OWINGS MILLS – Baltimore Ravens hard-hitting strong safety Bernard Pollard doesn’t think he’ll be punished by the league office for his crushing shot on Jacksonville Jaguars running back Deji Karim that drew a personal foul penalty.
And the questionable call, which was described as a helmet-to-helmet collision with a defenseless player, appeared to be a case of Pollard leading with his shoulder.
"I don’t think I’ll get fined," Pollard said. “Guys that got fined, they got their letters. I don’t think I’ll be getting a FedEx.”
Penalized for unnecessary roughness during the Ravens’ 12-7 road defeat Monday night, Pollard took aim at the extreme point of emphasis on regulating contact.
“With these rules they’re putting in, you’re going to get guys hurt because now when you tell a guy, ‘We know you can’t hit in the head, but don’t hit in the chest either,’ what everybody is going to start doing is going after people’s knees because you’ve got to bring them down some way, somehow,” Pollard said. “When you get those hits on the knees, you’re going to have some guys going out. Are they going to make this flag football?
“I think with the rules they’re implementing, we’ve got to be ready as defenders. We respond, and we react to them. We all know and understand that we cannot take the face shots because you’ve got the concussions and everything else. But you can’t shut us off and tell us that we can’t hit the chest or we can’t lean in with our shoulder and hit them in the shoulder or chest.”
When Pollard was playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, his lunging hit on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady knocked him out for the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
And the NFL adopted the so-called Tom Brady rule that outlawed striking quarterbacks in the lower leg.
Pollard said he has no intentions of changing his approach to the game.
“I know how to tackle.,” he said. “At the end of the day, the league is trying to protect players. At the same time, this is a sport that’s violent. You can’t say, ‘Well, go get in a car crash, but be careful.’ You can’t do that. So, we all know and understand this is a car wreck every single play.
“We know how to take care of our bodies as far as what’s a violent shot and what’s a necessary violent shot. Football is football. If you ask me to go do it again this Sunday, I’m doing the same thing. So, they’re either going to keep flagging us or they’re going to have to do something about this rule.”
A portion of Pollard’s facemask made contact with Karim’s facemask.
Still, the Ravens stand behind Pollard with middle linebacker Ray Lewis saying the NFL should augment its use of instant replay to include defensive hits.
“I just think every man needs to be held accountable for whatever call they make,” Lewis said. “If you review so many other plays, review that one, too. That’s so big in that game, and every man makes a mistake. I went to him as a man and said, ‘There’s no way you can make that call physically with your eyes.’ I promised him that he had made the wrong call. So for him to say, ‘I promise you that call was right,’ that’s the part of the game that takes away from the pureness of the way defense is played, how aggressive defenses play.
“When the ball is in the man’s hands, how else can you make a better hit than what Pollard made on that play? That’s what football is. That’s the essence of football from a defensive side of the ball. If we’re reviewing everything else, let’s review that one, too, because that shoulder pad and that helmet never even came close to his helmet. I just think all those plays should be reviewed as well.”
BOLDIN NOT COMPLAINING: Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs griped after the game that former Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin wasn’t utilized enough.
Boldin caught four passes for 40 yards and the Ravens’ lone touchdown. He was targeted a dozen times.
Boldin said he doesn’t have a problem with his workload.
“I don’t care who touches it as long as we win,” Boldin said. "I’m not a guy who goes to a coach and says, ‘I need the ball.’ Just put it in whoever’s hands, I don’t really care, as long as we’re winning."
Boldin leads the Ravens with 27 receptions for 394 yards and two touchdowns.
With the offense, especially offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and quarterback Joe Flacco, drawing heavy criticism, Boldin preached not overreacting.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Boldin said. “For us, we know what we’re capable of. We go out and we execute. There’s no reason to panic.”
INJURY UPDATE: Free safety Ed Reed and nose guard Terrence Cody both practiced and aren’t listed on the injury report after suffering neck stingers against the Jaguars.
“I feel good,” Cody said. “I’ve never had a stinger before. That’s why I didn’t know what the hell was going on. It went all the way down my arm.”
Offensive guard Ben Grubbs (right turf toe) and wide receiver Lee Evans (left ankle) didn’t practice and weren’t even at practice as they were undergoing treatment.
Inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (hamstrings, groin) and running back Anthony Allen (thigh) didn’t practice.
Meanwhile, cornerback Chris Carr (left hamstring) was limited.
Strong safety Tom Zbikowski participated fully in practice and expects to be cleared for contact later this week.
Zbikowski has missed the past two games, but his symptoms have alleviated.
"Yeah, I’m feeling good," Zbikowski said. “Was feeling good by the end of last week, too, but just wanted to be cautious and wasn’t quite cleared yet. Just practicing now without contact, keep making sure there’s no symptoms and hopefully be ready for Sunday."
Cardinals’ running back Beanie Wells (knee), linebacker Joey Porter (knee), safety Kerry Rhodes (foot) and wide receiver Early Doucet (quadriceps) didn’t practice.
Former Ravens tight end Todd Heap (hamstring) was limited and has missed the past few games.
“It’s been a real tough adjustment not having him out there,” Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said during a conference call with Baltimore reporters. “He has such a good feel for the game and understanding of route-running and just being a safety blanket for the quarterback on easy catches and hops and size adjustments.
“So, it’s been tough not having him out there. You guys can already guess, he’s been busting his hump to try and get back to this game. This is an important game for him to get back to Baltimore, where he spent his first 10 years, and come back and play well.”
