The dirty hit that linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair laid on Trevor Lawrence has sparked a conversation in the aftermath of the Week 13 game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. Most analysts and players have condemned the cheap shot, pointing out that plays like that have no place in the NFL. However, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans has shifted the blame to Trevor Lawrence and defended his players, arguing that they did nothing wrong, and in fact, the Jags mismanaged the situation.
Ryans met with reporters one day after the 23-20 loss to Houston and stuck up for Al-Shaair, noting that it's unfortunate that Lawrence got hurt, but the linebacker "plays the game the right way" and his intention isn't to hurt anyone.
"You stand behind Azeez and everything that came from there. Unfortunate hit on the quarterback, but it's also twofold, right?" Ryans said when asked to share his thoughts on Al-Shaair's hit on Lawrence. "A lot of the quarterbacks in this day and age, they try to take advantage of the rule where they slide late and they try to get an extra yard. You're a defender, a lot of onus is on the defender, whether it's on the sideline or where it's on the quarterback. You don't know what a guy is thinking."
Ryans continued, You don't know if a guy stands up and if he's continuing to run, you don't know. And then you get a late slide, and you hit the guy. [It's] unfortunate that Trevor got hurt. We hope Trevor is okay, but it's also if we're sliding, we have to get down. If we're getting out of bounds, we get out of bounds. And that rule is there to protect the quarterbacks. And want our quarterbacks to be safe in the league. So we just have to be safe and we're sliding, make sure we're keeping our heads down so."
Ryan has a point when he says that some quarterbacks take advantage of today's rules in the NFL. However, he was speaking generalities and didn't talk about the specifics surrounding the cheap shot Al-Shaair laid on Lawrence.
To make matters worse, the Texans head coach blames the Jaguars — not his players — for the brawl that ensued after Lawrence got knocked out.
"The entire thing is, Azeez is the guy, but their sideline overreacts, and it turns into a melee. It wasn't our guys, it's their team that overreacted, pushed our guy, dragging our guy to the sideline. So that's uncalled for on that side. We have to be better on the sidelines as well, with both teams," Ryans said.
It's hard to tell what Ryan's expected would've happened. That Jaguars players were going to give Al-Shaair a pat on the back and tell him that it was fine? If anything, they "underreacted."
While some Jaguars players were either far from the action or just trying to de-escalate things, many of them stood up for their quarterback. That said, you could make the case that they didn't do enough. Heck, cornerback Jarrian Jones rushed to Lawrence's defense, and head coach Doug Pederson scolded him, telling him that he has to be the bigger man.
While that sounds great on paper, football is a brotherhood and you want players to show passion on the field.
On the other hand, it's important to mention that Al-Shaair was leading with his shoulder when he knocked Lawrence out. Moreover, he has a history of playing dirty. While it's commendable that Ryans is looking out for his players, he doesn't have to go out of his way to defend what clearly was a dirty play.
Jaguars players must stick up for Trevor Lawrence and each other
Back in Week 8, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert got sacked. That in itself isn't a big deal. The issue is that New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd twisted his ankle in an effort to bring him to the ground.
Herbert's teammate Bradley Bozeman didn't take Shepherd's actions kindly and right way let him know how he felt about his dirty play.
Bradley Bozeman the enforcer pic.twitter.com/2ybL6tK9YL
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 27, 2024
That's the kind of fire you want to see in players when they see one of their own get hurt. Jaguars right guard Brandon Scherff, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., cornerback Jarrian Jones, and tight end Evan Engram came to his defense, but you could make the case that the whole team could've done after their staring quarterback got hit.
The general feeling following the game is that players were afraid of fines if they retaliated, but that should've been irrelevant when it came to defending Trevor Lawrence.
Conversation in the #Jaguars locker room postgame about fines that could have been handed down in retaliation to the hit on Trevor Lawrence "disappointed" @BrentASJax and @A_Train_92 pic.twitter.com/IVQJYoNRSz
— BrentDanStuartMarcelAlivia (@ActionSportsJax) December 2, 2024
The bottom line is that Azeez Al-Shaair's hit was dirty, and DeMeco Ryans while right for standing behind his player, was wrong for shifting the blame to the Jaguars, who didn't seemingly do enough to defend one of their own.