‘I'm out of bounds, chill out!' Darius Slay opens up on cheap shot in Saints game

Darius Slay is OK and will be fine for the Eagles’ game in Tampa Sunday. But he knows it could have been a whole lot worse.

Slay hurt his left knee with 5 ½ minutes left in the Eagles-Saints game in New Orleans Sunday when Saints offensive tackle Trevor Penning blocked him into a TV camera far beyond the sideline.

“He was tripping,” Slay said.

Penning was called for a personal foul, but Slay had to leave the game and was unable to return.

Slay participated in the Eagles’ walkthrough on Wednesday and practiced Thursday. He spoke at his locker Thursday about the play.

“It could have been a clean play, he just made it a bad play,” Slay said. “I do understand he has a job to do. And he was blocking for his teammates. But out of the bounds like that? All the way back there? 

“That ain't called for. That ain't called for. I'm like, ‘I'm out of bounds, chill out!’”

The Saints played dirty football much of the night. And Penning in particular has a reputation for cheap stuff, something Slay said he didn’t know before he got hurt.

“That's even worse, because if he’s still doing it obviously he ain't trying to correct nothing,” Slay said. 

Slay is a five-time Pro Bowler in his 12^th season. He’s played 173 games and said nobody has ever blocked him out of bounds like that.

“Not like that, because I respect the game,” he said. “Some people do. Some people just play at a different level. But I've never been blocked like that.”

The injury actually occurred when Slay hit a TV camera mounted on the ground far beyond the sideline.

“When I hit the camera, I kind of fell and then my knee got caught under me a little bit, kind of like a little hyperextension," he said. "Just (sore for) a little couple days but thankfully I missed like probably like seven plays. I would probably have came back, but at that time I just couldn't put no pressure on it.

“I was trying to go right back in because I knew it was the last drive. I knew I needed to be in there and I wanted to help the defense win, but Reed (Blankenship) did his thing and made the play (clinching interception). If it was the third or second quarter, I would probably have been back out there easily. But I just had to get my leg back right.

“It felt bad. He’s a big dude, so it felt bad, but thankfully I'm OK.”

Penning no doubt will be fined for the incident – the NFL announces fines on Friday – but Slay said he doesn’t even want Penning to get fined.

“I don't like seeing people get their money took, but I'm sure there's probably going to be one in there, but I don't like seeing people get their money took,” he said. “Everybody works hard for their hard-earned money.”

Asked if Penning ever apologized, Slay said, “Hell nah, he ain’t do none of that.”

The Saints were playing past the whistle much of the night, with several of their questionable plays un-penalized.

“Since I've been in the league, the Saints have always been an aggressive team," Slay said. "The whole team has always been aggressive. They always try to put dominance on another opponent. So the aggression is not a problem. That's part of the game.

“We know what we signed up for. They're known for being an aggressive team but just play between the whistles. That’s it. Other than that, they play great football over there.”

Slay was more upset with the Smith play than the one where he got hit. Smith suffered a concussion and is expected to miss the Eagles’ game Sunday in Tampa.

“Yeah, that bleep was crazy,” Slay said. “I saw three people grabbing on him, then he's going backwards. That's when the ref, you usually blow the whistle when you're going backwards. He let him get back with a hit by another guy and another guy jumping back and then another dude trying to cap off. 

“So I understand that he’s just running to the ball until the whistle blowing so he's just doing his job but that's rough. He could have blown the whistle a long time ago.”

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