Nick Fairley, a defensive tackle for the Auburn Tigers, should be suspended for the multiple cheap shots he took on Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray.
Let me be clear. This is not sour grapes. Certainly I am disappointed in Georgia’s loss to Auburn, and the Cam Newton situation is an entirely different issue.
This is about one player essentially headhunting another player. Nick Fairley played one of the dirtiest games I have witnessed in a long time.
It began in the first quarter when Fairley tackled Aaron Murray after a throw and drove him into the ground. Fairley appeared to force his facemask underneath Murray’s which cut him and drew a good bit of blood. It even forced Murray to change his jersey.
Later in the game, Fairley again drove Murray into the ground but ended up hurting his own shoulder in the process.
With just over 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter, Fairley hit Murray square in the back with his helmet. This time it was really late and Auburn was penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer. See the video below:
The final cheap shot came with 2 minutes remaining in the game with Auburn leading 49-31. Aaron Murray passed the ball, and then received a blow to his left knee from the helmet of Nick Fairley. Fairley was being blocked on the play, but he was released from the block and could have avoided Murray had he wanted to. See the video below:
After the last hit on Murray, which knocked him out of the game, the Georgia players were fuming and took out some aggression on Fairley on the next play. That resulted in some extra-curricular activity that saw two Auburn defensive linemen ejected over the next two plays – Michael Goggans and Mike Blanc. Both were ejected for throwing punches.
The Georgia and Auburn benches emptied and things almost got completely out of hand. This could have been avoided had the referee, Hubert Owens, taken control of the game earlier.
Fairley should have been penalized earlier in the game. Instead, he was given additional opportunities to intentionally hurt Aaron Murray. Nick Fairley should be suspended one game by the SEC for his actions on Saturday.
Again, this is not sour grapes. This is about one player obviously trying to injure another player. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Related Links
- Fairley Gets Away With A Few – ESPN.com
- Dawgs QB Leaves Field After Nick Fairley Shot – SBNation.com
- Tempers Flare At End ($) – UGASports.com
View Comments (179)
Your story is inaccurate. Only the UGA bench emptied. But then again, "sour grapes" will usually hide the facts.
This detail does not hide the fact the Fairley is still a piece of crap that took cheap shots. That is a fact.
By the way did anybody else see Fairley running around beating his chest like an idiot. I did! Real classy. Of course you have to come to expect behavior like this with a coach that does not care. The whole team are thugs including the coach.
Please tell me how we are thugs.. Didnt yall have a guy suspended for breaking the law?
Te first was a late hit and he was penalized for it, as he should have been. The penalty saved UGA's drive and allowed them to put up 3 points instead of punt. I think Fairley has been called for a late hit twice the whole season.
The hit to the knee was a conicedence, look at the video - Do you honestly think he intentionally got blocked out of the way and tried to headbut the QB in the leg?
Also while were talking about dirty plays - what about the chop block on Fairley? Hmm .... seems you only see dirty plays one way.
Was he drivring the QB into the ground multiple times? - Yes. Is that legal - Yes. Not only is it legal, he and every other lineman does it and they are supposed to do it. The reason Fairley does it more often is because he gets to the QB more often.
If you want to know why he was hitting Murray every play look at your on staff and players. If UGA doesn't want their QB getting hit then they can run the ball, throw with a 3-step drop or keep extra guys in to block Fairley. When your O-Line is getting beat and you insist on running 4 or 5 receivers in downfield routes play after play your QB is going to get hit .... a lot.
billyray, wow, get over yourself. Fairley is a dirty player and he did intentionally run his helmet into Georgia’s QB's knee, any physicist will tell you that. He did lower and lead with his helmet and put it into the QB's back well after the ball was thrown. Just because he is not being suspended further does not mean he didn't do anything wrong. The SEC said it has no rules about hitting in the back, only rules about hitting the head and neck. Venture to guess if they will have rules in place for next year about leading with a helmet to hit an opponents back? I have no dog in this fight being from Montana and couldn’t give two thoughts about Georgia or Auburn; just southern schools for southern thugs, thanks for proving me right again, billyray, classic name buddy.
