Texans defensive back Eugene Wilson took a low hit from quarterback Brett Favre on Monday night, in a maneuver that reminded us of former (as of Monday) Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson’s “God don’t like ugly” rant over the motionless body of former Dolphins quarterback Trent Green, after Green put a helmet on Johnson’s knee while trying to pull off a low block on a busted play.
And while Wilson didn’t react as passionately as Johnson, Wilson is still wondering why Favre opted to dive at Wilson’s knees in an effort to execute a block on a Wildcat play.
Asked what he would say to Favre regarding the move, Wilson said (per the Minneapolis Star Tribune), “What was up with that? Seriously, what was up with that?”
But the play might have put to rest any talk of a schism in the locker room, given that Favre’s decision to get his hands dirty (albeit with a dirty block) apparently won him some credibility among his teammates.
“I liked it,” tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said. “Hey, it’s man eat man out here. [Editor’s note: You know, that one is way too easy, especially since Shiancoe said it. I’ll just leave it alone.] You better keep your eyes on a swivel. He saw Brett out there and said, ‘Ah, Brett ain’t going to do anything.’”
The man who took the snap on the play, rookie receiver Percy Harvin, was grateful.
“Actually he kind of scared me because I kind of forgot he was out there,” Harvin said. “After I turned the corner I saw him flash across my face. It was good to see him still get down a little. I appreciated the block.”
Running back Adrian Peterson didn’t think the move was dirty. “He’s just playing ball,” Peterson said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt the guy. He’s just out there playing ball.”
Favre, meanwhile, applied his own unique version of the “aw, shucks” routine to the situation.
“Believe me, I hope [Wilson is] OK,” Favre said. “I hope it didn’t look as bad on film as it may have seemed but my intentions, believe me, were not to hurt anyone, including myself. . . . Believe me, my intentions were not to be cheap. . . . I’ll be 40 years old in October and was weeding 13 days ago. I wasn’t thinking about throwing blocks.”
That’s the problem. Favre wasn’t thinking on Monday night. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have risked his supposedly partially torn rotator cuff and/or his supposedly cracked ribs and/or his budding case of swine flu and/or polio by diving at Wilson’s knees.