after the Atlanta Falcons won their game and clinched the no. 1 seed and home field advantage. So the Bears final regular season game against the Green Bay Packers was meaningless to the Bears, but crucial to the Packers: if they won they were in the playoffs; lose and they’re out.

Some teams have rested their key players in such a game, notably—and shamefully—the Indianapolis Colts, who last year rested their best players in the regular season finale against the New York Jets and gave the Jets a playoff berth.

But Bears coach Lovie Smith stood up for the integrity of the game. If it was meaningful for the Packers it was the Bears’ obligation to try their best, so Smith played his starters all the way. The Bears lost, 10-3, but were fighting to the end, driving from their 2-yard line with 4:49 left in the game to the Packers 32, where an intercepted pass ended the Bears comeback and put the Packers in the playoffs.

The Bears made them earn it.

 

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The NFL’s anti-head-smashing policy is a sham: Packers’ Nick Collins fined 2 minutes pay for savage hit on Cowboy Roy Williams

November 10, 2010

 

The NFL has learned that blows to the head of football players causes dementia in not-so-much-later years, and announced earlier this year a serious policy of punishing players who go after the heads of opponents, especially those in a helpless position (like falling after reaching for a pass).


A recent column warned that head hunting is destroying the NFL stars that people pay to see, like DeSean Jackson and Tony Romo, who were put out of action—Romo for the season—two weeks ago. Sunday saw a brutal blow by Nick Collins of the Green Bay Packers to the head of Roy Williams of the Dallas Cowboys, late in a 45-7 blowout win by the Packers. You can watch the blow here if you have a strong stomach. Williams lay still for minutes, then was helped off, but returned to the game later—apparently to prove he could “take it,” in spite of the risk of permanent brain damage.


Game announcer Cris Collingsworth, a knowledgeable former player was outraged by the hit, calling it “totally unnecessary,” and assuring viewers, (more…)

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