Your an idiot!
Link removed because site deleted article.
I was surprised when I started trying to find the pictures of the fight. Everytime I tried to pull one up it stated: No longer available. XOS Technologies bought all copyrights. What's with this? Deep pockets or what?
I am a football fan, but would want my own team to put this guy on the bench until he learns the rules. Intentionally trying to take a player out by injury is a cheap shot.
your a idiot, if you can't take the heat stay in athens
NOTHING is inaccurate about FAirley being a no good, late hitting thug. Should have been thrown out of the game and had mulitiple celebration penalties. STay classy Auburn. You may be vacating all those wins anyway.
your so stupid your qb is just being a pussy. Like do people complain when nfl qb's get hit in the back. No they dont. There is nothing illegal about hitting someone in the back. Plus if you werent illerate and a gdi, you would no that Cam was cleared! Every in the nation dogging him, should be sued off there ass, for slander!
I did not say Auburn's bench went to the middle of the field or how far their bench went on to the field. Just that it emptied. AU coaches mainly came to midfield. Some Georgia players went almost to midfield.
oh you just misrepresented the facts, the fact is ga was playing dirty the whole game taking a cheap shot at fairley and cam drawing several personal fouls, get your facts right before you complain. how many have yall had arrested this year 14 or so. no wonder trouble keeps following your team
Auburn will end up forfeiting the whole season anyway, Trooper and Cam were cheered last night but in 6 months both will be cursed on the plains. Mark it down.
I see. your point being that the uga athletes were the ones who took it too far despite the fact that two auburn players got suspended for throwing punches. Auburn's players are a bunch of thugs, led by a felon
The UGA players did not take anything too far, I would have been upset with them if they hadn't ran onto the field to make a statement, Auburn had been playing dirty football the entire game. There is nothing fair about Fairley, yes he should be suspended. There were too many "roughing the passer" calls for the refs to keep up with. Auburn is a bunch of thugs, led by a cheater,a liar, and a thief. I want Auburn to go all the way and win a national championship, only to see it all taken away and Cam the scam go down in history. Not to mention Chizik will go with him and both of them will have an obscene amount of money to pay back. They both know it!!!!
cam is cleared you dumbass. Yall had fourteen players or so arrested but yet were thugs!
no pike you're the dumbass. you dont keep up too good on what's going on with your team, cam the scam has not been cleared. NCAA do not have evidence to prove that cam knew about his father's actions. And yes Georgia has had thugs break the law and guess what they were suspended and one guy (who was to be the starting quarterback) was completely thrown off the team, unlike auburn, criminal behavior is not tolerated @ UGA! Auburn starts to win a few ballgames and you auburn fans come out of the woodwork. Are you still going to be cheering on Cam the scam after the FBI finishes with him, and they don't go by some rule book, and cam and his shady daddy wont be cleared after all.
Does not change the fact that Nick is acting like a thug and the SEC needs to take control as it is clear the Auburn coaches do not care. Not sour grapes from me, we will see you after thanksgiving.
ldiot
Not relevant to this conversation.
I completly agree. He needs to be suspended. I can accept that Georgia would have lost anyway but I cant stand to see such dirty playing. It takes the fun out of the game!
Only the Georgia players left the sideline. Fairly hit the QB's leg, but he was blocked into the QB. The three georgia players will likely be punished later when their actions are reviewed by the SEC.
Take another look. he could have easily avoided his legs. Just Auburn being Auburn.
Fairley got around the block, and continued to veer left right into Murray's knee. He could have avoided it but chose not to. Georgia players should be punished too if there was something flagrant, but it's hard to tell from the videos because they were in a pile. And they didn't throw punches to the head like AU did. That will get you ejected every time.
Finally someone on this page says he was blocked into the QB
More than likely, anyone that says Fairley was blocked into Murray is an Auburn fan.
Yes, Fairley was blocked towards Murray, but he got past the block, curved left and hit Murray in the knee. It's in the video. Fans of both teams are going to try to interpret the video their own way.
