The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

What a cheap hit.  I didn't think it was a cheap hit till I seen the replay.
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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker did not return Sunday after being leveled late in the third quarter by Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark.

The Patriots did not announce the nature or severity of his injury.

With Pittsburgh leading 23-10 during their 33-10 win, Matt Cassel's pass to Welker went incomplete and the receiver was knocked down by Clark, who was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. New England ended up losing a fumble on that series.

``It was not like I was trying to be cheap,'' Clark said. ``Anybody that comes across (the middle), it is my job to tackle them. The ball got tipped, but (the official) said I should not have left my feet. ... I talked to Kevin Faulk and apologized.''

Faulk said, ``If Wes Welker stays down, then it must have been a pretty hard hit.''

Welker finished with four catches for 30 yards, ending his NFL record streak of 11 games with at least six receptions to start a season. He entered the game with 80 receptions, second in the NFL to Houston's Andre Johnson, who had 81.

Welker tied Cincinnati's T.J. Houshmandzadeh with an NFL-best 112 receptions last season.

Asked about the penalty against Clark, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said, ``I don't comment on penalties or officiating.''

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, ``I don't have anything to say about that right now.''

http://www6.rtsports.com/php/news-public-story.php?ART=0800032932

WAAAAAAH.  Fucking hypocrites don't say a thing when it is Rodney Harrison giving the cheap shots.

It wouldn't surprise me if Clark gets fined, considering the commish has his nose so far up Bill Belichick's ass.

Typical verbose Belichick quote to end the article. Classic.

It was a heck of a hit and an unnecessary one.

Blah blah...blah blah blah.

A hard hit?  In football?

Nooooooooooo.  Wow, when did they stop playing two hand touch?

Players take shots.  Especially wide receivers.

Wes welker--------- YOU GOT JACKED BIATCH  ;D ;D

A hard hit is one thing. A hard hit on a player no longer involved in a play is another. I love hard hits, but they need to be clean. This one was clearly a penalty so it was unnecessary.

Does anyone have a link to the play?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyhSPd-TK1o

Wow.

I agree with Phish.  I love a hard hit, but Welker wasn't making a catch at the time.

The defender wasn't looking. You could argue that's his fault, but he saw the ball coming and turned his side to get a good hit. The ball is a bit beyond Welker and the defender pops him.

*shrug*

Seriously, there's a hit like that pretty much every game.

I'm gonna get shit for this but I disagree with the call... 

Welker was going to catch the ball.  Polamalu knocked it down before it got to him.  If Polamalu misses the ball and Welker catches the ball, and gets hit, no call.  There was exactly half a second between ball getting knocked down and the hit, and its impossible to stop full-speed momentum that fast. 

Really, there's a point where you have to measure intent.  The guy was trying to make a play on the ball.  His job is to hit people and seperate them from the ball, to jar it loose and prevent the guy from making the catch.

I agree with you.  It was a hard it but it wasn't like he was way away from the play. I like Wes, I was sorry to see him go, so this is not because I don't like him.

Looked like a good football play to me

I agree, Brian.... Ryan Clark was doing his job and made a very good,  hard hit on a TIPPED pass.

I'll be hanging out with Defense tonight at the Ale House by Disney.  Can't wait to see the "Jacked Up" plays of the week.

 :'(  Yeah like Mat Light didn't take a cheap shot at Channing Crowder..........Like I said KARMA IS A BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

I'll drink to that!!

I heard Wes Welker was found in the fetal posistion still crying after that hit last week............

I heard they're still scraping him off the field.

Not surprising that no pats fans posted this http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-4-460/Top-ref-says-hit-on-Welker-within-rules.html

whoever thought that was a cheap hit doesn't know SHIT about football.  his timing was PERFECT - how was he supposed to know the ball's rlight path got disrupted and didn't make it to Welker?  he had a full head of steam and was making a play.  furthermore, he didn't leave his feet THAT much, but rather his leaving of his feet was greatly amplified by the actual hit on Welker.  hitting Wes actually made him go higher than he would've if he hadn't hit him.

Nice article, thanks.

I've always liked Welker (although I think he's immensely overrated by those who think he is a #1 receiver... he's a slot receiver, one of the best, but not a #1 or even #2).

From the article:

"It's a football play," Welker said. "It is what it is. No sense in crying or whining about it. You just have to keep on moving on and get ready for the next week."

And my favorite:

As for whether he saw Clark coming, Welker replied, "Did it look like I saw Clark coming?"

