Stomp video adds to Burfict suspension concerns
Hours after Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis addressed linebacker Vontaze Burfict’s hit on New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett on Monday afternoon as nothing more than a poor read on a Tom Brady pump fake, ESPN reporter Mike Reiss, who covers the Patriots, tweeted a video he received from the National Football League appearing to show Burfict making a stomping motion with his left leg on the back of Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount’s leg following Blount's 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
The video is of the coaches’ film, shot from the end zone, and is an angle the media typically does not have access to at that point in the week.
On Tuesday a league source who watched multiple angles of the play told The Enquirer that the views proved inconclusive. ESPN's Ed Werder reported that the Bengals felt Burfict did not step on the running back.
Blount's reaction to the play, where he shoved Burfict to the ground, earned him an unnecessary roughness penalty.
While Burfict’s season-opening three-game suspension for “multiple safety related” infractions was relatively unprecedented, if the NFL determines the Bengals linebacker “stomped” on Blount, there is precedent for discipline.
By the numbers: Burfict suspension and NFL history
And unfortunately for Burfict and the Bengals, that precedent involves suspension.
In 2011, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh stomped on Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith, earning him a two-game suspension. Three years later, Suh was given a one-game suspension for stepping on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Also in 2014, the league suspended Detroit offensive lineman Dominic Raiola one game for stepping on a member of the Chicago Bears.
The most egregious stomping incident in NFL history belongs to former Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, who stepped on the helmet-less head of Dallas offensive lineman Andre Gurode. Haynesworth earned a five-game suspension for that act, the longest the league has ever handed out for an on-field incident.
In 2012, New York Giants defensive end Linval Joseph and Washington offensive linemen Will Montgomery were only fined for kicking at one another after a play, with Joseph stepping on Montgomery.