[News] John Harbaugh: Terrell Suggs Character Questions 'Crossed The Line'

[BR News]

Harbaugh backed Terrell Suggs, saying questioning his character isn’t ‘something that we respect.’

View the full article

[salamander]

I heard Kelly's press conference earlier today. Seems like a lame attempt to cover his backside for putting his own QB at risk. Harbs hit the nail on the head in being offended at the unfair attacks on Suggs' character. Suggs was blasted by some of the Eagles players who should know the rules, the attacks were not by just the fans. Glad the VP of Officiating made it 100% clear that no flag should have been thrown and will instruct all refs in the league that no flags should be thrown in the future for this clear read-option play.

Edited August 24, 2015 by salamander

[stixfix69]

If they didn't want Bradford hurt, then don't run the option/pass play, either hand it off, or pass it,but the rules are clear...They put Bradford in the position to get hit...And Williams did drill him, on a non option pass play...

[ravens4life86]

Slander. Peters and company are pathetic fools. Obvious Legal Clean hit.

[Flamengo1265]

The irony is that Suggs got flagged on a play that didn't even mess up Bradford's hair, while the Brandon Williams' hit was legal but left Bradshaw wondering if anybody got the license plate number.

[Crusader]

I hope Brady, Ben, and Payton saw that play!

[berad]

Sam 'Charmin' Bradford needs to toughen up, it's football... you want to run the read-option, some bad dude like Terrell Suggs might just pop you.

 

Also the revisionist 'it wasn't a read-option' spin won't work - one of your own starting linemen said it was read-option and that it wasn't a dirty play.

[FloridalovesRavens]

Another team that thinks its crap doesn't stink and that is the Eagles. Please John no more joint practices with the Eagles.

[Tenacious Faulker]

What I don't get is how Suggs knew it was a legal hit and none of the refs and most of the outspoken Eagles players didn't? Just like how Brady said the Ravens need to go back and read the rule book on those hokey formations with ineligible receivers too when Harbs had to take a penalty to get the refs attention long enough to protest. The Ravens are a smart football team, and it amazes me that the NFL officiating is so illiterate to their own jobs. It also shows me too how ignorant the Eagles players are about even their own play schemes. Kelly's got them all doing what he wants, but they don't really understand it. That will backfire one day.

[Purple&Black]

Was wondering if I read right, but did skip Bayless actually defend suggs or was it some sort of lame joke?

[Grapple Raven]

Glad Blandino, put the NFL rule clarification out there, especially since we are going to be playing the Redskins next with another read option QB. 

 

You may agree or disagree but this is going to be a dicey situation from a PR perspective as we are walking into a powder keg playing the Skins with their internal issues between Gruden and RGIII.  In case you aren't aware see:  http://www.msn.com/e...DD?ocid=U142DHP  

 

Considering all the hype from the Eagles game and read option QB's, and if you remember Nagta's hit on RGIII the last time we played them...I don't want us to be used by Gruden to solve his QB issues and whatever kind of personal vendetta he has with his QB.  

 

From this quote from the article: "This Saturday, the Ravens will face another team that runs the read-option offense – in Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins. Linebackers Coach Ted Monachino said the Ravens could take a different strategy in defending the play this week, but didn’t fault Suggs." it sounds like the Ravens maybe thinking about this from a PR perspective also.  

 

Don't get my thoughts twisted...I think Suggs' hit was legal and I saw no problem with it, I just hate to see us getting all this negative national press from Kelly's and the Eagles'  and then have to walk into the political "Synder, Gruden, RGIII" chaos that surrounds the Skins dysfunctional franchise.  Sometimes when you get branded by the media for dirty, thugish play,  valid or not, the hype sticks and results in a lot of field laundry all season based off that perception.  I know its football and we have to play a game, but this game is bad timing for us from a PR standpoint. Just sayin'.

[mearzunkies]

Hit him again!

[Grapple Raven]

I heard Kelly's press conference earlier today. Seems like a lame attempt to cover his backside for putting his own QB at risk. Harbs hit the nail on the head in being offended at the unfair attacks on Suggs' character. Suggs was blasted by some of the Eagles players who should know the rules, the attacks were not by just the fans. Glad the VP of Officiating made it 100% clear that no flag should have been thrown and will instruct all refs in the league that no flags should be thrown in the future for this clear read-option play.

