Patriots WR Wes Welker leveled by rough hit

[Pats2006]

What a cheap hit.  I didn't think it was a cheap hit till I seen the replay.
_____________________________ ____________________
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

[Tepop84]

What a cheap hit.  I didn't think it was a cheap hit till I seen the replay.
_____________________________ ____________________
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.

[YoFuggedaboutit]

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

[SCFinfan]

Typical verbose Belichick quote to end the article. Classic.

[Phishfan]

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

[MaineDolFan]

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.

[DZA]

Wes welker--------- YOU GOT JACKED BIATCH 

[Phishfan]

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.

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.

[Dave Gray]

Does anyone have a link to the play?

[Fau Teixeira]

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

[Dave Gray]

Wow.

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

[fyo]

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.

[Brian Fein]

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.

[StL FinFan]

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.

[Tenshot13]

Looked like a good football play to me