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| Dungy on faking injuries: Texans were the worst offenders. (Getty Images) |
Posted by Ryan Wilson
As far as football games go, the Monday night matchup between the Rams and Giants was pretty forgettable. In fact, the lasting memory from the game wasn't a particular play, but the sight of two Giants players laying on the turf pretending to be injured. Safety Deon Grant offered up a flimsy self-defense, and the league has threatened to punish future offenders. Perhaps worst of all, critics compared the Giants' tactics to a bunch of diving soccer players.
| The Giants and injurygate |
But when it comes to make-believe injuries, the Giants aren't nearly as bad as, say, the Texans. Former Colts coach and division rival Tony Dungy explained in great detail Thursday during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show.
Patrick asked Dungy if he had ever had a player fake an injury.
"No I've never done that but in the time I was coaching in Indy we saw it quite a bit, we really did," Dungy said. "It's a tactic that is used, it's part of what's happening now in the NFL and it's really tough to prove. We sent in a lot of tapes to the league and it never could get resolved so just kind of have to go with the flow and know that it's going to happen."
When Patrick asked if Dungy remembered which teams he reported to the league, Dungy didn't hesitate.
"The biggest offenders we saw were the Houston Texans. We played them twice a year, our players knew the defensive line coach there, they knew the signal for faking an injury," he said. "Chad Bratzke would always tell me, 'Here it comes. Guy's gonna fall down right now.'
"And that's what would happen and, you know, they'd catch their breath or whatever and get the substitutions in, you'd send it in to the league and say, 'Hey, this guy was never contacted on the play, let's look at it. The trainer's out there for three or four minutes working on him.'
"But it really is hard to tell. And how can you say when a guy really is hurt and when he isn't? Miraculously, though, they all seem to come back into the game."
* via SportsGrid.com
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