Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was rebuked roundly after pointing fingers over last weekend’s hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence by Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, with none pointing at his own player.
Lawrence was running with the ball when Al-Shaair delivered a late hit after Lawrence had begun sliding to the turf. Al-Shaair has since been suspended for the hit.
“We stand behind Azeez and everything that came from that,” Ryans said in a video clip posted to social media platform X. “Of course, the unfortunate hit on the quarterback. But it’s also – it’s twofold, right?”
DeMeco Ryans defends Azeez Al-Shaair and blasts the Jacksonville Jaguars for their overreaction after Al-Shaair’s hit on Trevor Lawrence. pic.twitter.com/PcbGRQdLdK
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) December 2, 2024
“I mean 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, and now you’re a defender, a lot of onus is on the defender, right? Whether it’s on the sideline or whether it’s on the quarterback, you don’t know what a guy’s thinking,” Ryans said.
“You don’t know if a guy is standing up and he’s continuing to run, you don’t know, and then you get a late slide, and you’re – you know, you hit the guy,” he said.
Having covered DeMeco Ryans in his 6 seasons with the Texans, I’ll guarantee you if Matt Schaub had been hit like that close to the Texans’ bench, Ryans would have been all over the perpetrator to defend his QB.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) December 2, 2024
Was Texans Coach DeMeco Ryans wrong to say this?
Yes: 96% (47 Votes)
No: 4% (2 Votes)
“Unfortunate that Trevor got hurt. Hope Trevor is OK, but it’s also, if we’re sliding, we have to get down,” he said.
“If we’re getting out of bounds, we get out of bounds and that rule is there to protect the quarterbacks, and we want our quarterbacks to be safe in the league, so we just have to be safe. If we’re sliding, make sure we’re keeping our heads down,” he said.
Demeco Ryan, you’re a 🤡 for blaming Trevor Lawrence. I get standing behind your players, but your job is to support them and teach them. What message does this send? @DRyans59
— Steve Hill (@ECUUberLyft) December 3, 2024
“And the entire thing, you know, is Azeez – he hits the guy, but their sideline overreacts, and it turns into a melee. It wasn’t our guys. It’s their team 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,” he said.
DeMeco Ryans defending his guy is one thing but saying the Jaguars “overreacted” to the hit on Trevor Lawrence is beyond absurd. If C.J. Stroud was hit like that on Houston’s sideline….. https://t.co/ajFw48EoOC
— Kainani Stevens (@KainaniStevens) December 2, 2024
The comments were attacked by many on X, including Paul Higham, who called the remarks “Absolute garbage from Demeco Ryans.”
“Blaming Trevor Lawrence for awful cheap shot on him, saying Jags overreacted & backing his man Azeez. It was a cowardly hit on a QB (sliding properly) – Ryan’s classless in response,” he posted on X.
Absolute garbage from Demeco Ryans
Blaming Trevor Lawrence for awful cheap shot on him, saying Jags overreacted & backing his man Azeez
It was a cowardly hit on a QB (sliding properly) – Ryans classless in response#NFL pic.twitter.com/WlDLfKgbaz
— Paul Higham (@SportsPaulH) December 3, 2024
In an Op-Ed for USA Today, Jarrett Bell wrote that with his comments, “Ryans has undermined his own credibility.”
“Rather than making a statement in the name of safety, Ryans has, intentionally or not, made a mockery of the NFL’s efforts to protect defenseless players,” he wrote, adding that Ryans “blamed the victim.”
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