 

Totally agree with you Salamander.  I think a lot of stuff the Eagles did during the week of practice, in the game and its aftermath seem a tad shady or questionable, like our phones not working all of the first half, and obviously a more intensive game plan than expected in a preseason game from Kelly, etc.   The Eagles have moved to no. #3 on my list behind the Patriots and the Steelers, lol.

[mearzunkies]

LOL You can be as PC as you want Grapple. PR? Really? Looks must be more important to you then reality and that has been proven by the lame warnings I have gotten for saying CAW in all caps. Optics over reality, Please!

[FloridalovesRavens]

PR what the heck????? Legal hit end of story. Let's play football. Go Ravens.

[allblackraven]

Good job, coach. We'll see them next year in real game.

[Maryland]

Even though Ngata is gone, I have a feeling RGIII will probably think twice about scrambling /w the ball vs our defense, lest he experience some painful flashbacks to 2012. I think everyone around the league knows by now that the Ravens are happy to take a free shot at your QB whether he has the ball or not as long as it's legal.

[Cillmatic]

That's what happens when you make a QB with the legs of an anorexic flamingo run option offense in The preseason. The fact that the Eagles sprung up plays no ones ever seen on us and then criticize us for their incompetence makes me hate the Eagles.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

Teams just don't like the Ravens and that's cool. Suggs and the Ravens have the SWAG!!! and that's one of the reasons teams don't like the Ravens although the game against the Eagles was a very ugly game with how the Ravens played. I know they will bounce back from it though.

[Grapple Raven]

LOL You can be as PC as you want Grapple. PR? Really? Looks must be more important to you then reality and that has been proven by the lame warnings I have gotten for saying CAW in all caps. Optics over reality, Please!

 

PR what the heck????? Legal hit end of story. Let's play football. Go Ravens.

 

Yes , PR.  I guess you didn't completely read the entire post.  What do you think all this hoopla over Suggs' hit on Bradford has been? lol  Chip Kelly loves it because it gets PR for his team, and Chip doesn't care what negative effect it has on the Ravens. 

 

The Ravens didn't drag out Monachino for grins and giggles, they were trying to stop the character assault on Suggs, as did Harbs.  If you don't recognize that as PR I don't know what to say, lol.    Put this in perspective of playing yet another injury prone read option QB next, particularly with all the dysfunction surrounding RGIII, Gruden, and Synder...that entire franchise is a PR nightmare right now, and we are going to face this issue again, just sayin'!

 

We are a hard-nosed, tough team that knows the rules and plays by them.  I don't want our team getting mired in the dysfunction of the Skins and come out looking bad because Gruden wants to rid himself of his franchise QB, lol.  And you better believe that if it is Suggs that takes out RGIII you can que the dirty player, team full of thugs talk.

 

We don't deserve that, and after this mess over Bradford it is just bad timing to play another injury prone QB, is all I am saying.  Plus when referees think that a team is playing dirty they tend to look for penalties more often.  Think back to the Steelers game last year, when they claimed Suggs hit on Blount was dirty and the field looked like a load of laundry in the rest of that game, just sayin'!

[RRRRRavens]

I'll repeat what I said on another article since I think it applies here.

I believe there is a simple rule change solution to this runner vs passer ambiguity with QBs. First, at the start of each play we assume the QB will not advance the ball by his running. If he does wind up running, for whatever reason, his advance will not be allowed to go beyond the line of scrimmage. Now for plays like the read-option and other possible QB running plays the QB will be declared 'runner-eligible' at the request of the offense. This will be told to the refs and the defense before the play is started. In this case the QB is now considered a runner for the extent of that play no matter what he does with the ball. This is somewhat like the tackle-eligible play. With this rule in place there would be no question of how to treat the QB and the offense could make up its own mind whether it wanted to put at risk its franchise QB on any particular play. And players like Suggs won't have to second guess whether they are allowed to treat the QB like a runner.

