[Bette]

In the wake of his crushing hit on Baltimore Ravens running back Willis McGahee in the AFC title game that rendered McGahee unconcious with a concussion and severe neck pain, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark insisted that he’s not a dirty player, just an intense one whom teammate Larry Foote called the hardest-hitting safety in the game.
After recovering from a life-threatening illness last year that caused his spleen and gall bladder to be removed, the last thing Clark said he wants to do is hurt someone permanently. McGahee is expected to make a complete recovery for next season after being hospitalized briefly for tests and observation.
“I know what it’s like not to be able to play and almost have football taken away from me,” Clark told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I never want to be a guy who takes it away from someone else.”
Clark said he wanted to check on McGahee, who was carted off the field on a stretcher, but was told by team officials that he was too woozy after the violent collision.
“I wasn’t aware of the seriousness of the injury until I was informed about it on the sideline,” Clark said. “It’s scary when you see anyone going down like that. I asked to go back on the field to check on him, but I was told I was in no condition to check on anyone.”
Clark was not fined or penalized for the McGahee hit. He said he has only been fined twice by the NFL in seven seasons, including a $7,500 infraction for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones and $7,500 for hitting the New York Giants’ Tim Carter in 2004.
“There’s a fine line between what’s legal and what’s not,” Clark said. “We know we can’t hit a receiver in a defenseless position. But are we supposed to wait for him to catch the ball and start running with it before we hit him? Or do we try to dislodge the ball any way we can? As a DB, you’re always going to err on the side of trying to dislodge the ball.”


ProFootballTalk.com - STEELERS: CLARK IS THE NFL’S HARDEST-HITTING SAFETY

[Bette]

There was a lot of discussion on this after the game about whether or not Clark should have been fined. Frankly, I am surprised the NFL didnt.

A fan on the PFT site said this:

An explanation of the helmet-to-helmet rule:
One of the mistakes fans make in interpreting the helmet-to-helmet rule is that they apply it to all situations. Unless it involves blatant spearing, helmet to helmet applies only to quarterbacks and defenseless receivers. Once a player becomes a runner, he ceases to be defenseless and at that point the helmet-to-helmet rule does not apply. Willis McGahee was a receiver on the play, but once he got his second foot down after the catch, he became a runner who could defend himself. Ryan Clark’s intent was to tackle McGahee as briskly as possible. It’s what all defenders do. The idea is to cause a fumble, which Clark did. There has been no fine on Clark. It was a clean hit. Football is a tough game for tough guys.

McGahee saw the hit coming because he faced Clark and put his head down.
In your opinion, should Clark have been fined and why or why not?

[Quality88]

Originally Posted by Bette

There was a lot of discussion on this after the game about whether or not Clark should have been fined. Frankly, I am surprised the NFL didnt.

A fan on the PFT site said this:


McGahee saw the hit coming because he faced Clark and put his head down.
In your opinion, should Clark have been fined and why or why not?

I'd have to see the play again... I don't recall McGahee droppin his head. but I could be wrong.

A runner can be defensless if they don't see the hit comin, so I question the whole he put down a second foot and became a runner. How many times do runners get taken down from behind when they didn't see it comin? So if a player gets tagged in the helmet from behind it's a clean hit because he was a runner? I don't buy that.

[Zip Spin]

I don't know, if there are too many players in the league, that have a goal to hurt a player permanently. I think they just try to make the tackle, and do it hard hoping for a fumble.