First, the Green Bay Packers' new tight end came to Rodgers' defense on Sunday after what he thought was an unnecessary hit on the QB by Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright. Then, after Bennett drew a 15-yard penalty for shoving Wright, the tight end hauled in a 26-yard reception with two minutes left that clinched the Packers' 17-9 season-opening victory.
Martellus Bennett was penalized 15 yards for this hit on K.J. Wright. AP Photo/Mike Roemer
“It’s my quarterback,” Bennett said. “I’ve always got his back. It’s a bad penalty at that moment in time, but I thought it was a cheap shot. I saw him out of my peripheral, which isn’t the best all the time. I always protect the quarterback. I’ll never let anybody take a cheap shot on my guy. That’s any guy on the team. I’ve got everybody’s back.”
“I think this early in the season, it kind of sets the tone,” Bennett said. “It lets guys know this is what we’ve got, this is who we are. Other people around the league will see it, and we’ve got to set the tone. You take shots on my quarterback, we’ll take shots on you. It’s the same thing if someone takes a shot on Ty [Montgomery] or Tae or Randall. All those guys are my boys, my brothers. A lot of my teammates came and said, ‘We’ll take that [penalty] every single time.' That made me feel good, even though I told Mike, that’s a bad penalty, I know better than that, but I just can’t let that s--- happen.”
Continue Reading @
ESPN
Rob Demovsky wrote: