He has a history. He isn’t a perfect Berfect but he is trying hard. I also don’t buy his excuse for even one nanosecond. That is complete horse bleep. Guys avoid and/or lighten their hit every freaking game in the NFL on those slides. It’s not hard to do. But the real tell is the forearm. As he is approaching and launching his body toward a man already in mid-slide, he puts his forearm in a “club” position, as if to use it as a weapon. That is the part he cannot escape, and the part that will have the NFL’s anttention.
And I have watched it over and over. I honestly do not think he was purposely going for the head. Nope - he was aiming squarely for Trevor’s left shoulder. The one that is injured, and is ultra sensitive right now.
Any way it’s sliced, it’s a pure cheap shot. And the issue is - this isn’t his first rodeo. I can think of 3 incidents this year alone. This one was the worst, but in the Chicago game, he took a cheap shot at Caleb after we was CLEARLY out of bounds…then threw a punch at Johnson who had come to Caleb’s aid. We debated this at the time. 90% of the board took his side - I thought it was a cheap shot. Still do.
I love good, mentally and physically tough LB’s that lay the wood. But It has to be done correctly, within the rules, with integrity, and not with intent to injure. It’s a game for crying out loud. But most importantly, I like smart LB’s who play the game the right way and do so smartly. Azeez has proven himself to be very very very dumb. Like caveman dumb. He will now likely be suspended at least one game, possibly more…costing his team.
If I am the Texans, I am cutting him, or looking to trade him in the offseason. For me, he is persona non grata from now on. He can disappear as far as I’m concerned.