Yes more than likely, but not a single person can say Fairley was trying to take out Murray.I agree penalize him for late hits, but what about the players from U.G.A. that are not ever mentioned that did try to take cheap shots at Fairley right before the punches where thrown. These players should've been penalized because you can tell they're intentions were clear unlike Fairley whom hasn't done any different than most defensive players and tried to get to the opponents quarterback just had alot of mistakes doing so.
I think Fairley's intentions were to take out Murray from the first snap. And yes, Georgia players did take shots at Fairley at the end as retribution. That's a little different than cheap shots on a QB when he's in a defenseless position.
I guess i can't see how everyone is crying about Fairley and calling names when both sides were at some fault.I just think its crap that late hits happen as mistakes just like pass interference, but the player automatically becomes scum when he has a bad day. It happens in all football not just this game not just Fairley. Im sure if we do the history its happened before from U.G.A players and nothing ever said. Also two wrongs don't make a right!
You "think" that is the key word just like I don't think, but none of us really know if he was trying to takeout Murray but him. I am smart enough to know that anything I say will not change how anyone views it nor will you change how I view it.
When you play a game in Auburn it's a different set of rules. If the refs had taken care of things to start with all this would have been avoided. With the block in the back, take him out and let him sit on the sidelines. The coaches don't do that and actually encourage them to take the opposing player out. Don't tell me they don't.....
A "block in the back"? Fairley had to change directions, then lowered his helmet and used it as a weapon against a defenseless player standing still. As far as the hit to the knee, it was a heck of an athletic play. To be blocked away from the QB while going down to the ground and then still be able to get in a shot to the knee of the QB by twisting you body body and head back to the knee was very athletic. No one knows for sure what his intent was except for Fairley, but after raking his faceguard against Murray's chin and the two lifts/body slams and then the shot to the back, even a AU fan has to admit his desire is more than just to play hardnosed football. His desire is to intentionally hurt the QB. So one can reason that the shot to the knee was not a result of being blocked into the QB. Trying to intentionally hurt another player has no place in football, at any level. Before you answer with "What about the chop block on UGA?", what I saw on that play was that the tackle that went low had both shoulders and his head in front of Fairley legs, while the other player was blocking upright. If that was truly an intended chop block, it was poorly executed. I saw no intent to injure, unlike Fairley. He reminds me of the playground bully. The sad thing is that he is proud of it. Of course, when he gets the applause and accolades from the fans, team, and coaches, it's no wonder that he thinks it is acceptable.
He ran through the block to get his helment on AM's knee. Don't tell me you're blind AND dumb. You creeps cheer when a player may be losing his life. You make me sick.
dude your a dumbass. People have late hits all the time in football. The penality is fifteen yards. He was trying to make a play, and it not our fault that your line blows dick. Quit bein a pussy and except the fact that your team lost to colorodo, and sucks ass.
dude, seems fairley makes a play on everybody's quarterback, so I guess every offensive line in the SEC sucks!!!
You can't possibly think that unless you're a fucking idiot.
This is not relevant to this conversation.
And we can't possibly think that Brandon Spikes would ever try to jam his fingers into our RB eyes while laying on top of him either, right?
I know your mom would be so proud of your vocabulary.
You're a @!#$% dumbass.
Comment edited by Admin for profanity.
Get the sand out of your vagina.
Well it isn't sour grapes with me since I'm a Bama fan. I didn't see the Auburn bench come onto the field but the rest of your story I completely agree with. Fairley should be dealt with by the SEC and if he plays this way in the NFL, they will deal with him.
Auburn came onto the field, but not nearly as far as Georgia. The camera angle is towards Georgia's bench so you couldn't see Auburn. But AU's Trooper Taylor was running around on the field trying to high five Fairley.
You're correct on the camera angle but auburn moved so little that the announcers even commented on the fact that the auburn players were staying put. He didn't play a clean game but purposely getting a facemask stuck, seriously? Get over it all ready. If uga was so clean you wouldn't have come after him at the end of the game either... Both teams ended the game with ebarrassingly thuggy behavior...