Nice answer to a stupid question.

And you obviously have problems judging space and time. He covered a distance that would have probably gotten him ejected for hitting a QB like that after the ball was dead.

NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira covers it in this weeks "Offical Review" and calls the hit legal.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80d0448e

Not only was it legal..........Clark was cleared of any Fines as well.  I predict that will be the last time Wes goes over the middle for a long time. He loves to slide down in the slot , but after the last 2 weeks of getting slammed by the Phins and the Steelers he learned his lesson ............... :-*

The defender stepped into Welker's path, lowered his shoulder, and waited for Welker to run full speed into him. 

I think the NFL made the right call.  When someone runs full speed into the goal post you don't fine the goal post.

Word.


Looks like a football play.  Seeing it live, I thought it was a cheap shot but not after the video.  DB seems to be going too fast to react and is focusing on Welker instead of the ball.  The ball was tipped and Clark hit with his shoulder.

Hell, Welker was our #2 behind Chambers but the coaches couldn't figure it out.  Surely, he'd be our #1 unless you think Camarillo is better.

 

A diminutive 4.6 guy as our #1 receiver?  (http://www.seksueelgeweld.nl/prikbord/images/smiles/rofl.gif) 

Name a player currently on our roster who is better.  I know Tommy is yelling Teddy Ginn...

He also co$t 40 million against the Cap.  For that kind of money I'd like to see a reciever that go over the middle and still walk to the bench unassisted after he gets hit.

Yea. That's a helluva price tag.  In this league it's only a matter of time before you get decleated...especially when playing Pittsburgh.  The guy is near tops in the league yet again for catches.  I didn't think we used him well here in Miami.   


I hear you laughing but I don't see a response, Run.  What Fins receiver is better than Welker?

Welker is a SLOT RECEIVER. That's a different position than WIDE RECEIVER, although both are called wide receivers.

Similarly, a pass catching tight end is not a receiver, even though they sometimes lead their teams in catches.

To be a really good slot receiver requires a totally different set of skills than being a "true" wide out.

So when you ask what receiver we have who is better than Welker, I'd say "that depends". He's a better SLOT receiver than anyone we have, sure (although Bess could turn out to be quite good as well), but if he had to line up wide on every play, I'd say we have SEVERAL that are better than he is.

Welker is thriving in New England because they like to get rid of the ball quickly and have GREAT wide outs. That leaves him with coverage mismatch and the result is lots of slants and other underneath stuff.

A slot receiver has to be tough and smart enough to read coverage. There are a lot more reads to be made as a slot receiver compared to a wide out. It's simply a different skill set.

Welker might just be the best slot receiver in the league. It'll be interesting to see what happens if he gets a mega-contract somewhere though, and they stick him out wide as a #1.

I thought it was common sense but fyo spelled it out for you.

Having a diminutive 4.6 guy as your best receiver is the kind of thing that makes a team reach for a potential game breaking receiver at #9 overall.

Welker is very good slot receiver and a solid returner, but as a receiver he benefits from the presence of Moss, Watson and probably even Kevin Faulk.  Being on a veteran team with solid line helps as well.  Even Cassel, the inexperienced kid of the bunch, is in his 4th season and had played in 14 games prior to this season.

Thats becuase we didn't have a QB worth a shit when we had Welker. Pennington would be having a field day connecting on Wes for short yardage. 

True. All good players so that helps.  Same thing Defense said about having a good QB.  Same thing FYO says about the Pats being better able to use him.  His 4.6 speed isn't an issue to me as Pennington doesn't have a monster arm and Welker's more quick than fast.  Yeah, Welker was so bad we reached on a diminutive guy that runs a 4.2 and returns kicks.  It's not Welker's fault our other receivers are weak which would make him our best.   


Thanks for that heads up, FYO but I'm aware of where the slot plays and the wide out and the tight end.  Sure, different skill sets.  I guess what I was saying is Welker was the 2nd best receiver on our team behind Chambers and would be the best receiver we have now. 

Other than Camarillo, Welker could play the #1 before any of these guys I think: Ginn, London, Wilford, Bess, Hannon.  Maybe I should leave Bess out because he's a slot receiver (and Hannon too, whoever that is) but to say we have several players better than Welker if he had to play #1 is a reach.  Welker doesn't play every play in the slot and I think he could adapt because of his skill sets and will to play the game.  I forgot about the injured Tab Perry but don't know much about him.