5 Thoughts on Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph

The latest chapter in the Cleveland Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry is one of the ugliest. The actions taken by Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph were awful and have marred a victory and raised questions that will impact the rest of this season, perhaps longer. Here are five thoughts on the aftermath.

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The morning after one of the uglier on field moments that has taken place in the NFL in years, I'm still in utter disbelief it happened. Only seconds left in the game, the Cleveland Browns go from a dominant, albeit clunky victory to having their entire season thrown into a state of utter chaos. Whatever ultimately comes from this, it's just the latest chapter in a book of franchise low lights that will haunt the team and fanbase for years.

My thoughts on this are a bit scattered on this, so I figured I'd just put them all out there as opposed to just trying to focus on one of them.

1. If Myles Garrett is suspended for the rest of the season, which has six games remaining, I'm not going to argue. It simply can't happen, regardless of what the other person does to escalate it.

He might as well have swung his helmet at his own teammates, because as much as he hurt himself, they are going to face the consequences almost as much as he is. Their season feels over, despite two wins in a row. Not having Garrett, a superstar defensive end, makes it virtually impossible for them to win five of their last six games.

2. Mason Rudoloh's actions don't excuse Garrett's,  but they should be judged harshly. Trying to grab Garrett's head, then kicking him in the groin, then chasing after him, Rudolph started the situation and escalated it. My fear is that Rudolph will only be fined when he should be suspended for a game or two.

3. Trying to reconcile the Myles Garrett that took a punch in his car after taking a photo with someone and did nothing, the same person who been somewhat of a folk hero in the community with the one that swung his helmet at Rudolph is difficult.

Everything about this is awful. I feel awful for Garrett, because I adore him. These actions will change how many perceive him, perhaps even some of his teammates. Despite this incident, as awful as it is, I still view him as an extremely intelligent, thoughtful man who has shown remarkable kindness to strangers on any number of occasions. He also swung a helmet at Mason Rudolph. He will always be remembered as the player who did this, as he should, but the other stuff doesn't go away either. This shouldn't have happened and it certainly cannot happen again, but if this is the worst thing Garrett ever does, I can get past it. While Garrett's actions were monstrous, he isn't a monster.

Any notion that the Browns should get rid of Garrett is absurd. The Browns have signed players that have committed violence against women on their roster. As awful as what Garrett did is, there has to be some perspective on what is truly worse. If the argument is that Garrett has to go, other players would warrant leaving with him.

4. There are plenty of people who want to see Garrett suspended for the rest of the season, perhaps even longer. Some of the outrage on this incident is remarkable given the fact it's such a unique situation. This rarely happens. Meanwhile, there's far less outrage when it comes to players being in the league, getting lucrative contracts despite committing violence against women. 

And while this is an isolated incident, violence against women is an epidemic. Numerous players across the league are making millions of dollars playing every week while victims are subjected to reliving nightmares in their lives as stadiums full of people are cheering.

Reacting in the moment is part of it. Video always plays a role in how people react, often more viscerally than if they just read about it. This happened in public for everyone to see and it's an embarrassment to the league. The track record of the NFL and its teams are worse. It has required video on multiple occasions for the league to act in anything resembling a responsible matter.

Even on the Cleveland Browns, Kareem Hunt had an extremely public incident where he was seen kicking a women in a hotel on video. Investigated along with a few other incidents, Hunt served an eight game suspension, the longest of its kind. That is what it took to get that length of punishment.

Garrett could get six games. His actions could warrant six games. What he did was simply horrifying. The outrage is justified. I just wish the NFL's unending issue with violence against women was met with the same vigor. It's taken as so commonplace, that it can be minimized and occasionally ignored rather than the horror that it is every time it happens. The sheer amount of it should make the issue that much bigger.

5. Where this leaves the franchise and its fanbase is the next shoe to drop. Whatever happens with Garrett, it's not likely to end there. I don't know how far this goes. It's difficult to imagine the team can simply view this as an isolated incident and not act further. It demands that the process from front office down to the coaching staff be reviewed as they search for answers on how this could happen. 

At some point, they will have to come out and speak to the issue and have an answer as to how they prevent this from ever happening again. Garrett should continue to be a member of the Cleveland Browns, but this isn't the first time the team has been questioned in terms of their actions on the field or their motives.

Dating back to the joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts during training camp, questions were raised at the notion that head coach Freddie Kitchens was perceived to be encouraging the actions in an effort to stand up for themselves after brawls cut practices short. Critics at the time argued he was encouraging his team to fight. The team has had a high number of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties this year, which will be attributed to a lack of discipline.

Ultimately, players are responsible for their own actions as Garrett is here. He deserves the punishment he's going to receive for it, but the questions are going to come at the organization. They will need answers.