Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray got into some hot water for comments about his team's level of aggression. He doesn't want his players to worry about being fined whenever they make a hit.
"If you are worrying about that, you are not going to go out and try and blow the guy up," Gray said Thursday, according to The Tennessean. "Great football players have to put that out of their mind. You have to say, 'This is my territory between the numbers, and if you throw the football, you better bring the Gator truck.' And that's how you have to play. You can't play timid in the NFL."
Darlington: Heart to Hartline
Miami's Brian Hartline is the NFL's leading receiver. Jeff Darlington chronicles Hartline's painful path to glory. **More ...**
"The Gator truck" is a term used to describe the vehicle that carries injured players off the field. So essentially we have a disciple of former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams more or less openly advocating injuries. As you might imagine, this isn't likely to go over well with the league.
"We are looking into it," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told Around the League. "Players and coaches are accountable for playing and coaching within the rules."
Gray has since admitted to ESPN that his choice of words was less than ideal.
"If I could take that part of it back, I would," Gray told Ed Werder. "I don't want guys thinking about injuring people, and when you say 'Gator truck,' that's probably what comes up. I just want our guys to be tougher."
The Titans have given up more points than any team in the league.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
