Not even 24 hours after Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs was penalized for unnecessary roughness following him attempting to cheap shot Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount at the conclusion of a third quarter running play, head coach John Harbaugh has come to the defense of his player.
“Terrell Suggs is a very respected player in this league,” Harbaugh said during his Monday press conference. “He’s respected by the coaches. He’s respected by the players. I’ve never, ever heard anybody say anything about Terrell Suggs not being a clean, tough player. And he was attempting to make a tackle.
“As a defensive player, your responsibility is to get the guy on the ground. And that’s what he was trying to do.”
Even though Harbaugh believes his player did no wrong by going low on Blount at the conclusion of the run, several Steelers players said after the game that they expect Suggs to be fined for his actions.
“He should be getting a FedEx in the mail. If he doesn’t, I’ll be very surprised and very disappointed,” said Steelers tackle Marcus Gilbert. “You don’t play football like that, especially when the play is already over. You don’t go back at a guy’s knees.”
Steelers linebacker James Harrison also agreed with Gilbert.
“That was unnecessary. That looks like you’re trying to hurt somebody. I believe there will be a fine,” he said.
Harbaugh can try to paint Suggs as a model citizen all he wants, but the linebacker is sure to be docked part of his paycheck this coming week.