[RavensFootballFan]

Nearly all the experts said Suggs was right except for Kelly and a few Eagles players. I have no respect for Kelly saying that the call was correct which only throws more fuel to the fire instead of telling reporters at least that he understood why Suggs did what he did. On most running plays, QBs usually hands off the ball with one hand. On plays that are read option, most times QBs use two hands on the ball so as to not lose the ball on a fake handoff, Bradford used two hands on that play which tipped off Suggs that it is a read option. Kelly and some of Eagles players can go take a hike. Nearly all of the experts said Suggs did the right thing, to me, that is end of story. Good job Suggs!

Edited August 25, 2015 by RavensFootballFan

[balfan23]

Plus when referees think that a team is playing dirty they tend to look for penalties more often...

Oh, there is no question about that. After that incorrect call by one of the most inept crews I've ever seen run a game, the flags came down on us like rain for every ticky-tack minor contact that could find. 

 

Thank God it was only a pre-season game, but if the refs have that mindset about us, we can be sure that we'll see the same bias on our play going forward. We don't need that. 

[stixfix69]

Williams hit on Bradford made up for the weak sauce call on Suggs.....

[bioLarzen]

This is the case where it would be very good to know Chip Kelly as a person. Because erybody else is just talking based on assumptions and what could be seen - it's only Chip Kelly who's staing a fact here, saying "it wasn't a zone read play." That's not an opinion, thats not a conclusion or a deduction - that's a fact, because he, as the HC simply MUST know what the play called was. Now, the question is: could Kelly be actually lying here? Because saying it wasn't a read option when he knows it was would be a clear-cut lie. Is he a kind of person who would lie about something so insubstantial? Because this one play and flag wasn't especailly sugnificant: no injury resulted from it, so no real loss here. 

 

I'm not trying to defend Chip Kelly here, nor implying Suggs did anything wrong. When EVERYBODY interprets the play as a read option after watching it multiple times, it must mean something...

Edited August 25, 2015 by bioLarzen

[balfan23]

Good to hear Harbs standing up for his guy. We got bloodied pretty good in the national media, mainly by weasel writers who latched onto the quotes from the Eagles and wrote slanted articles with the goal of inciting fans and get clicks on their sites.

 

Finally, people with football knowledge came to our defense, then finally the NFL itself coming out with their clear ruling. I feel we've been vindicated to some degree, though some will ignore the facts and try to use it as another example of why we don't deserve respect.

 

It would be nice to see the Eagles again in slightly more meaningful circumstances and kick their butt. 

[NUM4TIC]

So does this mean Chip Kelly is a liar? Cause his comments has the feel of him lying just to try to get those penalties in games with more meaning. I mean if anyone should have his character questioned it's him. Not a read option my butt. Sure maybe he was handing it off 100% from the beginning but that doesn't mean it's not a read option. He must think we're idiots. Also if you want to take a runner down the knees is a safe bet especially with the emphasis on concussions. If anything they should thank Suggs for not knocking him silly. The take down didn't even look bad.

[Bandit666]

This was one of the most poorly officiated games I've ever seen. I hope these refs watch the game tape and see all the mistakes they made and correct them before the real games. Way to go Harbs for defending your players.

[bmoraven]

Chip Kelly is a cry baby, and his starting QB can't take them to the Superbowl anyway. Typical Raven Bashing NFL and Press. Good play Sizzle, you didn't go high, you went for his ankles, big deal!

I hope there are no Joint practices with Philly in the future.

[thecommish]

What does Jason Peters know... dude couldnt even speak a legible sentence in the interview... why does anyone even give any credibility to what he had to say???????? Its just sour grapes..... Chip Kelly has to make an excuse bc he is being criticized for putting his players in jeaopardy and he did what he has done all along... make excuses... heck we heard what Boykin said about him when he left philly and we hear what his players say - Chip Kelly is out to cover his own butt... Peters is clueless.... we will see how the season shakes out! But not sure why BMORE media is giving any credibility to anything either of those two have to say? Just play football...if they thought it was cheap... they had the chance to do something about it after... they didnt- move on?