Here’s a photo montage and video of Ray Lewis decapitating Chad Ochocinco with a vicious, despicable hit that sent Ochocinco’s helmet flying.
(Ochocinco got a de-cleat instead of a re-Tweet from Lewis)
With the pass to Ochocinco wildly overthrown, it was an egregious cheap shot by Lewis. Hopefully he’ll be fined as much as a game check. I was really disappointed in the postgame media coverage of the play, as I heard very little concern over what might be the cheapest shot of the season. Ochocinco was inches away from a career-ending catastrophe.
But despite his narrowly escaping serious injury at the hands of an unthinking Lewis, Ochocinco was in no mood to hold a grudge after the game, even imploring sending Roger Goodell a message, via Twitter, not to punish Lewis: “@nflcommish please don’t fine Ray Lewis Mr. Roger Goodell, it was a clean hit, it’s part of the game, save the fines for me, Esteban out.“
(Bad Idea Dept.: Ochocinco (playfully?) taunted Lewis on Saturday)
While it didn’t appear Ochocinco took a severe blow to the head, those comments would indicate otherwise.
Videos after the jump.
If you follow Ochocinco on Twitter, you may have realized that the shot by Lewis might not have been entirely coincidental.
On Saturday, Ochocinco Tweeted a link to a video of Lewis manhandling the receiver in a game in 2007, with the accompanying message: “this will not happen to me again, I’ve gained 15 pounds since this play!!!”
Bad Idea Dept.: Aisle one, top shelf:
That might’ve been somewhat of a playful comment to some of us. But apparently not to one person that mattered, Lewis.
More like waving a blood-colored cape in front of a two-ton Texas Longhorn.
2:41 am on October 12th, 2009
despicable??? guessing you’ve never played football at a legit level? to those of us who have, that hit was just a part of the game, not the pansy game of today, but “real” football…Ray and Chad are good friends also, so you have to factor that in…if Ray hits a friend of his like that, then its just football being football, a mans game, something most people don’t know about because they just sit on the sidelines blogging about sports and never playing them…
2:43 am on October 12th, 2009
I loved the hit. Deserves a fine probably but still, reminds me of the good ole days when you could actually hit someone in football. Though of course this drew a penalty.
4:27 am on October 12th, 2009
That’s was a nice hit, but it was the wrong time for Ray Lewis to pull some crap like that. During a last minute drive, those 15 yards were huge.
10:45 am on October 12th, 2009
Clean hit as seen in this still from NFL.com - http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/getty/2009/09000d5d8135138a_gallery_600.jpg
The hit looked more violent than it was. Back when football was actually tough he would have been congratulated for making a play. Pathetic what this sport is becoming.
11:57 am on October 12th, 2009
hit was legit, too fast to say he went for defenseless receiver and too fast to say he lead with the helmet, he was doing what he is supposed to do, dislodge the ball.
12:24 pm on October 12th, 2009
Ray Lewis is the poster boy for everything that has turned football into “thug-ball”. You all talk about the “good-old days”. This was when guys made their living loving the game…not looking for personal glory and taking cheap shots. That is what Lewis has built his entore career around. I wish they would have tossed himfrom the gaem after that hit…no reason at all to go after his head and, in fact, probably would have been a bter hi if he had hit him in the chest..where real football players are taught to hit.
12:41 pm on October 12th, 2009
Hey knucklehead, the ball was overthrown by 10 yards. How do you dislodge a throw that wasn’t even catchable?
5:14 pm on October 12th, 2009
Think of all the BS yellow flags thrown to favor the pussycats to win that game the hit was to me just fine they just showed what to throw a flag for.
6:01 pm on October 12th, 2009
The B Sun wrote it best. The Dirty Birds were lucky the Bengals’ TE couldn’t catch or the game wouldn’t have been close. Just admit that the Dirty Birds were outplayed.
6:23 pm on October 12th, 2009
Brrook is funny.”Ray Lewis Hit Decapitates Chad Ochocinco”. It more like “Ray Lewis shoves in his own arse”
7:06 pm on October 12th, 2009
Going that fast, there’s no way Lewis could’ve known whether or not C.O. caught the ball or not, so the hit was legit. And there can’t be intent to hit in the head; C.O. just was coming down at that time. Between a terrible league-wide reputation and the viciousness of the hit, he was flagged for the wrong reasons. To say the hit was a “clear” violation is baseless. Either way, Bengals won the game. Ravens should not have left it in Palmer’s hands with one last drive. If Ray Rice hadn’t have kept his short gain alive with his off hand, the game wouldve been over long before that final drive.
7:16 am on October 13th, 2009
This site has gone to poop. First, we lose the SBB Girls Updates, now supposedly grown men post here with their juvenile “football is too violent” rhetoric… Thug-Ball? hahaha Go back to Lifetime…
11:27 am on October 13th, 2009
I think all of you are wrong. Every opinion here is way too bias. I’ve been a ravens fan before I’ve been a fan of any other team in any other sport and have been watching ray lewis for as long as I can remember. Ray Lewis’s hit on Ochocinco was definitely unnecessary and may have very well been the reason for the loss, but despicable? I think not and the publisher of this article is definitely not a Ravens fan and looking at this from only one perspective, and that is his own. Ochocinco even asked Ray lewis not get fined and that is because what someone already stated… they are friends. So to say that he deserves the largest fine possible if even a fine at all is what is despicable. He’s playing the game of football and definitely did not need to throw that hit but he was obviously frustrated at the situation of the game. But that did not give him the right to throw that hit at all… hence the PENALTY. He got what he deserved and that was losing the game which is to me atleast worse than being fined. Take this from a diehard ravens fan.. And on that note… “RAVENS RULE!”
8:58 pm on October 13th, 2009
he’s a murder, a thug and overrated should even be in NFL got away with murder.didn’t hear him mouthin off last year when Brandon jacobs ran him over nad G-men ran for over 200 yds did we
11:43 am on October 16th, 2009
Watch the play. You’ll notice that Lewis puts his head DOWN (rather than up, so it’s a poor form tackle anyway), and moves his arms to his side. He knew EXACTLY what he was doing, and wanted to really lay the lumber on Chad Ochocinco.
You can argue about tough hits all you want. But this wasn’t meant to be a tackle, it was meant to be a spear.
And for those who want to talk about the “good old days:” Nobody wearing a leather helmet would ever even THINK about doing something this stupid - they’d get their head stoved in. Space-age helmets make hits like this new, and easier, than they were in the 40s and 50s.
3:44 pm on October 16th, 2009
shapu you are an idiot. What you wrote makes no sense.
jo mama you are a douchebag
10:50 pm on October 19th, 2009
R. Lewis - is one of the best (LB), if not the best !! all you softies go play or watch flag football….