Image via Complex Original
Yesterday James Harrison a.k.a. the biggest villain in all of football was given a one-game suspension for his hit on quarterback Colt McCoy last Thursday. Was the hit truly worthy of a suspension or is the No Fun League just doing everything to protect QBs? All depends on who you ask. But Harrison isn't the first or last player to bring a world of hurt to an opponent this season via a vicious hit. From Ndamukong Suh going H.A.M in the preseason to Dunta Robinson racking up $90,000 in fines in less than a year, here are the 25 Most Brutal Hits of the 2011 NFL Season (So Far)...
25. Mathews Gets Low and Makes Arrington Pay
Date: 9/18/2011
Hit Made By: Ryan Matthews, San Diego Chargers
Victim: Kyle Arrington, New England Patriots
Fine/suspension: None
Sometimes defenders can go in looking for the big hit but end up taking the brunt of the punishment in the collision. Such was the case for Kyle Arrington on this play as Ryan Mathews got just low enough to put a hurting on Arrington. The "Oh did I do that?" look Matthews gives Arrington as he's writhing around in pain is pretty badass, too.
24. Mike Vick Can Do It All
Date: 8/18/2011
Hit Made By: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
Victim: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fine/suspension: None
What, you thought it was only defensive players or offensive players making blocks that would make this list? Think again. Mike Vick's fearless style of play proved to be pretty useful on this play as he took out Troy Polamalu after the long-haired beast picked him off. We're guessing this play will be included in the ultra short 2011 Philly Eagles highlight film.
23. Move, Bitch! Get Out the Way!
Date: 10/17/2011
Hit Made By: Shonn Greene, New York Jets
Victim: Referee
Fine/suspension: None
Zebras could get it, too. That is all.
22. Ball So Hard...
Date: 10/24/2011
Hit Made By: Bernard Pollard, Baltimore Ravens
Victim: Deji Karim, Jacksonville Jaguars
Fine/suspension: $10,000 fine
Yup, Deji Karim definitely heard footsteps. This type of play doesn't warrant a penalty or fine. The officials in the No Fun League can be the worst sometimes.
21. Devin Aromashodu Is A Douchebag
Date: 10/9/2011
Hit Made By: Devin Aromashodu, Minnesota Vikings
Victim: NFL Cameraman
Fine/suspension: None
Devin Aromashodu is kind of an asshole for not even checking to see if homie was alright after that devastating hit. On another note, peep the "they don't pay me enough for this shit" look on dude's face at the nine-second mark. Priceless.
20. Meet Kam Chancellor a.k.a. Steve-O
Date: 9/25/2011
Hit Made By: Kam Chancellor, Seattle Seahawks
Victim: Todd Heap, Arizona Cardinals
Fine/suspension: None
On the low, Kam Chancellor has become one of the league's most vicious hitters. He's racked up $60,000 in fines this season but surprisingly avoided one after he completely destroyed Todd Heap of the Cardinals. In the words of Kam's teammate Marshawn Lynch "that's that beast mode." Soundtrack, please!
19. The No Fun League Strikes Again
Date: 11/6/2011
Hit Made By: Ryan Clark, Pittsburgh Steelers
Victim: Ed Dickson, Baltimore Ravens
Fine/suspension: $40,000 fine
The fact that this hit from Ryan Clark received one of the highest fines on the season is pretty ridiculous. What else is he supposed to do in this situation? At this rate, our kids will be watching their favorite NFL stars play with flags. #sadbuttrue
18. Ray Lewis Sons Hines Ward
Date: 11/6/2011
Hit Made By: Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
Victim: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fine/suspension: $20,000 fine
You know this list couldn't be complete without one of the most intimidating figures in all of sports. This concussion causing blow left Hines Ward staggering and Ray Ray's pockets hurting just a little. But we're sure he'd do it again if he had the chance.
17. Julius Peppers Goes Head Hunting
Date: 9/11/2011
Hit Made By: Julius Peppers, Chicago Bears
Victim: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Fine/suspension: None
This shit isn't even right. This literally looks something you'd see on National Geographic where a cheetah chases down some gazelle and pounces on its neck for the kill. But nope, it's the NFL you're watching and they're actually humans. Or beasts disguised as humans in Julius Peppers' case.
16. Why The Steelers v. Ravens is the Best NFL Rivalry
Date: 9/11/2011
Hit Made By: Jarret Johnson, Baltimore Ravens
Victim: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fine/suspension: None
Whenever the Steelers and Reavens face off you can expect to see a handful of plays like this one. We're just wondering: Think Hines still had that Kool-Aid smile he's always sporting after getting laid on his ass by Jarret Johnson?
15. Just Another L for the Colts
Date: 10/16/2011
Hit Made By: Cedric Peerman, Cincinnati Bengals
Victim: A.J. Edds, Indianapolis Colts
Fine/suspension: $20,000 fine
The Colts have been sonned by just about everyone this year and this clip of A.J. Edds getting put on his ass pretty much epitomizes their season in a matter of seconds. Damn, we knew Peyton did a lot but who knew homie had such an impact on all sides of the ball.
