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Mid-week thoughts

It sure looks as though the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph unscheduled get together on a football field will not die. Yet.

That said, a few more personal thoughts regarding the unfortunate incident that took place just about a week ago and captured the attention of not only the National Football League universe, but the ever expanding wide world of social media.

Garrett and Rudolph were the major parties in the dustup that wound up with Garrett ultimately bashing the quarterback’s helmet on his bare noggin in the waning seconds of last Thursday night’s nationally televised game between the Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The NFL almost immediately suspended Garrett for the rest of the season (six games) and the postseason (if the Browns qualify). Rudolph was merely fined $35,000 for his involvement.

Upon further review, the league apparently did not take into consideration Rudolph initially and unsuccessfully tried to pry off Garrett’s helmet and then perpetuated the original dustup by continuing to charge the Cleveland defensive end, who was being held in check by a pair of Pittsburgh offensive linemen.

If he stays down on the ground and does not rush at Garrett, the fight is over. Period.  He is not beaned on his head with his helmet. Everybody goes his own way, the officials step in and restore order and that would be that.

Instead, Rudolph, no shrinking violet at 6-5, 235 pounds, loses control and unwisely charges Garrett. And all he got was a fine? He is extremely fortunate the NFL did not suspend him at least one game for his careless actions. Charging Garrett not only extended the fight, it lit a match that sent it into dangerous territory.

As a result, other players from both sides entered the fray and were fined and suspended for their participation. If Rudolph stays put, those subsequent miscreants (Maurkice Pouncey of the Steelers and Larry Ogunjobi of the Browns) are not appealing their suspensions.

Pouncey, being hailed as the ultimate teammate for punching and kicking Garrett in retaliation would have been much better off being a peacemaker upon his arrival. Same with Ogunjobi, who cowardly pushed Rudolph from behind as the brawl escalated, knocking him to the ground,

Steelers offensive linemen David DeCastro and Matt Feiler acted as peacemakers and were correctly not fined or suspended. Peacemaking has its rewards.

And all that, the league determined, warranted Rudolph just a $35,000 fine? At best, that fine should have been tripled and at worst a one-game suspension for prolonging a fight should have been meted out.

The whole situation began after Rudolph, who had thrown four interceptions in the game and was no doubt frustrated by then and lost control, had objected to a tackle by Garrett after he had released a pass. It exploded when he tried to separate himself from Garrett, who had landed on top of him and was slow in getting up.

The young Steelers quarterback admitted the other day that his temper got the better of him. “As for my involvement last week,” he said, “there is no acceptable excuse. I’ve got to do a better job of keeping my composure in those situations.”

Garrett’s blanket apology last week to all involved in what has been dubbed Helmetgate seemed sincere. He realized the gravity of his actions and had trouble dealing with the fact he reacted in such a egregious manner.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, speaking retrospectively Tuesday, admitted culpability. “None of us want those incidents to transpire,” said the coach, who chose to remain silent about the incident immediately after the game. “It did. We were a part of it. We accept responsibility for our actions within it.”

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Looked more closely at the game a third time. It sure looked as though a few members of the Browns’ secondary had more than a little mayhem in mind when it came to covering Steelers wide receivers.

Cornerback Greedy Williams and strong safety Morgan Burnett bracketed Pittsburgh wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster and squished him with 9:14 left in the second quarter, taking him quite literally out of the game. He immediately went into concussion protocol and did not return.

Pittsburgh rookie wide receiver Diontae Johnson was the next victim, leaving the game for good with 8:11 left in the third quarter after being ear holed by Browns free safety Damarious Randall, who was instantly ejected for the vicious hit. Johnson left the field, blood trickling down from his ear, and did not return.

It’s difficult to determine for certain that such violent acts on a football field are deliberate. But when it happens twice in a game and seems to target one particular position, one has to wonder.

Perhaps it’s only a coincidence that Smith-Schuster and Johnson are the club’s leading and third-leading receivers this season, combining for more 900 yards and six touchdowns.

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The highly undisciplined Browns tacked on eight more penalties and 121 more yards against the Steelers. They have committed the third-most net penalties (87 with 19 declined – second most – and six offsetting) and lead the league in total flags with 112, four more than the Arizona Cardinals in one less game (10).

They are the runaway winner in total yards with 822 in 10 games, 43 better (worse?) than the Oakland Raiders.

Coach Freddie Kitchens insists he does not coach penalties. Great line. But he sure has a tough time convincing fans that is, indeed, the case. The statistics strongly suggest otherwise.