After the NFL vindicated Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs in his below-the-belt tackle of Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford the other day, his head coach decided to defend him publicly. Suggs appeared to go for Bradford's surgically-repaired knee in Saturday's exhibition game in Philadelphia and was called for roughing the passer on the play, but Dean Blandino, the NFL's Head of Officiating said on Monday that the call was incorrect.
Bradford, he said, should not be given special protection on what was presumed a zone-read play, where the passer can be presumed a potential rusher.
Which inspired Ravens head coach John Harbaugh to correct what he felt were improper comments made about his player that night.
"When you start popping off about somebody's character, you cross the line," Harbaugh said. "That's not really something that we would respect. But most of their guys over there understood the play and understood [Suggs] was playing hard and trying to get stops."
Bradford and Eagles left tackle Jason Peters had taken the opportunity after the game to malign the intent behind Suggs' hit, the latter saying he thought Suggs was a "dirty" player and that he was "pretty sure" he went for Bradford's knees on purpose.
While the roughing call was technically incorrect, as Bradford was not in a "passing posture" during the play, an unnecessary roughness penalty seemed to be in order.
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