A Low-Cost Way to Target Your Football Enemy

On the football field, as in nearly every arena in life, the punishment doesn’t always fit the crime.
James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers has become the poster child for the NFL’s crackdown on dangerous tackling. And he has paid the price in fines. His teammate Troy Polamalu has defended him, but Harrison’s reputation as a dirty player is growing. (As a Steelers fan, I do not subscribe to this view.)
So what do you do if you’re playing the Steelers and want to take your own shot at a player you think is dirty, but don’t want to incur any significant punishment yourself?
According to Harrison, the Baltimore Ravens had a good idea on Monday night. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Harrison and several Steelers players are upset over a false-start penalty against Ravens guard Chris Chester on an extra point Sunday night that, they say, wasn’t as harmless as it might appear.
Harrison said he thinks Chester was deliberately trying to hit him or perhaps even injure him because Chester fired out on the play – something offensive linemen are not taught to do on extra points or field goals.
“Of course it was deliberate,” Harrison said today in the Steelers locker room. “There’s no way that happens on an extra point because [offensive linemen] don’t shoot out. It’s obvious it was blatant. It was on purpose.”
Asked if it was a cheap shot, Harrison said, “Yeah it’s cheap, but when it comes down to it, it’s only a 5-yard penalty, they move back to the 7 and re-kick. It’s not going to hurt them.”