Add Matthew Slater to the list of people calling out Mike Pennel.
With the game well out of reach in the fourth quarter of the Bears’ Monday Night Football thumping of the Patriots, New England quarterback Bailey Zappe threw an interception. During the return, Pats center David Andrews was leveled by an ugly blindside block from Pennel.
Andrews was knocked out of the game, the defensive lineman was tossed, and even his own coach, Matt Eberflus, said Pennel -- who spent the 2019 preseason with the Patriots -- was in the wrong.
Joining in the condemnation of the play was the Patriots' special teams captain, who called out Pennel in an appearance on WEEI’s “Mut at Night.”
“I think the league is making an effort to get those hits out of the game. I think that was an extremely dirty play last night," Slater said Tuesday. "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.”
Slater is a widely-respected player, but asked if he ever feels compelled to talk to opposing players in the aftermath of such plays, he said that's a road he doesn't go down.
“I think he knows that (he can’t do that). 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," Slater said. "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. Regardless, he’s clearly drawn the ire of some ex-teammates.
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