Thursday, September 19, 2002
Vick: Bears assistant yelled 'take his knees out'
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick said Wednesday that a Chicago coach screamed “take his knees out” during a loss to the Bears last weekend.
Vick made the allegations, which were backed up by teammate Willie Jackson, against Bears defensive coordinator Greg Blache.
“They were coming up to hit me,” Vick said. “I heard one of their coaches scream, 'Take his knees out!' That was their goal, to knock me out of the game.”
Blache denied that he wanted to injure Vick, the best running quarterback in the NFL. The coordinator did say he told his players that the best way to tackle Vick was by taking his legs out from under him.
“Sure, if he's going to run, what are you going to do?” Blache said. “If he's going to run, why not?”
The coach was clearly perturbed by Vick's allegations.
“He got his butt beat and now he wants to make somebody look bad,” Blache said. “Unbelievable.”
The Bears were penalized three times for roughing the quarterback in their 14-13 victory Sunday. Vick led the Falcons (0-2) in rushing for the second week in a row, gaining 56 yards on 10 carries.
Vick also was sacked four times and lost a critical fumble at the Chicago 21 early in the third quarter.
Blache said he told his players, “Don't dance with him, cut him.” The coach added, “The dude wants to run and he wants people to dance with him. It's unbelievable.”
Jackson, a Falcons receiver, said he heard Blache tell his players to take out Vick's knees after a scramble by the speedy quarterback.
Jackson relayed what he heard to Vick.
“The reason I brought it up was so Mike could take precautions for himself,” the receiver said. “I don't like to make big deals out of stuff, but he's my teammate.”
Jackson said he's never heard a similar comment during his nine years in the league.
Vick said he confronted Blache after going out of bounds on the Bears sideline.
“It was very inappropriate and uncalled for,” Vick said. “It just shows guys are gunning for me and trying to knock me out of the game.”
Said Blache, “Yeah, he made a comment to me at the time. I said, 'Son, if you run, we're going to hit you.”'
Vick, who had 128 yards rushing this season, realizes that teams are going to punish him when he leaves the pocket.
“I know my style of football,” he said. “I'm going to take a lot of shots. I'm prepared for it. That's why I lift weights so hard.”
Blache said any quarterback who runs from the pocket increases his risk of injury.
“We teach tough, clean football,” he said. “We understand the rules of the pocket. We try to stay off people's knees and try to stay off their heads in the pocket.”
Blache is in his fourth year as the Bears defensive coordinator. Last season, his team allowed fewer points (12.7 per game) than any team in the league.
Chicago defensive back Larry Whigham described the 22-year-old Vick as “just a young kid who got beat up pretty well Sunday. I guess he's looking for some type of excuse.”
“We don't try to injure people,” Whigham added. “We just try to inflict as much pain as we possibly can within the rules.”
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Vick: Bears assistant yelled 'take his knees out'
