Ravens’ McClain and Ngata Fined Total $65,000 for Illegal Hits
In an era when the NFL is cracking down on players making hard or illegal hits, it natural that every week, there is a new, or old, player penalized with a hefty fine.
This week, the Baltimore Ravens have two of them. One goes to linebacker Jameel McClain and the second to defensive lineman Haloti Ngata for hits to the head in their loss on Sunday to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 13-10.
McClain was fined $40,000 for the helmet hit on Pittsburgh’s tight end Heath Miller. Miller had a concussion and was down for a few minutes before he was carried off of the field to awaiting medics.
Ngata drew a fine for $15,000 for hitting Ben Roethlisberger across the face with his left hand. He did not draw a penalty for his hit to Big Ben on the Steelers’ first offensive drive.
Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose from the hit, but played even with an intense nosebleed. He was treated at the sidelines and returned to play without missing any of the action. He later threw a game winning touchdown for
the win.
Roethlisberger underwent reconstructive surgery on Monday to repair his broken nose and is not going to miss any action.
The operation was on Monday and Big Ben is to play against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. This is his second nose surgery after being in serious condition following a motorcycle accident in the summer of 2006.
Even with strict guidelines from the NFL of potentially dangerous hits, McClain was not penalized for the hit that bent Miller’s neck and head backwards in the third quarter of the game.
Even before the game was over, NFL officials were saying that McClain should have had a penalty for his hit on Miller.
Miller did not return to the game and will not play next week unless he is able to pass a series of concussion tests.
Last week, Bernard Pollard, safety for the Houston Texans, was fined $40,000 for hitting a defenseless Justin Gage of the Tennessee Titans on the head.
The Ravens will play their next game at Reliant Stadium against the Texans on Monday December 13th.
Stay tuned!
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