Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict has developed a reputation as a dirty player and committed his dirtiest plays ever on Sunday, when he purposely twisted the ankles of Panthers players in pileups. But as the Colts prepare to face the Bengals and Burfict this week, they say they don’t view him as a cheap shot artist.
Asked if he plans to talk to either his players or the officials about Burfict, Colts coach Chuck Pagano said he doesn’t think that’s necessary.
“No, the guy plays extremely hard,” Pagano said of Burfict. “He’s a really good football player. Got a ton of respect for him. He’s tough. He’s hard-nosed. He’s downhill. He can run. He can cover. He’s everything you want in a linebacker. It’s our job just to make sure we get a hat him, we take care of him and we don’t let him wreck the game. Because he’s more than capable of doing that whether it’s sideline to sideline playing the run, playing the pass, blitzing, whatever it is. He’s a great player. So I’m not worried about any of that stuff. I’m just worried about trying to get him blocked.”
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck said no one on the team is thinking about Burfict’s reputation.
“Yeah, to be honest I don’t think our locker room has been reading about it, talking about it,” Luck said. “We know him as a good football player and the other stuff I guess takes care of itself. So yeah, ignore it I guess would be the sense. He’s a heck of a football player, obviously you respect that aspect of it, but everything else is sort of not our deal.”
So the Colts don’t view Burfict as a cheap shot artist. It remains to be seen whether the Colts still feel that way after Sunday’s game.