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Willis McGahee Injury After Ryan Clark Hit in AFC Championship
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by Jon Azpiri | January 18, 2009 at 07:18 pm
9837 views | 1 Recommendation | 6 comments
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Baltimore Ravens running back Willis McGahee suffered an injury after taking a punishing hit from Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark during the 2009 AFC championship game.
With the Ravens down 23-14 late in the fourth quarter, quarterback Joe Flacco threw a short pass down the middle to McGahee, who was rocked by Clark. McGahee was hit so hard that he fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Steelers, effectively ending the Ravens chances of winning the game.
While Steelers fans should have been celebrating, Heinz Field was quieted by the sight of Clark and McGahee lying on the ground motionless. Clark eventually walked off the field under his own power. McGahee, unfortunately, had to be carried off on a stretcher.
CBS announcer Jim Nantz reported that the injured Ravens player had considerable movement in his limbs, but was suffering from severe neck pain.
The McGahee hit wasn't the first time Ryan Clark has laid a devastating hit on an opponent this season. Earlier this year, Clark laid out New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker. Welker was not seriously injured on the play.
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Jon Azpiri
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at 21:00 on January 18th, 2009
wow that sucks. I could feel the pain just by watching it. hope McGahee does alright
at 23:08 on January 18th, 2009
The fact that McGahee was seen moving his arms and legs allowed an amazing sigh of relief from mankind everywhere. What a shot ! It is certainly good news that both players dodged a bullet after that hit .
The Ravens and the Steelers are well known for the punishing blows that they deliver from week to week so anytime they square off against each other ,one could almost bank on getting what they paid for . Anyway , get better Willis McGahee and good luck Steelers in Tampa.....
Ricky Thomas (Heart-broken Raven maniac)
at 11:24 on January 19th, 2009
I noticed while watching the game that Phil Simms defended the hit as legal. But noone talked about whether a helmet to helmet hit on the ball carrier SHOULD be made ILLEGAL for reasons like this.
In an interview about his career, Bill Romanowski was shown footage where he knocked Curtis Martin unconscious by a helmet to helmet hit. Bill was also lying on the ground like Clark did yesterday for some time. When asked about the hit, he said he knew he was going to get hurt, but he also knew he would hurt Martin more.
The problem is that even a game misconduct probably wouldn't have stopped Clark from making that hit yesterday because it was almost the end of the 4th quarter and Baltimore was relying so heavily on McGahee to move the ball. So why not take him out like that? What have you got to loose?
at 17:17 on January 19th, 2009
I agree with the last blog. I have been watching football for years, and it makes me furious every time I see one of these needless injuries. brings to mind memories of the San Francisco game at Stanford in preseason when Bell got paralyzed.
The commentators also noted that Ryan Clark had hurt McGahee's ankle on an earlier play. It looks to me like Clark is trying to make a name for himself by overreaching. The game is supposed to be fun to watch. Players should NOT get career ending injuries by someone trying on every play to paralyze them, rather than knock them down...
My son plays football in high school, he is a good size kid, 6' 6", 215 lbs., plays DE, WR, if he ever hits someone like that on purpose, I'll be ringing his neck and he knows it.
I saw that play over and over in slow motion, Clark had ample time to redirect som eof his energy, so as not to deliver such a powerful impact to McGahee's neck, and he purposefully slammed into it, pullking it back greater than 90'. That just sucks! What should we expect though when all of these next generation players are out only for themselves and care nothing about their teams, or brethren? I am disappointed.
at 11:42 on January 23rd, 2009
your son will never make it as a player then if you wont allow him to play to his full potential. all these rules are cutting the throat of the game more and more every year. I remember when the ground could cause a fumble and if a qb got hit a little after the pass that was tough all they are trying to do every year is take the d out of the game more and more. you wanna talk about rules maybe they should try to enforce offensive holding in the nfl.
at 23:15 on January 22nd, 2009
"I saw that play over and over in slow motion, Clark had ample time to redirect som eof his energy, so as not to deliver such a powerful impact to McGahee's neck, and he purposefully slammed into it, pullking it back greater than 90'."
Watching the replays in slow mation can affect your perception of a player's time to react or to adjust. Clark was leading with his shoulder as he approached McGahee. In the replay, McGahee can be seen lowering his head just prior to impact. This resulted in the helmet-to-helmet contact. Look at it this way: If you are in a head-on collision while driving a car, your body (especially your head) will still try to go forward after a sudden stop. This happened with Clark. Had McGahee not lowered his head he may have avoided the head injury. That is not to say it is anybody's "fault", but merely to point out the factors at work during the play.