Gerald McCoy was no more pleased when he saw Patriots tackle Marcus Cannon make a dirty play Monday night than when he was a victim of one.
But after seeing Cannon apologize to Panthers defnesive end Charles Johnson for Monday’s leg-whip, the Buccaneers defensive tackle started feeling the forgiveness vibe, too.
After intially sending out a tweet calling Cannon a “dirty” player, he followed the next morning by apologizing and taking the high road.
#61 for patriots is dirty. He intentionally tried to take me out last yr preseason as well. Thats uncalled for. A leg whip though. Come on!!
— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) November 19, 2013
I apologize to #61 and anybody who was offended by my comment last night. Things happen. We're called to forgive one another. Be blessed!
— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) November 19, 2013
McCoy appeared on SiriusXM NFL radio’s Late Hits with Bill Polian and FOX Sports’ Alex Marvez last night, and said he shouldn’t have called out Cannon, but does have strong feelings about such plays.
McCoy said Cannon cut blocked him last preseason, and seeing Johnson go down brought back the painful memories.
“And then I saw more behavior of the sort. When I saw it [Monday] night, I was like ‘Really, again?’” McCoy said. “I reacted in the wrong way. Once I realized, ‘G, you can’t be like that, people make mistakes, and you just got to forgive people for those mistakes.’ So I went on and apologized for it.”
That said, McCoy said he thought leg-whips were becoming “more and more” common.
“I think the league should take a look at it,” he said. “It needs to be frowned upon more. They put so much emphasis on us, protecting the offense. But the defensive player’s got to be protected too.”
While McCoy might be feeling contrite about his reaction, a pattern of plays that are beyond the norm will make the next guy wonder about whether Cannon’s apology is sincere.