Bennett insists every team in the league uses the ploy.
Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett says every team in the NFL uses the “fake injury” tactic at some point if they feel it helps their chances of winning.
The 26-year-old was speaking after former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher revealed that his old team used the tactic in recent years to slow down fast-paced offenses.
However, Bennett, who arrived in Chicago in the off-season, has admitted that the veteran’s comments were not a revelation as he knows that teams across the league do exactly the same thing.
“Every team does that,” Bennett told reporters on Wednesday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Sometimes, it’s just like when you’re boxing. You get hit too many times, and you want to hold him up against the ropes. I think a lot of teams do that. You’ve got to do whatever it takes to win the game.”
Urlacher specifically suggested that a Bears assistant would make a diving motion during the game from the sidelines in order for one of the players to fein injury in order to slow the pace down.
However, while defensive tackle Stephen Paea has insisted that the Bears “never had a play like that”, it is certainly something that the franchise won’t be doing in the new season under new head coach Marc Trestman.
Trestman, who replaces Lovie Smith this year, has revealed that those moves aren’t part of his playbook and he will not be using that tactic to his advantage.
“We don’t do that. That thought hasn’t even crossed my mind,” he told reporters.
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