Talib late hit: Schlereth ‘loved it,’ Big Al says not ‘cheap shot’
Aug 30, 2016, 6:59 PM | Updated: 7:01 pm
Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib made his preseason debut Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.
And the Pro Bowl defender definitely left his mark on the game — and likely on Rams quarterback Case Keenum.
Early in the second quarter, Keenum scrambled to his right and was heading for the sidelines when Talib walloped him, sending him airborne for several feet into the Broncos bench.
Talib was flagged for the personal foul, and he took off his helmet and did not return to action.
But was it a dirty hit?
Mark Schlereth, co-host of “Schlereth and Evans,” and Alfred Williams, co-host of “The Drive with Big Al and DMac,” say no.
“The guy was in bounds. What do you want me to say?” Big Al asked.
According to replays, Keenum’s last step does land inside the white boundary. However, it does appear the quarterback had given himself up on the play, as Denver 7 Broncos Insider Troy Renck told “The Drive” Tuesday he said he was surprised by the hit.
Schlereth said he liked seeing that aggression come out in the Broncos defense and questioned whether another player, aside from a quarterback, would have earned the same call
“I loved it because, you know what, with the Broncos you’re going to have a couple of penalties that err on the side of aggression,” Schlereth said. “There were three other hits that were identical in that game that weren’t flagged. Why weren’t they flagged? Because it wasn’t against the quarterback.”
Cheap shot or not, Renck said it’s the cost of doing business for this Broncos defense, who want to play nastily. And that starts with Talib.
“He brings them an edge. His hit on Keenam as an example of he brings nasty. He is a different kind of player that they miss when he’s not out there,” said Renck, who thought the play was only a cheap shot due to it happening during the preseason.
Said Schlereth: “I really didn’t have a problem with it. The Broncos had a couple of penalties, a couple of aggression penalties, that I thought, ‘That’s OK. With the Broncos, that’s OK.’ Because that’s who they are, and they are establishing themselves as one of the great defenses in the league. And you know what, those are OK messages to send.”
Follow 104.3 The Fan digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
