what point in the game did a.j. barker hurt his ankle?

[supadupafly]

also was it a "cheap" tackle how it happened or look like it was just accidental? can someone please confirm? really want him in the lineup this saturday and hope he is able to play. thanks

 

[mnsportsgeek]

It was on his touchdown reception. The one in the middle of the field. He was running toward the end zone and got tackled at the goal line and his ankle got tweaked. He never returned.

It was a really weak tackle too. I was shocked that it knocked him out of the game.

 

[supadupafly]

It was on his touchdown reception. The one in the middle of the field. He was running toward the end zone and got tackled at the goal line and his ankle got tweaked. He never returned.

ahh. there it is. thanks for clarifying. looking back now at the highlight replays they show at the top of this page it looks to me like that guy tackled him after he was well clear into the end zone. hate that is how his ankle was hurt. guy should have backed off rather than pulling him down from behind like that. imo, no reason to play through the tackle there when he has already scored and the ball has broken well past the plane.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

You usually think nothing of a little arm tackle, but when it is a second late and injures your #1 WR it is easy to get pissed off about it.

I'm not expecting him to be able to go on Saturday, and I will be pleasantly surprised if he is ready. Kill seems pretty concerned about it when asked.

 

[Iceland12]

ahh. there it is. thanks for clarifying. looking back now at the highlight replays they show at the top of this page it looks to me like that guy tackled him after he was well clear into the end zone. hate that is how his ankle was hurt. guy should have backed off rather than pulling him down from behind like that. imo, no reason to play through the tackle there when he has already scored and the ball has broken well past the plane.

Just watched the replay too. The Safety Richards didn't "launch" at Barker until the Goal Line. It was a real cheap shot. He landed on Barker's leg a yard or two into the end zone.

I hope that Kill and Hoke are both engaging in a little "subterfuge". Kill that Barker can't play and Hoke that Robinson can.

 

[Schnauzer]

I sit near that end zone and noticed he was limping after the td celebration and he was running off the field. When I got home I watched the DVD very closely for the injury. It isn't easy to see from the regular camera view but just prior to a commercial break they show the td from field level behind the play. Although the ankle turn is fast and best seen in a frame by frame review, it indeed looks pretty bad from that angle and Barker is lucky it is just a sprain. Cheap, needless tackle.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Just watched the replay too. The Safety Richards didn't "launch" at Barker until the Goal Line. It was a real cheap shot. He landed on Barker's leg a yard or two into the end zone.

I hope that Kill and Hoke are both engaging in a little "subterfuge". Kill that Barker can't play and Hoke that Robinson can.

Come on, the safety launched a little late but he was going for a strip he wasn't trying to injure Barker. He mistimed it a little and I am sure there was some frustration at play but he clearly tries to make a play for the ball.

As for the subterfuge....yeah I don't think Michigan is going to lose a lot of sleep over whether or not AJ Barker is playing. He is having a nice year and he has certainly been our top receiver but he is not the kind of game changer that a Denard Robinson is. If Denard doesn't play it drastically changes what Michigan does, if Barker doesn't play we lose a valuable part of the receiving corps but it doesn't really change the offense.

 

[supadupafly]

Come on, the safety launched a little late but he was going for a strip he wasn't trying to injure Barker. He mistimed it a little and I am sure there was some frustration at play but he clearly tries to make a play for the ball.

As for the subterfuge....yeah I don't think Michigan is going to lose a lot of sleep over whether or not AJ Barker is playing. He is having a nice year and he has certainly been our top receiver but he is not the kind of game changer that a Denard Robinson is. If Denard doesn't play it drastically changes what Michigan does, if Barker doesn't play we lose a valuable part of the receiving corps but it doesn't really change the offense.

so a DB being frustrated because a.j. barker is schooling him all day somehow justifies him tackling a.j. way too late in the end zone and injuring his ankle? guess i, and would venture most, don't agree on that point. it was a cheap, unnecessarily late tackle.

 

[MNVCGUY]

so a DB being frustrated because a.j. barker is schooling him all day somehow justifies him tackling a.j. way too late in the end zone and injuring his ankle? guess i, and would venture most, don't agree on that point. it was a cheap, unnecessarily late tackle.

I have watched this replay multiple times and I just don't see the outrage on this one. He doesn't hit him way late he hits him just after he crosses the goal line and he is going for the ball. It wasn't dirty it was a beat late. It is not like Barker was in the back of the endzone and the DB took a run at him, the DB was gaining on him down the field almost caught him just before the goal line, made a last ditch effort at the ball and as the players went to the ground Barker injured his ankle. If it was as late as people are tying to make it out to be the guy would have been flagged for unnessessary roughness, or are the refs so out to get us that they were trying to make sure Purdue came back and therefore didn't throw the flag?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2xhsa2wyfg

 

[Catechol]

Watching the replay from 2 angles it is apparent the DB extends his arms before the goal line, a legitimate move though poorly timed because he doesn't land the strip move until they're in the end zone. Any DB who is beat and knows that tackling will only carry the WR forward into the end zone would go for a strip as a last ditch, this time he just timed it poorly. And Barker's ball carrying arm was the only thing he made contact with, so it's not like he was trying pile on top of him or slam him to the ground.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

It wasn't cheap at all. The DB tried to make a play at the last minute. If it even was late, it was by less than a second. I can't see how anyone could consider that a cheap play. It was unfortunate.