During last week’s Patriots-Lions game, New England offensive lineman Logan Mankins was flagged for grabbing Detroit defensive lineman Lawrence Jackson by the facemask. Jackson’s teammate Ndamukong Suh stepped in and went after Mankins, and now Jackson is saying that the whole confrontation that went on between the teams is a result of Mankins’ dirty play.
“Yeah, he’s a dirty bastard,” Jackson said. “That’s all. He’s dirty. I kind of called him out on it. Things got a little rough. It seems like defense is always on the short end of the stick in the league. The offense gets away with a lot of stuff, especially the offensive line; 95% of it doesn’t get called.”
When told of Jackson’s comments, Mankins wasn’t particularly bothered.
“That’s fine,” Mankins said. “Everyone has their own opinion.”
Mankins also said he disagrees with the rapidly growing belief around the league that Suh plays dirty.
“I wouldn’t say Suh’s a dirty player,” Mankins said. “I think Suh’s a great player. He’s got a load of talent. He plays good and he plays hard. He defends his teammates. He does all the things that I would want in a teammate.”
Those are some very measured and reasonable comments from a dirty bastard.