Schottenheimer, McCree defend big hit

Monday, Nov 13, 2006
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer went to bat for one of his players Monday, adamantly stating that Marlon McCree’s fourth-quarter hit on Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh was not a dirty play.  After watching film of the incident, Schottenheimer was certain that the two players’ shoulders collided, not their helmets.

“That’s a catch phrase,” Schottenheimer said. “‘Oh, it’s helmet to helmet!’  Everyone wants a piece of that.  That wasn’t the case at all.  It was a very aggressive play.  It was a timing thing.  A split-second later and it would have been a good collision and either a catch or an incompletion.”

On the CBS broadcast, color commentator Dan Dierdorf adamantly expressed his displeasure with the hit, calling it a dirty play.  

“I consider him a friend and I think he’s a good person, but I think it was a bit of a rush to judgment,” Schottenheimer said.  “That young man doesn’t play that way.”

Schottenheimer also pointed out that McCree’s hit did not knock Houshmandzadeh’s helmet off.  Linebacker Randall Godfrey, who was trailing on the play, also collided with Houshmandzadeh, causing his helmet to come off and leaving him dizzy.

McCree said that he attempted to contact Houshmandzadeh Monday but the messages he left with Bengals officials were not returned.  However, Houshmandzadeh’s comments to the Associated Press confirmed what Schottenheimer and McCree said Monday.

"He was just trying to make a play on the ball," Houshmandzadeh said. "He got there a little too soon. It wasn't actually his hit that hurt me. It was the fact that the linebacker was coming so fast. He tried to jump over me but as he jumped, he kneed me in the head. It was just one of those split-second type of accidents." 

On Monday, McCree reiterated his concern for Houshmandzadeh’s health and for his own reputation. 

“Guys are quick to jump to conclusions,” McCree said.  “I can understand how he could see that with just the naked eye.  It looks bad, but once you look at it on tape and you slow it down, you see that the only thing that I did wrong was commit pass interference.  It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary as far as the safety coming down in the middle of the field.”

“The most important thing to me is that T.J. was okay.  I saw him on the sideline laughing.  The second-most important thing was that we won.” 

Moving on

Schottenheimer claimed that his mind had already shifted gears by the time the Chargers’ flight from Cincinnati touched the ground Sunday night. 

“We’re done with it,” Schottenheimer said.  “We’re moving on.”  

By Monday afternoon, most Bolts players had little left to say about Sunday’s 49-point effort, instead ready to start talking about their nationally-televised, first-place showdown with the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

“When you get out here today and start going over Denver stuff, it’s pretty much gone,” Tomlinson said.  “You know you’ve got a big one this week and you automatically switch to a new mode.” 

McCree may be new to the rivalry, but he understands what’s on the line at Invesco Field.

“I like to call it Ali versus Frazier,” McCree said.  “It’s going to be big for us.  We want to be number one in the division.  We want to have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and control our own destiny.” 

Ailing Bolts

Wide receiver Malcom Floyd (ankle), defensive tackle Jamal Williams (toe), center Nick Hardwick (ankle) and wide receiver Eric Parker (neck) all suffered injuries in Sunday’s game and will might miss some practice time this week.  Defensive end Luis Castillo (ankle) was still in a protective boot Monday and may also be limited as well.