Carl Banks makes distinction on ‘dirtbag play’ that injured Kayvon Thibodeaux

Carl Banks had a distinction to make on the low block that injured Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Banks, a former All-Pro linebacker who won two Super Bowls with the Giants, was talking on his Bleav podcast with Bob Papa about the block on the Giants’ rookie pass rusher by Bengals tight end Thaddeus Moss in the Bengals-Giants preseason game on Sunday.

“It was not a dirty play, per se — it’s a dirtbag play,” Banks said.

“A lot of my contemporaries, guys like Marcus Spears and Emmanuel Acho, they were going on and on about it. The reality is this and I think Dan Orlovsky had it best — it’s a legal play. You may not like it as a defensive player, and people are starting to factor in ‘defensive backs can’t do x, y and z.’ That’s a different situation. It’s more of a don’t-hate-the-player-hate-the-game type thing.”

Banks ultimately made it clear that Thibodeaux should be better-prepared to avoid those low blocks.

“But as a defensive player, you do have some remedies for these types of plays,” he said. “As it relates to Kayvon Thibodeaux, there are some things he could’ve done better. First and foremost, let me just say, I’m happy he’s not seriously injured. But there are some teachable lessons there. Chances are he didn’t see this type of block in college, and if he did, it wasn’t coached up, like the Bengals coach it up and the Giants coach it up — the Giants did the same thing in the New England game for a big run.”

Fortunately, Thibodeaux is only expected to miss 3-4 weeks, and will not need surgery.