Still smarting after a low hit from Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot that could have wiped out Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew’s season before it even started, Jones-Drew has sounded off regarding the league’s habit of picking and choosing the folks who get special protection.
“I just think some things in football you don’t need,” Jones-Drew said Monday, per the Associated Press. “If you want to cut out blocking or certain hits when people aren’t looking, going low when a guy’s back’s to you . . . that isn’t the way to tackle a guy. . . . Obviously they’re only trying to protect certain people.”
He’s right, and the league would have to admit that. It’s a quarterbacks’ league, and so the quarterbacks get special protection.
For everyone else, low hits are part of the game. Instead of bemoaning the fact that he took a low hit and got lucky, Jones-Drew should be patting himself on the back for getting a long-term deal in place before the final season of his rookie contract. He now has the protection against the kind of stuff that happens all the time to pro football players -- especially those who are carrying the football through high traffic.
It remains to be seen whether Jones-Drew will be carrying the ball through high traffic at Indianapolis on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to practice Wednesday, that’s about all I can tell you,” Jones-Drew said. “I’m taking the Bill Belichick way out.”