Baltimore Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb (21) drags down New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Morgan (13) with a horse collar tackle near the goal line in the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman)
The illegal tackle prevented the Saints from scoring any points on what appeared to be a certain touchdown Monday night, but New Orleans receiver Joseph Morgan experienced no joy from learning that the Ravens defender who horse-collared him at the end of a lengthy run was fined $16,537.
“Shoo, man, that’s a lot,” Morgan said in the locker room at the Saints’ training facility Friday. “I don’t want to see anyone getting money taken away from their pocket like that.”
It’s a high road for Morgan to take, one supporters of his team probably won’t accompany him on given how key the horse-collar proved to be in the Saints’ 34-27 defeat at home to Baltimore five days earlier.
On the contest’s second play from scrimmage, Morgan ran for 67 yards on an end-around and reached Baltimore’s 2 before Lardarius Webb dragged him down from behind by the collar. The officiating crew penalized Webb and moved the Saints up to Baltimore’s 1, but New Orleans got no points from the drive — they failed to score on the ensuing four plays and turned the ball over on downs.
The Ravens took over at the Saints’ 3 and drove 97 yards for a touchdown that helped them go up 7-0.
At a Thanksgiving-related event Tuesday, Morgan — who later set up a Saints touchdown by hauling in a 62-yard reception — placed the blame on himself for not scoring. He did that again Friday, reiterating, “I’ve got to get in the end zone.”
The NFL informed the media of Webb’s fine on Friday. There were no other fines generated in a game that featured a fight between Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro and Ravens receiver Steve Smith.