Brandon Meriweather: Vontaze Burfict 'Absolutely Not' A Dirty Player
BOSTON (CBS) -- Former Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather had an interesting perspective on "dirty" players in the NFL, especially considering his own history of being punished for questionable hits.
In light of the league's recent rash of suspensions for violent hits, much of Meriweather's weekly call to 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Wednesday centered on the idea of dirty hits and dirty players. When asked if he cares about being called a "dirty player" himself, Meriweather denied that other players even believe that about him.
"No, I don't [mind being called dirty]," said Meriweather. "I know what's true. Everybody who I played against, played with, they all know I'm not dirty, so it really doesn't bother me. The people who are making this list are the people who never played football a day in their life, so you take it with a grain of salt."
Meriweather had an even more interesting take when asked about Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who has earned a reputation in his career as perhaps the dirtiest player in the league. But ask Meriweather and even Burfict shouldn't be called the D-word.
"No. I think [Burfict's] a hard-nosed player," said Meriweather. "He's one of those players who would jump off a cliff to make a tackle. He'll do whatever he has to do to win. So do I think he's a dirty player? Absolutely not."
So if even Burfict isn't a dirty player, then who is?
"I think people have dirty situations, dirty moments," said Meriweather. "A dirty player would have to be someone who does it all the time, does it every play. It's hard to find a dirty player to me, because I think so much stuff is just in between the whistles where a lot of stuff could be called dirty."
Listen above for the full interview!
