It was legal, but it was nowhere near clean. Leading with the helmet and not bothering making an attempt to tackle is dirty (and stupid for Clark, who was not only lucky he didn't get hurt worse than he did, but if McGahee had the time to make a move Clark would be unemployed today). He's the same guy who hit Welker a couple weeks back.
A legal hit was the block Limus Sweed threw on Corey Ivy on the long gain by Heath Miller. That was fantastic (and hopefully Hines Ward was watching so he knows what a legal block looks like
).
And Roethlisberger threw the pass up in the air to no one, and got (yes) lucky that Holmes saw it and got back to it before a Ravens player. That play was all Holmes, and it sickens me that the media is so in love with "Ben" that he is getting most of the credit.
I won't argue about Flacco, though. He wasn't that good. And Stone won't be employed much longer.
Like I said, the Steelers outplayed the Ravens. But like the Titans last week it almost didn't matter.
-----Added 19/1/2009 at 10 : 31 : 28-----
EDIT:
ProFootballTalk.com - NO FINE COMING FOR CLARK, BUT THERE SHOULD BE
Quote:
Per Rule 12, Section 2, Article 8(g) of the 2008 NFL rules, the concept of unnecessary roughness includes “using any part of a player’s helmet . . . or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily; although such violent or unnecessary use of the helmet and facemask is impermissible against any opponent, game officials will give special attention in administering this rule to protecting those players who are in virtually defenseless postures (e.g., a player in the act of or just throwing a pass, a receiver catching or attempting to catch a pass, a runner already in the grasp of a tackler, a kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air, or a player on the ground at the end of a play).”
...
First, if Clark used “any part” of his helmet to “butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily,” the violation is unnecessary roughness, and the player is subject to a fine or a suspension.
Second, the spokesman who spoke to Reiss misstated the rule. Using the helmet to “butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily” always is a violation.
Third, contrary to what the spokesman told Reiss, defenseless players are not by definition only “a receiver in the process of making a catch or a quarterback in the act of passing.” The rule sets forth three specific other examples of defenselessness: a runner in the grasp of a tackler, a player fielding a kick or a punt, and a player on the ground.
Fourth, and here’s where precision in the reading of the rules is critical, the list of potentially defenseless players isn’t exhaustive. The list begins with the designation “e.g.,” which means “for example.” And this means that what follows are examples and not a full and complete list.
If the powers-that-be had intended the list to be exclusive, the parenthetical should have begun with the letters “i.e.”
So if the five examples aren’t intended to represent the complete list, more examples can be added to the concept of defenselessness.
Such as a player who doesn’t see it coming.
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