Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane is used to having opponents attempt to take him out by any means necessary on special teams.
Special teams players are a unique blend of insane and wild. Their main goal is to run full speed down the field and hit somebody. Most players cannot wait until they are finally off the special teams unit, and it is hard to blame them.
Lane just could not have expected a person on San Francisco’s sidelines to take him out during the NFC championship game on Sunday.
Seattle punted on fourth-and-20 from its own 41-yard line to start the second quarter, and Lane was a member of Seattle’s special teams unit. Lane somehow ended up on San Francisco’s sidelines, and as he was trying get back on the field, an unknown person took down Seattle's cornerback near 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh (h/t Greg Smith).
It is hard to tell if the person who took down Lane did it on purpose. However, the NFL will probably look into this incident.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was fined $100,000 for his sideline interference against the Baltimore Ravens in November, even though he said the contact was incidental. Tomlin interfered with Ravens kick returner Jacoby Jones, and even though coach was penalized for being too close to the playing field, player safety has been the NFL's mantra for several seasons.
One thing is certain, nobody is safe on special teams.
Poster Comment:
Ouch!
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