Did the Ravens’ Defense ‘Take Out’ Tennessee’s Chris Johnson?

[cravnravn]

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.

 

 

Johnson had only two more carries, before leaving the game for good. (CBS Sports)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 resulted in a personal foul call on Tennessee. No penalty was assessed to the Ravens

 

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[SpearSrai]

The flag that was thrown had nothing to do with the altercation whatsoever...it was away from the pile, when a Titans OT threw a forearm into the face of Jarret Johnson. I saw it the first time it happened... and watched it several times over. Why do people keep bringing up this flag as if it has anything to do with the "foul in question"? It's entirely unrelated!

 

It's pretty obvious that Reed was trying to strip the ball... the same way he did against Miami... why wouldn't he? I can't stand this type of journalism.

[yagersports]

Football is a rough sport, sometimes people get injured.

[080172]

I can't wait to so the replay on NFL Network tonight. I was specifically looking for the play when Johnson got hurt. I was praying it was Ray that knocked him out.

[vmax]

You don't stop until you hear the whistle.

 

It's the refs fault.

Johnson was trying to lunge forward, stretch out and gain another yard or two. Ed wasn't going to let him do that. Ed was perfectly right to continue trying to turn him back because no whistle had blown.

[dc.]

To me it looked like Reed was trying to strip the ball... not break or hurt Johnson. I have seen similar plays many times in many games where guys didn't get hurt.

 

I don't get it... if the Ravens were trying to snap Johnson's spine in half... why was it an ankle injury that sidelined him?

 

We must not be very good at going after guys...

[Thyrl]

Here's how I saw it

 

On the next play, the controversy would begin. On first and 10 from their own 12, the Titans ran Chris Johnson up the middle for a gain of 7 yards. Although the game book credits Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs with the tackle, most remember it for the way that Ed Reed seemed to twist Chris Johnson up in a fight for the ball while Johnson was trying to eek out some extra yardage. Many have speculated that this was the play that injured Johnson as well, but he continued to play well for a few plays after.

On the 7-yard gain, the referees called an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Titans’ David Stewart. Initially they announced it as having occurred after the play meaning that they would have marked off half the distance to the goal line to the Tennessee 9 ½ yard line and left the Titans in second and 12 ½ from there.

 

If you listen closely, under the announcers talking, you can hear the referee make the correction that the foul occurred during the play, and therefore it was still first down. The problem though is that the penalty should have been marked from the original line of scrimmage if the down wasn’t going to count. So it should have been, either second and 12 ½ from the 9 ½ yard line, or first and 16 from the 6. Instead it was first and 12 ½ from the 9 ½ yard line.

 

Chris Johnson ran right on the next play, out of bounds for a 10-yard gain, and looked pretty healthy doing it. He did call to the sideline though and went out seemingly just to catch his breath. LenDale White was stopped for no gain on the next play, and the bonus down was a completion to Justin Gage which would extend the drive, result in a couple of key injuries, and change field position dramatically, but also set the precedent for red zone turnovers that would continue to haunt the Titans for the rest of the day.

 

A second straight completion to Gage would push the ball across mid field for the Titans and set up the run that would be Chris Johnson’s last. On first and 10 from the Baltimore 46, Chris Johnson got around the outside to the left, and after a gain of 4 yards was wrapped up by Brandon McKinney around both legs from behind. It was McKinney’s only tackle of the day but it proved to be a big one. Wrapping Johnson around his calves from behind as if with a lasso, McKinney made the tackle with both of Johnson’s ankles seeming to land under the weight of McKinney’s ample torso. No one made much fuss about it at the time, but Johnson grimaced as he got up, and never returned to action after that.

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[ravinmaniac52]

Sounds like someone had nothing to write about!

 

I like the Comments better. :lol:

 

The Ravens are the dirtiest team in football, and have supplanted the Oakland Raiders as part of a criminal element that’s in today’s game.

 

I was bitching about how they were trying to snap Chris Johnson’s spine in half. It’s a freakin’ game, he was already down, no need to to any of that. This is a young man’s life we are talking about, what if something worse happened?? If the league doesn’t look at this, they lose all of their credibility.

 

Yeah, the league is going to lose all of it's credibility. They should close the doors at this point, they will never recover from that one! :lol:

 

I couldn’t believe this play. Completely intentional and I would not be surprised if secret fines have been imposed.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[yagersports]

I thought the Bengals were the team with all the guys in trouble with the law.

 

Just because the Ravens defense is more badass than most does not make them criminals. lol

 

Football is a rough sport, if one doesn't like it, go watch cricket lol.