Wolf
07-29-2012, 04:52 PM
HOUSTON – Linebacker Brooks Reed was getting an IV in the Houston Texans' locker room just before halftime of the game against the Cleveland Browns last November when suddenly the equipment crew burst in with a bunch of bloody towels.
"I'm like, 'What the heck happened?' " Reed said. "Somebody said, 'It's crazy, Cushing just head-butted some guy with no helmet on."
Brian Cushing has long been known for the passion he brings to the game. (Getty)
Cushing delivered the blow after taking off his own helmet, slamming his dome against the covered noggin of Browns guard Shawn Lauvao. Not exactly the smartest move, as Cushing found out with the combination of stitches and a throbbing skull. At the same time, the move was representative of what Cushing is for a Houston defense that made stunning strides last season. Strides that make them a Super Bowl contender this season.
"We used him as an example last year to the rest of the players," said Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who puts Cushing on a level with such high-motor greats as Robert Brazile, Karl Mecklenberg, Bryce Paup and even Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson. "We said, 'Hey, if everybody plays as hard in the game as he does then we'll be good.' We told the players that and they started catching on to what we wanted."
On a defense that features the likes of Reed, J.J. Watt, Connor Barwin, Antonio Smith and Johnathan Joseph, Cushing is the talented instigator. Former USC defensive coordinator Nick Holt had a more blunt description of Cushing.
"In college, my defensive coordinator always called me, 'The Prick,' " Cushing said. "In any other profession, you don't want to be the prick. But he said [in football], that was one of the best compliments you can get."
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--texans--brian-cushing-isn-t-afraid-to-get-his-hands-dirty-or-his-face-bloodied-in-leading-the-defense-.html
"I'm like, 'What the heck happened?' " Reed said. "Somebody said, 'It's crazy, Cushing just head-butted some guy with no helmet on."
Brian Cushing has long been known for the passion he brings to the game. (Getty)
Cushing delivered the blow after taking off his own helmet, slamming his dome against the covered noggin of Browns guard Shawn Lauvao. Not exactly the smartest move, as Cushing found out with the combination of stitches and a throbbing skull. At the same time, the move was representative of what Cushing is for a Houston defense that made stunning strides last season. Strides that make them a Super Bowl contender this season.
"We used him as an example last year to the rest of the players," said Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who puts Cushing on a level with such high-motor greats as Robert Brazile, Karl Mecklenberg, Bryce Paup and even Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson. "We said, 'Hey, if everybody plays as hard in the game as he does then we'll be good.' We told the players that and they started catching on to what we wanted."
On a defense that features the likes of Reed, J.J. Watt, Connor Barwin, Antonio Smith and Johnathan Joseph, Cushing is the talented instigator. Former USC defensive coordinator Nick Holt had a more blunt description of Cushing.
"In college, my defensive coordinator always called me, 'The Prick,' " Cushing said. "In any other profession, you don't want to be the prick. But he said [in football], that was one of the best compliments you can get."
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--texans--brian-cushing-isn-t-afraid-to-get-his-hands-dirty-or-his-face-bloodied-in-leading-the-defense-.html