(Audacy) Add Patriots special teams captain Matthew Slater to the list of people calling out Bears defensive lineman Mike Pennel.
With the game well out of reach in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ eventual 33-14 thumping of the Patriots on Monday night, New England quarterback Bailey Zappe threw an interception. During the return, Patriots center David Andrews was leveled by an ugly blind-side block from Pennel.
Andrews was knocked out of the game, and Pennel was ejected. In the aftermath, Bears coach Matt Eberflus admitted Pennel -- who spent the 2019 preseason with the Patriots -- was in the wrong and that the Bears don't teach anything like that.
Joining in the condemnation of the play was Slater, who called out Pennel in an appearance on Mut at Night on WEEI.
“The league is making an effort to get those hits out of the game," Slater said Tuesday. "I think that was an extremely dirty play last night. My concern is with the health and well-being of David. I just hate to see any teammate down on the field like that having to go through that, it’s a tough situation.
“The league is going to do what they need to do, hopefully they handle the situation the right way, with class and with order, but there’s really no place in our game for hits like that or plays like that.”
When asked if he ever feels compelled to talk to opposing players in the aftermath of such plays, Slater said that's a road he doesn't go down.
“He knows that (he can’t do that)," Slater said. "Mike played here. He knows how to play the game the right way. He’s been playing this game for a long time, he knows what’s right and what’s wrong. I can’t go force the way I feel about something or my view on anyone else, those are decisions players make on the field that they have to live with. I can’t be overly concerned with going out there and policing that sort of thing.”
It’s unclear what, if any, additional punishment Pennel will face for the hit.
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