This link gives a better perspective of cheap shots by Georgia players (something the individual who runs this site chose to ignore).
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/517057-georgia-auburn-gets-ugly-why-richt-must-go
Joe,
The article begins by saying "it all started with 2 minutes left" that immediately tells me the account is completely inaccurate! Fairley already had 3 personal fouls at that point. "It" most certainly did NOT start with 2 minutes left in the game.
The article also lacks the video evidence and proof that this article does. Nice try but you're the one who is ignoring the pathetic sportsmanship displayed The Auburn players and coaches the entire game.
Absolutely suspended. We do not need football players like this in college or the NFL. He should have been ejected from the game and the school fined !!. The SEC should really take a close look at his UNACCEPTABLE behavior in this game. The approval of this behavior degrades the Sport of Football.
Um, that perspective is also biased. Can not answer a biased report with another. The way you see this one one ignores the cheap shots of Georgia, the link does not address the cheap shots of Auburn.
There was no dirty play on Georgia's part until after Fairley's cheap shots. Georgia took revenge to protect their own. And you see where it got them, Fairley still tried to take Murray out up 18 with 2 minutes left in the game.
Joe, this link fails to state that this all started when Fairley cut Murray's chin with his facemask and then hit Murray in the back, late, with his helmet. It was a totality of events that led to the ruckus at the end.
How is this relevant to this conversation?
I don't care who is playing, no one has the right to hurt another player. I have notice all season, that Auburn has been trying to take the QB out of each team they play aganist.Do they do this on their own, or, are they coach to do this?
Auburn SUCKS!!!!!!! Mr Newton is a Cheater and Fairley is a PUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Roll tide Roll
--ck Auburn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just like a sore loser ...you lose you go for another team becuase YALL Got whooped on both sides of the ball .....just cant take the fact that AUBURN ran yall over.. and if you dont wont Nick Fairley running your QB in the ground get better Offensive lineman instead of trying to chop blocking him and mess started!!!!!!! WAR DAMN EAGLE
Georgia chop blocked him in retaliation for busting his chin and then the late hit.
There's no sour grapes over the loss. Auburn won the game on the field. It may be erased in the record books in the future, but that's a whole separate issue.
Oh boy little boy can't take a little boo-boo like a man
dear SECwestchamps, you must not have watched the same game as the rest of the world, Auburn had to work hard to win that game, and had a touchdown handed to them in the end, if Georgia got whooped that bad, then why did Fairley have to work so hard to take Aaron Murray out of the game!!! Who is a better QB than Cam the scam
You are not relevant to this conversation.
haha well how did that roll tide work for ya?
Nick Fairley is a dirty thug who should not even be allowed in a football stadium. Yes, Georgia had a couple of chop blocks and what not, but they were not to intentionally hurt another player. Murray had a target on his head the whole game and Fairley was the arrow. We were wrong for clearing the benches, but who can blame us for sending pretty much our whole offense after Fairley for the block? He had just taken Murray out of the game. The offensive lines job is to protect the QB. They did just that. Fairley should have been ejected after the flagrant late hit when he planted his helmet in Murray's spine. It was his third late hit of the game. I'm sure our players hate losing, but they usually do so with class. Who can blame them for getting upset when their QB has been taken out intentionally. Chizik is a sorry coach for not taking Fairley out earlier. Fairley is a poor excuse of a human being for his actions.
So full of crap - that last hit was OBVIOUSLY not intentional. I'm not saying that Fairley doesn't, on occasion, act overzealously - but that last "hit" was a bouncing helmet and clearly the guy was falling not hitting. Suck it up Georgia.
Watch the replay. He could have kept from hitting Murray the way he did. He lowered his helmet into Murray's knees. Suck it up Georgia? Really? We sucked it up all game. We sucked up all the late hits and kept driving on. Auburn had the game won. There was no reason for them to keep going after our QB the way they did. And yes, you should play until the clock strikes zero, but you don't send your defense out there to jeopardize a player's career.