Players like Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews have called out New York Jets guard Matt Slauson for a chop block on Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing that tore Cushing's anterior cruciate ligament and ended his season. Matthews called the play a dirty block that shows a "double standard."
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"I would never question our guys as far as trying to injure someone or try and do something not in the confinement of the rules," Ryan said on ESPN radio Tuesday via The Star-Ledger. "I would have to say I would definitely question (the flack Slauson is getting), I never saw anything specifically (when) I was just watching our game tape. I'll say this -- we got rolled up a few times in our game, and sometimes in this game you gotta be fortunate to avoid some injury."
Texans coach Gary Kubiak took the high road and didn't call the hit dirty.
"That's in the league's hands," Kubiak said at a news conference Wednesday. "It doesn't change the fact that we're sitting here today having to deal with losing a heck of a player."
It will be fascinating to see how the NFL handles this one. There is a very strong case to be made Slauson's hit qualifies as illegal as clipping because of where it took place on the field, not because of Slauson's technique.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.