Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett wasn't going to take a question about Seattle's pass rush lightly.
After Saturday's 36-20 Divisional Round playoff loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Bennett reportedly stopped FOX Q13 reporter Bill Wixey in the middle of a question about getting pressure on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. According to USA Today, the question seemed to suggest that Seattle was not getting their typical amount of pressure.
The Seahawks finished with three sacks, five tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits; a pretty good performance given how fast Ryan releases the ball.
"We got a lot of pressure," Bennett said. "He threw the ball really fast and there was a bunch of stuff going on and obviously you don't know football.
"There's some (expletive) that happened. He threw the ball pretty fast. He did his thing, we rushed as good as we could."
He added: "Don't point (at us) and say we didn't do what we needed to do, OK? Don't do that, OK? Get out of my face now. Don't tell me I didn't do my job, (expletive). Get the (expletive) out of my face. Like I said, get out of my face.
"Don't play with me! I just put my heart on the (expletive) field! Don't play with me. Get the (expletive) out of my face! Try me again and see what happens. I ain't one of these (expletive). Don't tell me what I didn't do, (expletive).
"We lost the game! That's the NFL, you non-playing (expletive)! What you do with your life? What you do with your lifetime (expletive)? What injury you play through? What adversity you went through?"
Wixey, according to several printed articles about his battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, has been through quite a bit in his life for the record.
This is the second time in a few weeks that a Seahawks player has blown up at a reporter. Just before Christmas, cornerback Richard Sherman threatened to "ruin" the career of KIRO-AM reporter Jim Moore and said that he would get Moore's press credentials revoked.
These incidents can be spun a thousand different ways to fit whatever narrative the author so chooses, but it's always important to consider a few facts. Postgame situations are difficult for players, who sometimes don't handle the moment with the grace that has become unreasonably expected of them given the circumstances. Reporters, for the most part, are just there to do their job and glean information for the fans who depend on them for some type of breakdown or report. In a perfect world, there would be a better way to do this than in a tense, sweaty locker room just moments after a promising season comes to an end.
That doesn't mean Sherman or Bennett should be excused for threatening a person's job or suggesting something about a person they clearly don't know much about. Sherman later apologized and it wouldn't be surprising to see Bennett do the same.
