Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison in spotlight again for daring tackles – NFL Update
Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker, James Harrison, was again in the spotlight for his aggressive and daring plays after his hit on the knee to Denver Broncos' wide receiver, Eric Decker, in their playoff game on Sunday, January 08, 2012.
Decker’s injury came during his efforts to hold on to a pass over the middle during the Broncos-Steelers game, past weekend. He was tackled by Harrison by decking down for to defend the pass.
The player was immediately helped to the sidelines, where he was inspected by the team's medical staff before being sent to the locker room.
He was unable to return to the game, which his side won courtesy of an 80-yard touchdown scored by their star, Tim Tebow, to take the final score lead to, 29-23, in their favour.
A report appearing in a local newspaper later confirmed that Decker will be undergoing an MRI scan on Monday that will confirm the status of his injury and a timeline for his recovery.
It was only two games since James Harrison’s suspension by the NFL office under its enhanced player safety measures, following his involvement in a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns’ quarterback, Colt McCoy.
McCoy suffered a concussion as a result of the hit in the Browns-Steelers game into week 14 of the 2011 National Football League (NFL) regular season.
He is still recovering from his head injury and is uncertain about the future of his football career.
As a result of the foul, Harrison had been suspended for one game, which he sat out against the San Francisco 49ers, before returning again.
He finished the season with another game against Browns, but apparently refrained from committing a foul for another rough play.
The player has been in the headlines on several occasions for his head hits, which have knocked down three Browns’ players alone in the last two years. McCoy’s hit was his fifth foul straight over the past two years.
He became the only player to have been banned for a game for his head foul under the NFL enhanced players safety measures. Some of the football circles thought that it was not enough of a plenty for him, demanding adoption of a tougher approach by the league
office.
A number of the Browns players including Joshua Cribbs, who himself suffered a concussion as a result of Harrison’s hit in the season 2010, said it was unlikely that Harrison will avoid repeating the foul in future games.
Even the Steelers linebacker said he could not predict avoiding his rough plays, but hoped that he will not repeat head hits.
However, despite his latest hit that resulted in a knee injury to the Broncos’ player, Harrison has avoided becoming liable to punishment.
With no more football to play this season for the Steelers, only the next season will decide how James Harrison will play and whether he will keep out of the foul margin or not.
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