On Monday, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans addressed Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair’s hit that shocked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on Sunday.
He blamed Lawrence. And he believes the Jaguars players overreacted when reacting to the hit.
Ryans spoke about the Heat during a press conference Monday afternoon.
wow.
HC Demeco Ryans said Trevor Lawrence was responsible for his players’ cheap shots.
The Texans are slowly becoming the most hated team in the league 😳
— NFL Notify (@NFLNotify) December 3, 2024
“We support Azeez and everything that comes from it,” Ryans said. “Of course it’s an unfortunate hit by the quarterback, but it’s two things: A lot of quarterbacks today try to take advantage of the rule by slipping late and trying to get extra yards.
“Now you’re a defender and there’s a lot of pressure on the defender. Whether you’re on the sideline or at the quarterback, you don’t know what the guy is thinking. You don’t know if the guy is left. And you slip late and hit the guy.
“I’m sorry Trevor got hurt. I hope he’s okay, but if we slip, we have to come down.”
Here are some of the top speed hits:
And again in slow motion:
Lawrence started the slide as Al Shaer prepared to tackle him. Al-Shaair set off for Lawrence first after Lawrence gave up. The hit left Lawrence lying dazed on the field and forced out of the game with a concussion. Jaguar players also joined Alshaer’s attack, sparking a brawl.
Ryans has problems too.
“The whole thing is that Azeez hits the guy, but their sideline overreacts and it turns into a brawl,” Ryans said. “It wasn’t our players. Their team overreacted, pushed our player, dragged our player to the sideline. So that’s inappropriate on that end. We have to be better on the sideline as well as both teams. .”
The NFL ejected both teams on Sunday. Al-Shaair was thrown for the hit that set things off. Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones was ejected for his role in the ensuing melee.
On Monday morning, Al Sha’er issued a statement apologizing for causing the injury to Lawrence and said: “I never want to see any player get hurt by the blows I inflicted, especially those that were deemed ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary’.” “No,” he declared. “Late” and “unnecessary” are his own.
The next voice to weigh in is expected to be the NFL, with calls for real discipline against the Heat.
