Landon Collins Sack On Wentz “Dirty?” BGN Is Way Out Of Line

I usually don’t care what sort of over-the-top, sensationalistic nonsense writers from other sites pen about the New York Giants. Staying in our own lane and doing our best to give you our view of the Giants has always been our thing here at Big Blue View.

Today, though, I have to call out Brandon Lee Gowton of SB Nation’s Philadelphia Eagles web site, Bleeding Green Nation, for the ridiculousness of something he wrote this week about Landon Collins.

Here’s the headline:

Giants player admits he tried to hurt Carson Wentz, gives backhanded compliment to Zach Ertz

What?

That comes from an interview Collins did with ESPN’s Matt Bowen, a former NFL player. The two were reviewing a Collins sack of Wentz last season. Bowen told him he liked the play because “you are trying to put the QB down.” Collins said:

“I tried to give him it all, but he ducked. I was trying to hit his ribs, I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't think he saw me. I swear I didn't think he did. JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul] was like "I'm not letting you get there before me." It was a real race (to the QB) between us two.”

Gowton read Collins’ comment as “verbally admitting you were trying to be dirty.”

Which is utter nonsense.

Dirty would be admitting you were going for the knee. Or the head. Just ask Odell Beckham Jr. if he would have preferred Briean Boddy-Calhoun hit him in the ribs instead of the legs.

Every defender is going to froth at the mouth with a clean shot at a quarterback like the one Collins would have had if Wentz hadn’t quickly gotten down. Is Collins supposed to say “I wanted to beat JPP there so I could politely ask Mr. Wentz to fall down for me?”

Of course not. His job is to try to hit him. Hard. Which is exactly what he said he tried to do. In a perfectly legal way.

Calling what Collins did, or said, “dirty” is just whining. And wrong.