Texans linebacker Brian Cushing suffered a torn ACL when Jets guard Matt Slauson dove at Cushing’s knee on Monday night. Asked whether Cushing regards the hit as a dirty play, Cushing opted to avoid the debate.
“Whether it was or it wasn’t, I’m not playing for a while,” Cushing said, via the Associated Press. “That’s not going to change my opinion on anything. I’m not a guy that’s going to look back at the past and see what I could’ve done differently. I’m going to look into the future and see how I can improve. . . . When you sign up for this game, I understand this is part of it.”
It was easy for Cushing to take the high road on the low blow because most regard the Slauson hit as dirty; Cushing didn’t need to chime in on what is regarded as obvious. The league agreed on Thursday, fining Slauson $10,000 for an illegal “peel back” block.
Of course, the fact that the NFL fined Slauson doesn’t make it an illegal play. NBC officiating Jim Daopoulos joined PFT Live on Friday to address the play -- and Daopoulos believes the fine will be reversed on appeal.
For Jim’s explanation, click the little triangle below.