Hyde rips Gronkowski’s hit
Rob Gronkowski was apologetic for pile-driving his shoulder into the back of Buffalo Bills rookie cornerback Tre’Davious White’s head.
Bills safety Micah Hyde was livid, calling it a dirty play.
Injuries and accusations overshadowed New England extending its winning streak to eight games and closing in on its ninth consecutive AFC East title following a 23-3 win Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
White was being evaluated for a concussion after he was struck by Gronkowski while lying on the ground after Buffalo’s rookie first-round pick intercepted a Tom Brady pass with 4:50 remaining.
“That’s just dirty football. There’s nowhere in our game for that,” Hyde said. “I don’t know if it was a shoulder, elbow, I’m not sure what it was. That was dirty.”
New England’s tight end was remorseful after the game.
“I’m not in the business of that. It was a lot of frustration,” he said. “I just want to apologize to Tre’Davious White. I don’t really believe in those type of shots.”
Bills players were surprised Gronkowski wasn’t ejected, a sentiment shared by Dean Blandino , the NFL’s former officiating director, who now is a Fox TV analyst.
“In my opinion that was a play where Gronkowski should have been ejected from the game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a substantial fine and maybe even a suspension going forward,” Blandino said after the game.
The hit sparked a shoving match between Hyde and Patriots receiver Danny Amendola. Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes was so upset he was flagged for making contact with an official. Gronkowski, Hyde and Amendola were penalized for unnecessary roughness.
Fox searches for answers: When John Fox was hired to coach the Chicago Bears, general manager Ryan Pace said he was “a proven winner” and “the perfect man to lead our charge.”
Almost three years later, it’s not going very well. And it might not be going on for much longer.
Chicago managed just eight first downs and 147 yards of offense in its fifth straight loss on Sunday, falling, 1514, to the lowly San Francisco 49ers on five field goals by former Bears kicker Robbie Gould. Fox dropped to 12-32 in his third stop as an NFL head coach and is assured of a third consecutive losing season.
“It was hard to even talk to the team after this loss,” Fox said. “I think we had a great week of preparation. I think the guys’ mindsets are good, and they are working at it. It is just that we haven’t been able to finish on those close games. We’ve had our share of them, and today was another example.”
Fox coached Carolina and Denver to a combined six division titles and seven playoff appearances in 13 years before he took over Chicago in January 2015. He is one of six coaches to lead two franchises to Super Bowl appearances, joining Don Shula, Bill Parcells, Dan Reeves, Dick Vermeil and Mike Holmgren.
But the 62-year-old Fox hasn’t been able to turn around the Bears. Not even close.
Movin’ on up: Frank Gore is now No. 5 on the National Football League’s career rushing list.
The 34-year-old running back for the Indianapolis Colts moved up to that spot on a 16-yard run in the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gore began the day at No. 7. First, he passed Jerome Bettis (who finished with 13,662 yards) for sixth place in the first half, then topped LaDainian Tomlinson (13,684).
Gore wound up with 61 yards on 13 carries in Indy’s 30-10 loss to the Jaguars, giving him a total of 13,697 yards in 13 seasons, the first 10 with San Francisco.
Next up for Gore to chase: Curtis Martin holds the fourth spot in league history with 14,101 yards.
Demo derby: A partial implosion of the Silverdome failed to bring down the upper section of the Detroit Lions’ former home as intended as demolition of the stadium began.
Demolition company Adamo said the blasts in Pontiac, Mich., did weaken the Silverdome and it could still fall, but it’s unclear when that might happen.
Rick Cuppetilli, executive vice president with Adamo, said that 10% of the explosive charges failed to detonate due to wiring issues that crews were investigating.
Unless gravity causes the building to fall on its own, excavators will start taking down the structure this week, he said.