14. The NFL Has Real-Life Transformers
Date: 11/13/2011
Hit Made By: Lance Briggs, Chicago Bears
Victim: Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
Fine/suspension: None
One YouTube commenter summed this one up best: If Calvin Johnson is Megatron then Lance Briggs was Optimus Prime on this play. #theend
13. No Love Lost Between the Cowboys and Redskins
Date: 9/26/2011
Hit Made By: Laron Landry, Washington Redskins
Victim: Laurent Robinson, Dallas Cowboys
Fine/suspension: None
We already told you the Cowboys vs. Redskins rivalry is no joke. So when Washington safety Laron Landry saw an opportunity to lay out Dallas wideout Laurent Robinson he couldn't help but go for it. This nice tackle kind of reminds us of the late great Sean Taylor. R.I.P.
12. Dunta Robinson's Head Game Is Vicious
Date: 9/18/2011
Hit Made By: Dunta Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Victim: Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles
Fine/suspension: $40,000 fine
Dunta Robinson has something against the Eagles' wide receivers. In October of last year he was fined $50,000 for a hit he put on DeSean Jackson. Less than a year later, he dropped this helmet-to-helmet shot on Jeremy Maclin which cost him another 40 racks. SMH, dropping nearly six figures just to hit wideouts? That shit's for the birds, fam.
11. Haloti Ngata Swallows Rashard Mendenhall (II)
Date: 9/11/2011
Hit Made By: Haloti Ngata, Baltimore Ravens
Victim: Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fine/suspension: None
Going absolutely...nowhere! Maybe Hatoli was pissed about Rashard's reckless 9/11 tweets or something.
10. Yes, Polamalu Is Still A Beast
Date: 10/30/2011
Hit Made By: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Victim: Wes Welker, New England Patriots
Fine/suspension: None
For all the NFL's defensive players that want to know how to obliterate your opponent without catching a fine this is exactly how you do it. Don't think dude's gone soft just because he does those Head & Shoulders commercials.
9. Jake Ballard Gets Spiked
Date: 11/6/2011
Hit Made By: Brandon Spikes, New England Patriots
Victim: Jake Ballard, New York Giants
Fine/suspension: None
Alright, who busted out the Madden hit stick?! No seriously.
8. That New Kickoff Rule Isn't Really Working
Date: 11/20/2011
Hit Made By: Taylor May, Cincinnati Bengals
Victim: Tom Zbikowski, Baltimore Ravens
Fine/suspension: None
Time for a science lesson, kids. Newton's first law of motion: "The velocity of a body remains constant unless the body is acted upon by an external force." If teachers start showing clips like this in physics classes we guarantee test scores will skyrocket.
7. Dashon Goldson Wrecks Mike Williams
Date: 10/9/2011
Hit Made By: Dashon Goldson, San Francisco 49ers
Victim: Mike Williams, Tampa Bay Bucs
Fine/suspension: None
Just because the Niners play out West do not make the mistake of questioning their toughness. They have beasts on defense like Patrick Willis and Dashon Goldson. The latter of whom flattened Mike Williams on this play. This clean hit caused a fumble and didn't result in a fine or penalty. See, that's how you make receivers pay, Dashon. Not by punching them in the face.
6. Suh Welcomes Andy Dalton to the League
Date: 8/12/2011
Hit Made By: Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions
Victim: Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals
Fine/suspension: $20,000 fine
Ndamkukong Suh seems to be the new poster child for fines in the NFL. This year alone he's already racked up over $40,000 in fines. Everyone saw the infamous stomping incident over Thanksgiving which got him a two-game suspension but this vicious hit where he basically tried to rip the rookie's head off is where he received his first fine of the season. And this was during a preseason game. Jesus.
5. Who Dat?!
Date: 11/28/2011
Hit Made By: Isa Abdul Quddus, New Orleans Saints
Victim: Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants
Fine/suspension: None
Anytime another man leaves you on your knees with your head pounding it's never a good look. Ayo!
4. James Harrison Doesn't Give A...
Date: 12/8/2011
Hit Made By: James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers
Victim: Colt McCoy, Cleveland Browns
Fine/suspension: One Game Suspension
Ah, the hit that's been all over sports news over the past week. Was it a dirty hit? That really depends on who you ask. The fact is Colt McCoy suffered a concussion and said he didn't remember playing the last few minutes of the game and James Harrison added to his rep as one of the biggest villains in sports.
3. Jeremy Maclin Gets Laid Out...Again
Date: 11/13/2011
Hit Made By: Adrian Wilson, Arizona Cardinals
Victim: Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles
Fine/suspension: None
We swear that for defensive ends and safeties across the league Jeremy Maclin is like that neighborhood jumpoff that everyone gets to break off at some point. Luckily for Adrian Wilson he didn't have to pay a fee this time. Actually, just forget we ever used that extremely pause-worthy analogy.
2. Love to Lilja: Where you going, homie?
Date: 11/21/2011
Hit Made By: Kyle Love, New England Patriots
Victim: Ryan Lilja, Kansas City Chiefs
Fine/suspension: None
Ryan Lilja is listed at 6-foot-2 290 lbs. and Kyle Love made dude look like one of the Olsen twins. Need we say more?
1. Yeah, It's Preseason. And What?
Date: 8/18/2011
Hit Made By: Devin Holland, Tampa Bay Bucs
Victim: Danny Woodhead, New England Patriots
Fine/suspension: $10,000 fine
Is it really necessary to play this hard in a preseason game? Sidebar: Every other sport tells you "keep your eye on the ball." For football, we say FOH with that keep your eyes peeled for the beasts coming across the middle.
