Falcons safety Damontae Kazee didn’t want to say much about the fine he’ll surely be getting today, but he’s smart enough to know one’s coming.
After last week’s egregious helmet-to-helmet hit on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, Kazee’s also responsible enough to apologize for the dangerous shot.
“I was playing too fast in the game and trying to make a play and overplayed it,” Kazee said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I apologize for him and for hitting him like that, but I didn’t do it on purpose. I was just trying to make a play, that’s all.”
Kazee was immediately ejected for the hit, which left the Falcons thin since he was replacing injured starter Keanu Neal.
“I have to learn when to take my shot and not take my shot,” Kazee said. “When he was sliding, I was already in the air. I tried to lean over to the left and nicked him with my face mask. I apologized for the hit and everything. . . .
“I’m trying to learn to keep my head up when I’m tackling now. It’s a new rule. I have to adjust to that.”
Of course, launching yourself isn’t a new rule, so he can’t blame all of it on the refs. But if he and other defensive players learn that they can’t take the same shots at quarterbacks, the league’s emphasis will be worth it.