The NFL suspended Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski for one game in response to his late hit to the head of Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White in Sunday’s game, but a couple of former Bills believe that the team’s own response did not go far enough.
Former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly said on 97 Rock in Buffalo Monday that he was surprised that the team didn’t retaliate and that he would have “ran over and gave him a good shot.” Former safety Aaron Williams, who played with many current Bills before being released in March, wrote on Twitter that you “don’t let your brother get done like that and let the guy just walk freely” and put “#SoftAss” on another tweet.
Bills coach Sean McDermott was asked about Kelly’s remarks and defended the way his players responded.
“That’s not what I saw,” McDermott said. “I saw something other than that. Those are your words not my words. I know what I saw. I’m going to leave it at that. ... I know what I saw. And I’m also proud to a point of the poise that we showed. Thats important as we build this thing. We’re doing things the right way. The referees handle things and we have to play within the rules. We moved on.”
Bills safety Micah Hyde was called for unnecessary roughness for tangling with Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, which meant that the penalty on Gronkowski wasn’t even enforced. The Bills were actually knocked back 15 yards when Jerry Hughes was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct following an interaction with an official, so the net loss was a pretty big one even without the further fouls and discipline they would have received for a response in line with what the former Bills wanted to see.