JAR
01-15-2009, 07:44 AM
Pictures to go along with the article in the link.
Ray Lewis’s smashing hit on Titans fullback Ahmard Hall, which caused his helmet to go flying, was probably the most memorable play from Baltimore’s 13-10 victory over Tennessee on Saturday. But it appears the play that had the biggest impact on the game occurred immediately after the Hall-Lewis collision.
When Tennessee had the ball at its 12-yard line with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Chris Johnson, a rookie running back, was in the middle of a monster performance. He had 79 total yards, including an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. His one reception had gone for a 28-yard gain.
So when Johnson knifed his way through the Baltimore line for a 7-yard gain on first down at the Titans’ 12, the good news for the Ravens was that Johnson had not broken off another big gain.
That was when the sequence in question occurred: Johnson’s forward momentum was being stopped by linebackers Lewis and Terrell Suggs — and right before the whistle blew ending the play — safety Ed Reed jumped into the scrum and grabbed Johnson by his upper body, preventing him from falling to the turf. With Lewis and Suggs draped over the back of Johnson’s legs, Reed continued to push Johnson, bending him backward awkwardly. The contortion was so serious that with the whistles blowing ending the play, Titans guard Leroy Harris had to push Reed away. The after-the-play activity among the teams resulted in a personal foul call on Tennessee. No penalty was assessed to the Ravens.
CBS commentator Dan Dierdorf picked up on the Ravens’ antics. He said: “I give Leroy Harris credit. They’re trying to bend Chris Johnson backwards and break him in half and he goes in there to take the guys off of his ball carrier. That’s what an offensive lineman is supposed to do.”
But the damage was done. Johnson slowly peeled himself off the turf. He even ran for 10 yards on the next play. But then Johnson came out of the game with an ankle injury. He had one more run, for a 4-yard gain, three plays later with just over seven minutes left in the second quarter. Then he was done. And so, as it turned out, were the Titans’ hopes.
If the Ravens were intentionally trying to injure Johnson, such an accusation would not be new. Earlier this season, Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall sustained a season-ending shoulder injury against the Ravens only days after Mendenhall was said to have text-messaged Baltimore running back Ray Rice, saying he was going to have a big game against the Ravens’ top-ranked rushing defense. In an interview with an Atlanta radio station, Suggs implied that the Ravens had bounties on Mendenhall and on Steelers receiver Hines Ward. After the N.F.L. investigated, Suggs was forced to issue a statement denying any such intent.
Suggs said: “When I did the radio show in Atlanta, that’s what I meant and I thought that’s what I said. I did repeat the word bounty early in the interview after the guy asking me the question used the word. That was a mistake. I misspoke, and I’m sorry for that.”
The consensus has been that the Ravens are just a hard-hitting team that plays until the whistle blows. But knocking Johnson out of the game clearly worked to the Ravens’ advantage. Do you think the Ravens are guilty of anything more than hard-hitting football?
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009 ... s-johnson/ (http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/did-the-ravens-defense-take-out-tennessees-chris-johnson/)
Ray Lewis’s smashing hit on Titans fullback Ahmard Hall, which caused his helmet to go flying, was probably the most memorable play from Baltimore’s 13-10 victory over Tennessee on Saturday. But it appears the play that had the biggest impact on the game occurred immediately after the Hall-Lewis collision.
When Tennessee had the ball at its 12-yard line with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Chris Johnson, a rookie running back, was in the middle of a monster performance. He had 79 total yards, including an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. His one reception had gone for a 28-yard gain.
So when Johnson knifed his way through the Baltimore line for a 7-yard gain on first down at the Titans’ 12, the good news for the Ravens was that Johnson had not broken off another big gain.
That was when the sequence in question occurred: Johnson’s forward momentum was being stopped by linebackers Lewis and Terrell Suggs — and right before the whistle blew ending the play — safety Ed Reed jumped into the scrum and grabbed Johnson by his upper body, preventing him from falling to the turf. With Lewis and Suggs draped over the back of Johnson’s legs, Reed continued to push Johnson, bending him backward awkwardly. The contortion was so serious that with the whistles blowing ending the play, Titans guard Leroy Harris had to push Reed away. The after-the-play activity among the teams resulted in a personal foul call on Tennessee. No penalty was assessed to the Ravens.
CBS commentator Dan Dierdorf picked up on the Ravens’ antics. He said: “I give Leroy Harris credit. They’re trying to bend Chris Johnson backwards and break him in half and he goes in there to take the guys off of his ball carrier. That’s what an offensive lineman is supposed to do.”
But the damage was done. Johnson slowly peeled himself off the turf. He even ran for 10 yards on the next play. But then Johnson came out of the game with an ankle injury. He had one more run, for a 4-yard gain, three plays later with just over seven minutes left in the second quarter. Then he was done. And so, as it turned out, were the Titans’ hopes.
If the Ravens were intentionally trying to injure Johnson, such an accusation would not be new. Earlier this season, Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall sustained a season-ending shoulder injury against the Ravens only days after Mendenhall was said to have text-messaged Baltimore running back Ray Rice, saying he was going to have a big game against the Ravens’ top-ranked rushing defense. In an interview with an Atlanta radio station, Suggs implied that the Ravens had bounties on Mendenhall and on Steelers receiver Hines Ward. After the N.F.L. investigated, Suggs was forced to issue a statement denying any such intent.
Suggs said: “When I did the radio show in Atlanta, that’s what I meant and I thought that’s what I said. I did repeat the word bounty early in the interview after the guy asking me the question used the word. That was a mistake. I misspoke, and I’m sorry for that.”
The consensus has been that the Ravens are just a hard-hitting team that plays until the whistle blows. But knocking Johnson out of the game clearly worked to the Ravens’ advantage. Do you think the Ravens are guilty of anything more than hard-hitting football?
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009 ... s-johnson/ (http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/did-the-ravens-defense-take-out-tennessees-chris-johnson/)