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Chidobe Awuzie wasn't going to act like 'sucker' on Marshawn Lynch tackle
11:46 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas -- When Chidobe Awuzie saw Marshawn Lynch coming toward him in the second quarter of the Dallas Cowboys' win against the Oakland Raiders last week, he did not have a decision to make.
"Real ball players, when the play snaps, you just do your job," Awuzie said. "I'm not going to make a business decision or do anything like that; I'm going to do my job and that was to stop him where I hit him and make sure he didn't get any more yards, and I think I did a pretty good job of that. If you're on that football field, you should be able to do everything, you should want to do everything, love to do everything. That's all part of it. People who really love football, that's the type of plays you're going to get. They ain't going to make no business decision.”
There have been contact-averse defensive backs in the NFL for years. Awuzie, the Cowboys’ second-round pick, didn’t back down. Awuzie is listed at 202 pounds. Lynch is 215 pounds and one of the toughest runners to tackle in the NFL.
The collision sent Awuzie backward, but Lynch did not gain any more yards after contact. And Awuzie popped up quickly enough to see Lynch stick his tongue out at him. His willingness to stand strong against Lynch earned him praise from teammates and coaches.
“Maybe line 1 with him is the demeanor with which he plays and we saw that in college, played a lot of different spots for them at Colorado, was regarded as the leader of the secondary, leader of the defense there,” coach Jason Garrett said. “So that’s one of the things we really liked about him. We didn’t get a chance to see him for a lot of the year because of his injury, but he always went about it the right way. He was preparing to play. Since he’s gotten a chance here the last few weeks, I think we’ve seen a lot of things that we liked about him coming out of school. A lot of that is the demeanor, the physicality, the competitive spirit."
So what is the sensation that comes with such a hit?
"Loud. My neck is still stiff a little bit," Awuzie said. "It was very loud, very forceful, big. I bounced up pretty quick. Had to. Can't be looking like no sucker."
11:46 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas -- When Chidobe Awuzie saw Marshawn Lynch coming toward him in the second quarter of the Dallas Cowboys' win against the Oakland Raiders last week, he did not have a decision to make.
"Real ball players, when the play snaps, you just do your job," Awuzie said. "I'm not going to make a business decision or do anything like that; I'm going to do my job and that was to stop him where I hit him and make sure he didn't get any more yards, and I think I did a pretty good job of that. If you're on that football field, you should be able to do everything, you should want to do everything, love to do everything. That's all part of it. People who really love football, that's the type of plays you're going to get. They ain't going to make no business decision.”
There have been contact-averse defensive backs in the NFL for years. Awuzie, the Cowboys’ second-round pick, didn’t back down. Awuzie is listed at 202 pounds. Lynch is 215 pounds and one of the toughest runners to tackle in the NFL.
The collision sent Awuzie backward, but Lynch did not gain any more yards after contact. And Awuzie popped up quickly enough to see Lynch stick his tongue out at him. His willingness to stand strong against Lynch earned him praise from teammates and coaches.
“Maybe line 1 with him is the demeanor with which he plays and we saw that in college, played a lot of different spots for them at Colorado, was regarded as the leader of the secondary, leader of the defense there,” coach Jason Garrett said. “So that’s one of the things we really liked about him. We didn’t get a chance to see him for a lot of the year because of his injury, but he always went about it the right way. He was preparing to play. Since he’s gotten a chance here the last few weeks, I think we’ve seen a lot of things that we liked about him coming out of school. A lot of that is the demeanor, the physicality, the competitive spirit."
So what is the sensation that comes with such a hit?
"Loud. My neck is still stiff a little bit," Awuzie said. "It was very loud, very forceful, big. I bounced up pretty quick. Had to. Can't be looking like no sucker."