Tires: my tread...bends?, jeep cj 7, bf goodrich

Question
I went off roading today. After getting back onto the pavement, I noticed
some vibration in my Jeep CJ-7. After examination, I found that the front
passenger tire, (BF Goodrich) appeared damaged. However, it was unlike
anything I have seen. If viewed from overhead, and spun on the axle, the
tread looks normal except for one bulge that is universal from both the side
that faces out and in toward the engine. If unrolled and laid flat, the tread
would look something like this:

__________----________
__________----________

My questions are: Is this a defect in the tire, or a result of me hitting
something on the trail? Has anybody heard of this kind of damage, and is this
common?

thanks for the feedback  

Answer
Kevin,

Is the sidewall bulged out in the area in more or less a staright line from the tread to the rim?  If so, then the ply cords have probably been broken and that is the result of hitting a relatively pointed object.  What happens is that the pointed object bends the inner part of the tire (the innermost ply) a lot more than the outer part of the tire (the tread) instead of the components working as a unit.

If there isn't a bulge in the sidewall....ah.....Mmmmmm.....well, I can not imagine how you could get this in the manufacturing process, particularly considering that the tire was OK before you went off-roading.