The Hardest Hits of the 2011 NFL Season

Despite all of the rule changes the NFL has made to prevent injuries to its players, there are still violent collisions that occur every Sunday. Some players have learned to adapt to the new contact rules regarding defenseless receivers, and we have fewer injuries to special teams players as well.

But as hard as the league tries to keep things safe, it is very difficult to take out all of the hard hitting each week. When you have grown men that are as big as they are, moving as fast as they do, in a limited playing area, big collisions will be part of the game.

When you are playing to win, are motivated to win your division or are playing for a ring, the adrenaline starts to flow, and defenders try to separate the ball from the guy carrying the pigskin. This presentation will look to honor some of the hardest hits of the 2011 season.

Michael Vick Hits Troy Polamalu

After Troy Polamalu intercepts a Michael Vick pass, he is working his way up the field but doesn't see Vick charging up the field at him full speed.

Vick probably delivers the hardest hit on anybody he has ever made in his career with this preseason tackle.

Eric Weddle on LaDainian Tomlinson

If you caught the New York Jets game last Sunday versus the San Diego Chargers, you would have seen Eric Weddle cut Tomlinson low while Tomlinson was trying to go high. The end result was Tomlinson did this wild flip. He was lucky he didn't land on his head or break his neck.

It didn't seem like it was going to be a dangerous play when he first hit him; it just wound up being that way at the end. Nothing dirty about it—a clean hit all the way.

Hines Ward Gets Decked

Here was a shot from the Week 4 game where the Houston Texans laid out Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Some NFL fans will say that what goes around, comes around. Ward is known to be the type of guy that loves to lay somebody out when he isn't looking.

Bernard Pollard Rips Deji Karim on Monday Night Football

Last week on Monday Night Football, the Jacksonville Jaguars upset the Baltimore Ravens. One of the hardest hits in that game occurred when Bernard Pollard ripped Jaguars RB Deji Karim.

Pollard drew a flag for this hit, as you can well expect in the NFL of 2011.

Julius Peppers Puts Big Hit on Matt Ryan's Helmet

In one of the strangest tackles of the 2011 season, this came from the opening weekend of action.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan scrambles to the sidelines, and Julius Peppers of the Chicago Bears lays his big arms on Ryan and rips off his helmet. Strange play.

Dunta Robinson Big Hit

Here is Dunta Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons laying out Jeremy Maclin of the Philadelphia Eagles on a big hit earlier this year.

Robinson was flagged on the play, as he led with his helmet.

Ed Reed Big Hit

This was another big hit in 2011, albeit in January of this year. Ed Reed lays out Dexter McCluster of the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC playoff game.

Reed continues to play at a high level.

Andy Dalton Gets Decked by Ndamukong Suh

You might recall the hit that Ndamukong Suh put on Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton this preseason. Suh was called for a penalty on the play.

Is there a more nice guy versus evil monster complex player in the league than Suh right now?

How Could We Forget the Hard Hit on the Giants' Deon Grant?

You all remember the hard hit that was planted on Deon Grant earlier this year? The hit was so hard that he only started feeling the pain 10 seconds after the play was over.

A Collection of Hard Hits from 2011

Here is one of the few videos we found for the 2011 NFL season that exist out there in cyberspace. We expect many more to surface as the year unfolds. We have nothing to do with the music, so if you don't care for it, you can turn it down, or you can turn it up—whatever is your preference.

We know that more videos will still be produced later in the year. If there weren't enough hard hits to satisfy your thirst, we are adding some bonus videos from recent years to make sure you had your fill of hard hits.

Bonus Video: NFL Hard Hits

This YouTube video was published in 2011, but it is hard to tell exactly when all of the NFL games were played that is part of the video.

There are not many videos out there in YouTube for the 2011 season regarding hard hits, so we had to supplement the piece with composite videos. We trust you won't object to the action.

Another Bonus Video of Hard Hits

Another video collection of hard hits for your viewing enjoyment.

Bonus Slide: Another Video of Hard Hits

Here is another collection of hard hits for you in video form. This was also published in 2011, but the games involved seemed to be more from 2010. Enjoy.