Chad’s Career Hanging After Sapp’s Smash Hit

“Keep your head on a swivel.�

It’s a phrase football players start hearing in their Pop Warner days and it means: Be alert at all times because if you’re not, someone will knock you out with a big hit.

Everyone who plays the game, from middle linebackers to quarterbacks, understands that forceful hits are part of the game and that’s what makes the controversy surrounding Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp’s blindside hit on Green Bay offensive lineman Chad Clifton so interesting.

In case you missed it, Sapp has been under the spotlight for an open-field block he made on Clifton during an interception return by former USC cornerback Brian Kelly in the third quarter of the Buccaneers’ 21-7 victory over the Packers on Sunday.

Clifton suffered a hip injury and remains hospitalized in significant pain, unable to take more than a couple steps at a time.

After the game, Green Bay Coach Mike Sherman confronted Sapp, accusing him of a cheap shot, even though there was no penalty on the play. Here’s a breakdown of three different views of the play:

The Packers: Because Clifton is expected to be sidelined for the rest of the season and his career could be endangered, it’s easy to understand Green Bay’s anger.

The Packers maintain that the block was unnecessary because it happened nearly 25 yards away from where Kelly was with the ball. Sherman also claims Sapp celebrated while Clifton lay motionless on the field. Clifton had to be strapped to a backboard and taken from the field.

Green Bay offensive line coach Larry Beightol was so upset, he called Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and told him that his players would avenge the injury by delivering cut blocks to Sapp the next time they face him.

“Like the saying goes, every dog has his day,� Beightol told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We’ll see about him.... Everyone is fair game. When we see him again, we’ll see how that dog fares. We’ll cut him every single time. I want him to know that.�

It’s funny that the two most vocal critics of Sapp’s hit are coaches and not any of the Packer players. In football, it’s common for teammates to stand up for each other on the field but none of the Packers stepped up to Sapp after the incident.

The Buccaneers: For his teammates, Sapp’s hit not only was appropriate, it also made a statement to the rest of the NFL to not fall sleep against the Buccaneers.

After years of coming up short in the playoffs under former coach Tony Dungy, the Buccaneers believe they have the right mix of talent and attitude to win the Super Bowl with new Coach Jon Gruden.

And Sapp’s block said it all.

Because Clifton was loafing a little and not looking out for himself, Sapp was able to get his helmet in front of the Green Bay offensive tackle to deliver his hit. The Buccaneers say it was Clifton’s fault that he wasn’t prepared to defend himself.

“When I hit this man, I knew I had delivered the shot. But I didn’t know to that extent. I don’t want that [injury],� said Sapp during his weekly radio show. “I wanted him to feel it cause that’s why I delivered the shot. But it’s not about malice.�

The NFL: After Beightol openly talked about payback, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue issued a memo to both teams warning that any coach talking about retaliation would be severely disciplined.

So what else is new?

Now that the NFL has become so image conscious, punishing anyone talking about violence is predictable. But something doesn’t seem right about how the league has been penalizing players for on-field hits.

Sapp’s block was definitely premeditated and caused an injury to an unsuspecting player. He was not fined, nor was there even a penalty on the field. But defensive backs who hit receivers with their helmets while trying to make a reactionary play on a pass are fined every week, even though the receivers are expecting the hit.

Very confusing.