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NFL Suspends Bucs Rookie Mack 1 Game For Hit On Ryan

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By ROY CUMMINGS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 17, 2008

TAMPA - Only two games into his career, and already Elbert Mack has a reputation for being an overly aggressive, if not dirty, player.

The Bucs' rookie cornerback on Tuesday was suspended without pay for this Sunday's game against the Bears, after he was cited for a second violation of the NFL's player safety rules.

Mack's latest infraction occurred in the fourth quarter of last Sunday's game, when he "unnecessarily launched himself into Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and made impermissible helmet-to-helmet contact," the league said.

Mack delivered the blow, which knocked Ryan's helmet off and earned him a roughing the passer penalty, during the mayhem that followed Roddy White's fumble on a third-and-8 play with 10:24 to play.

As players scrambled on the ground in an attempt to secure the ball that came loose when Bucs safety Sabby Piscitelli tried to lateral the ball to a teammate, Mack leaped up to block Ryan, the crown of his helmet hitting Ryan's face mask.

Mack's first violation came during the Bucs' preseason finale against the Houston Texans, when he earned an unnecessary roughness call for hitting Texans quarterback Alex Brink.

Mack, an undrafted free agent out of Troy who made the team thanks to stellar defensive work in training camp and the preseason, was fined $5,000 for the first violation.

The suspension could allow the Bucs to bring tight end Jerramy Stevens onto the roster without having to cut someone from the 53-man roster. The Bucs are expected to add Stevens today.

Stevens is coming off a two-game league-mandated suspension stemming from his arrest on a DUI charge prior to the start of the 2007 season.

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