Well, here’s something you don’t see every day.
Former Falcons pass rusher John Abraham, while reflecting on his career during an appearance last week on The Water Boyz Show, made an explosive allegation about the 2012 Buccaneers.
Abraham claimed that, in the final game of the regular season, Bucs tackle Donald Penn gave him a warning.
“[Penn] was like, ‘Hey man, be careful out here. The coaches told us to hurt you all,’” Abraham said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “I was like, ‘Stop playing.’ He’s like, ‘Nah, they told us to hurt y’all. So we’re going to be going extra. After the whistle, we’re going to be doing everything to try to mess with y’all.’”
Penn, according to JoeBucsFan.com, has denied it.
Still, Abraham made the claim. On the record.
Coincidentally, Abraham suffered an injury in that game (as evidenced by the photo accompanying this story). It happened when he collided with an opponent.
On one hand, it’s hard to imagine any team verbalizing instructions to attempt to injure opponents during the 2012 season, not with the bounty scandal hitting the fan earlier that year. On the other hand, Bucs coach Greg Schiano is the guy who brought to the NFL the tactic of attacking victory formation, sending defensive linemen into the knees of offensive linemen, hopeful to force a fumble at a time when teams typically concede the outcome of a game.
For now, it’s one man’s word against another’s. The claim from Abraham is too specific and detailed to scream out fabrication. Still, Penn denied it.
We’ll see whether others from the 2012 Bucs roster or coaching staff chime in. Or whether the NFL will look into the situation.