Suspension coming for hit on Heath Miller?

How many people were watching Sunday Night Football last night when Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain had a helmet to helmet hit on Steelers tight end Heath Miller.  In case you missed the play check it out here:



The main problem with this hit was that it was on a defenseless receiver.  It's another scary head injury which almost made me cringe as much as the hit on Eagles corner back Ellis Hobbs a couple weeks ago.  How come NFL players don't understand that they can't lead with the head.  The other side to this story is that on the field a flag was not thrown for the helmet to helmet hit.  There have been hits over this season that have been far less violent which have resulted in a flag getting thrown.  So my question is why weren't the refs throwing a flag there?

The NFL has come out and said that their should of been a flag, but it's to late for that already.  Expect a fine in the range of 50-75k with in the next couple of days.  This would be a huge deal to McClain, who makes around four-hundred thousand a season  I would even expect a possible suspension, as the NFL looks to make McClain an example to all of its players.  The most ironic thing is that this helmet to helmet hit comes against the Steelers, who have had star linebacker James Harrison fined for similar hits.  Harrison has been fined over one-hundred thousand for illegal hits.  No matter what happens, I expect Harrison to come out after the fine or suspension is released to give his insight about the matter.

NFC Playoff Contenders

In the NFC I have the Philadelphia Eagles and the New Orleans Saints being at the top of this division.  I believe that the Saints will take the NFC South division.  Over the last couple of weeks the Saints have been on a roll, winning four in a row.  Right now the Saints sit behind the Falcons in the NFC South.  I believe that this division is going to be settled when the Saints play the Falcons near the end of the season.  I give the Saints the division with the Falcons grabbing up a wild card spot.

The Eagles are the other team who will have a bye for the playoffs.  Even after Chicago beat them last week, I still believe the Eagles are better then them.  The field conditions (Mainly the Sod) contributed to an Eagles loss.  I never understood why professional teams allow high school games to play on the field the day or two before an NFL game.  Going back to the Eagles, I see it nearly impossible for defense's to slow down every aspect of the eagles offensive.  Having all of that talent on one side of the ball is frighting.  The only problem with the eagles going forward is the defense.

The winner of the NFC North is going to be the Packers.  Aarron Rodgers is going to carry the Pac into the playoffs.  They still have a high powered offense along with a defense that is still solid, besides missing a couple of key defenders that were put on injured reserve.  I expect the Bears to give the Packers a run for the money, but right now I just don't believe in the Bears.  That doesn't mean that the Bears are not making it to the playoffs.  I believe that the Bears will sneak into the playoffs as a wild card.  If they end up being better, then I think they will be a dangerous team.  If the Bears defense plays as good as it has been in the last couple of weeks, they will be a team to watch out for.

For the NFC West I have the Rams taking this division over the 49ers.  This division is so weak I'm hoping that one of these teams  decides to show up and actually play football.  If a team goes 8-8 or less I won't be shocked because right now this is the worst division in football.  I would actually hope that the commissioner would step in and just make that division spot another wild card position, but we all know that isn't going to happen.

Just a recap:  This is how I see the NFC standings by then end of the season:

1.) Philadelphia Eagles
2.) New Orleans Saints
3.) Packers
4.) Rams
5.) Falcons
6.) Bears