A day after several Pittsburgh Steelers accused Ravens right guard Chris Chester of intentionally trying to injure outside linebacker James Harrison, Chester said the Steelers are misinterpreting what happened.
On the play in question in Sunday night's 13-10 loss to Pittsburgh, Chester lined up on the left side of the offensive line for an extra-point attempt. Chester plunged forward before the ball had been snapped and collided with Harrison.
Harrison and several of his teammates said that Chester was deliberately aiming for Harrison. Chester argued otherwise.
"It's unfortunate that they feel that way," he said Thursday. "It was simply a mix-up in the huddle call on what we were trying to do, and I can't say too much with respect to our schemes. I don't want to give away too much information, but it was simply a mix-up in the huddle call."
Steelers inside linebacker James Farrior called it "a dirty play," which Chester denied.
"It's not as it may appear to them," he said. "No, there was nothing malicious about it."
Ravens left tackle Michael Oher did not sound surprised that emotions from that game continue to simmer.
"It's a bitter rivalry," he said with a chuckle. "We don't like them and they don't like us. That's the way the cookie crumbles."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh addressed the matter briefly.
"I have nothing to say about it," he said. "That game is history. It's not relevant to what we're trying to do in this game."
When a reporter followed up by saying he wanted to give Harbaugh a chance to respond to Harrison's accusation, Harbaugh replied, "I could care less what he thinks."
Ngata will appeal fine
Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said he will appeal the $15,000 fine levied by the NFL after his left hand struck Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the face Sunday night.
Roethlisberger suffered a broken nose on the play in the first quarter, but no penalty was called on Ngata. On Monday, however, the league assessed the fine and also punished inside linebacker Jameel McClain to the tune of $40,000 for his collision with Steelers tight end Heath Miller.
"Of course, I think it's not right," he said of the fine Thursday. "I feel like there was no other way I could have played that play because I'm swimming the guard; he starts to duck, and my arm is coming down over the guard. But I'm going to appeal it and see if hopefully, I can get some money back."
Ngata said he doesn't expect a decision for two to four weeks.
Landry keeps cool
Strong safety Dawan Landry's inability to bring down running back Isaac Redman on a 9-yard touchdown pass that propelled Pittsburgh to victory has generated a lot of rage from fans, who remember that Landry also failed to tackle running back Jason Snelling on a 28-yard touchdown catch in the team's 26-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 11.
Landry was unflustered when told of the mounting criticism.
"It was a play," he said. "It was a smoke route, and he broke a tackle. Give him credit."
Landry said he didn't stew about the missed tackle, emphasizing one of the common tenets of playing in the secondary.
"You've got to have a short memory as a member of the secondary," he said. "Every play that goes on, whether you make it or not, is going to be magnified. That just comes with the territory. You've got to have short memory playing our position."
Heap misses practice
As expected, Todd Heap did not practice Thursday.
The tight end pulled his right hamstring on the first play Sunday night and did not return. On Wednesday, Heap described himself as being "day to day" for the Ravens' game against the Houston Texans Monday night.
Cornerback Fabian Washington was limited by a thigh injury. Two-time Pro Bowl fullback Le'Ron McClain (sprained left ankle) fully participated, while left tackle Oher (sprained right knee) wasn't listed on the injury report.
End zone
The Texans practiced without two starters in wide receiver Andre Johnson (high right ankle sprain) and defensive end Mario Williams (sports hernia). Five other starters -- quarterback Matt Schaub (knee), right tackle Eric Winston (shoulder), right guard Mike Brisiel (shoulder), outside linebacker Brian Cushing (knee) and cornerback Glover Quin (hand) -- fully participated. Tight ends Owen Daniels (hamstring) and Joel Dreessen (ribs) also practiced. … Count Houston coach Gary Kubiak as a huge fan of outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. After watching Suggs register 1Âœ sacks, two tackles and five quarterback hurries against the Steelers, Kubiak predicted that Suggs is headed down the path to Canton. "He's a Hall of Fame player," Kubiak said during a conference call with Baltimore media Thursday morning. "I think they're built right down the middle with three Hall of Fame players – from [free safety] Ed [Reed] to [inside linebacker] Ray [Lewis] to Terrell. It's just amazing. When you look at those three guys and what they do and the problems they present for you as an offensive football team, I think he's playing at the highest level I've ever seen him play at, and damn, he's played at a high level for a long, long time. So I've got a lot of respect for him. He's a big, big challenge for us, but that's anybody who plays him. They've got that same challenge." … The Ravens signed cornerback Danny Gorrer to the practice squad. Gorrer fills the void left when the Detroit Lions signed away cornerback Prince Miller.
edward.lee@baltsun.com
Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley contributed to this article.