Bill Belichick defends Jonathan Jones hit on Josh Allen: 'Jon did what we’ve coached him to do'
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick sees no issue with the hit that knocked out Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on Sunday. Belichick defended Pats cornerback Jonathan Jones on Monday, saying Jones was coached to tackle that way, according to Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston.
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Belichick added that the Patriots would have to alter their coaching techniques if the league believes that hit was a foul.
B.B. on OMF regarding Jonathan Jones’ tackle of Josh Allen : “Jon did what we’ve coached him to do. If that’s a foul we’ll have to coach him differently.”
— Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) September 30, 2019
The hit occurred on the second play of the fourth quarter in the Patriots’ 16-10 win over the Bills. Allen scrambled to try and pick up a first down on third-and-8. As Allen was running, Jones came in and engaged in a helmet-to-helmet hit on Allen. The 23-year-old Allen was knocked out cold and left the game. Allen is currently in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Following the contest, Bills coach Sean McDermott said Jones should have been ejected for that hit. McDermott added, “There’s no room in football for that.” Bills safety Micah Hyde made similar comments, saying a Bills player would have been ejected for doing the same thing to Tom Brady.
Brady also addressed the hit Monday, saying all quarterbacks need to weigh the risks and rewards of running with the ball. Brady added that Belichick once told Brady to either throw the ball away or slide in those scenarios so he doesn’t have to take big hits.
The league reviewed tape of the hit and determined Jones did not engage in the type of play that should have led to an ejection. Jones was still penalized for the play, so Belichick may want to go over some extra tackling pointers in practice this week.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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