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View Full Version : Steelers Lounge: Ryan Clark Chats About Big Hits, Social Media



stillers4me
11-17-2010, 03:48 PM
Posted on November 17, 2010 (http://www.steelerslounge.com/2010/11/ryan-clark-chats-big-hits-social-media/) by adam (http://www.steelerslounge.com/author/adam/)

During Tuesday’s One Team Tour Tailgate Event in Pittsburgh there were a few current Steelers in attendance getting a chance to hang out with fans. One of the players was Steelers free safety Ryan Clark, and he was kind enough to take a couple of minutes and answer a few questions from yours truly. I knew I wasn’t going to have enough time to cover many topics, so I went with one of the biggest on-field issues between the league and the players this season: Big hits.


Me: One of the biggest topics in the NFL this season, and it’s kind of stolen the show, is the crackdown from the league on hits to the head and hits on defenseless players. It seems like a lot of people have tried to make one of your teammates, James Harrison, the poster child for this crackdown. Do you get the idea that the NFL wants to have it both ways? As has already been pointed out by others, the league loves to market the big hits, but it seems like they’re awfully quick to throw flags and hand out fines.

Ryan Clark: I think it’s part of why people like football. It’s part of why they watch. Because it’s physical, because it is a man’s game. It’s something that everybody can’t do week in and week out. I don’t know what the NFL is thinking whether they want it. I think the penalties and the way they’re being handed out and the bureaucracy it goes through, it’s just one guy. If you appeal, you appeal to the same guy that just gave you the fine. To make James the poster child of everything that’s been going wrong is wrong to me. He’s a guy that plays hard, he works hard, he’s worked his way from the bottom, been cut a couple of times, and he’s still here. So he’s the poster boy for everything that’s right in this league......................

Read more: http://www.steelerslounge.com/2010/11/ryan-clark-chats-big-hits-social-media/

ALLD
11-17-2010, 04:21 PM
The voice of reason and you can hear it in his words on how the Steelers have been blindsided. The commissioner has succeeded in stripping the Steelers of their advantages by suspending the starting QB and then fining thier leading defensive player until he questions on how to tackle. This opens up the competition for others teams which are light on defense or rebuilding their offense.

solardave
11-17-2010, 04:23 PM
Even though he says very little has changed I believe it has changed our defense. The guys are reluctant to hit anyone hard because of the fines. Yet Hines gets his clock cleaned and NO ONE says a word. He's right in that if they don't play hard they risk injury. Harrison gets back to back fines and no one says a thing about Hines and Wallace get hit helmet to helmet. Actually Hines was hit twice in two games. The one was where they called him for pushing off. What a crock!!