The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2000s were defined by their physicality. On offense, they were a bruising bunch, with players like Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis inflicting punishment. Somehow, their defense was even more physical. James Harrison and Troy Polamalu are usually the names people associate most with that era. However, Ryan Clark delivered just as many massive hits during that time. Former New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel recently reflected on the gruesome blow Clark delivered on wide receiver Wes Welker.
“He was that dude,” Cassel said of Welker recently on his Lots to Say podcast. “And he was one of those guys that would always put his body in harm’s way. I remember I was throwing him like a short slant.
“We’re playing the Steelers, and Ryan Clark came up and absolutely decapitated him. I felt so bad. I thought he was dead. And I walked up, I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m sorry.’ He’s like, ‘What the hell, Cassel? I was like, ‘I really thought I was going to fit it in there.’ I thought it was a good throw.”
The hit was vicious, with Welker completely leaving his feet and landing flat on his back. Clark leveled him, but to Welker’s credit, he popped back up fairly quickly. It’s arguably the hardest hit Clark ever delivered, and he amassed a solid catalogue of those.
That game came in 2008, the year that Tom Brady missed due to injury. That’s why Cassel was under center. Even though the rules were more lenient in that era, Clark still got flagged for unnecessary roughness for his hit on Welker. However, he wasn’t fined for the action.
Today, Clark would probably be ejected, and maybe even suspended. The ball didn’t even get close to Welker, with Polamalu tipping the pass before it hit its mark.
However, the penalty didn’t cost the Steelers, in the end. A few plays later, Harrison sacked Cassel and knocked the ball loose, with the Steelers retaining possession. Pittsburgh went on to win that game 33-10 in dominant fashion.
Welker didn’t miss much time as a result of that hit, either. It serves as an example of just how fierce the Steelers’ defense was that season. They’d go on to win a Super Bowl, cementing that defense’s place in NFL history. Although 2008 doesn’t might not feel like that long ago, the game was so different. Player safety is important, though, which is why the league has cracked down on hits like that.
