The Baltimore Ravens got back into the win column on Sunday with their victory over the Tennessee Titans in London. It was an odd day on which they were greatly dependent upon K Justin Tucker, who made six field goals for an offense that seemed allergic to the end zone.
The defense was no more interested in allowing entry into the forbidden zone, but one defender got a little too zealous about it. Second-year S Kyle Hamilton found himself ejected from the game for an ugly helmet-to-helmet shot on WR Chris Moore at around the 5-yard line. And head coach John Harbaugh would like to hear why.
“You certainly will ask the league about it, because you just want to understand what the parameters are”, he told reporters yesterday, via the team’s website. While he acknowledged that it was “a flaggable penalty”, he described the ejection as a “judgment call”. He also said that they will accept whatever explanation the league provides.
Immediately following the game, Harbaugh stressed his belief that the decision came not from a field judge but from the league headquarters, and that league officials would “have to explain to us why” the ejection occurred. “That’s not something we’ve seen before”, he added. “That’s a new one, as far as I’m concerned”, though as far as I’m concerned, it’s certainly not new at all.
“If the designated members of the Officiating department determine that a foul for a football or non-football act called on the field is flagrant”, Rule 19, Section 2 of the NFL Rulebook states, “then they can instruct the on-field officiating crew to disqualify the player(s) who committed the foul”.
While we can presume the in-game officials, who assessed the initial penalty, did not immediately determine that Hamilton’s hit warranted an ejection, the league’s officiating department that oversees all games is an extension of every crew. As far as Harbaugh’s exasperation over the novelty of how the ejection unfolded, well, he just has a tendency to dramatize negative things that affect his team.
Hamilton, the former first-round draft pick, has started every game this season and had played nearly every snap up until his ejection. He has 25 tackles on the season with three sacks, an interception, and two passes defensed. And he wasn’t sure what to make of it all after the game, either.
In fact, he went so far as to say that he wished he could take it back, and acknowledged as well that it was a penalty, though he questioned whether that would trigger an ejection every time. Whether it would or would not, however, does not invalidate the league’s decision in this particular case.
While he had to sit out the remainder of the game against the Titans, it has already been reported that the hit is not being reviewed for potential further discipline (e.g. a suspension). Hamilton will certainly have to pay a fine, but that’s it for him. And Harbaugh will get his explanation for why players cannot smash a defenseless receiver’s brains in without being tossed out of the game.
