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This quote from a Redskins linebacker on why he plays the game so hard is absolutely insane
To play linebacker in the NFL, you have to have a few screws loose (see: Lawrence Taylor, Bill Romanowski, Brian Bosworth, etc.). Sure, you’re often delivering the punishment to opposing quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and tight ends, but that doesn’t mean you’re not taking some of it as well. These guys are getting in the equivalent of multiple car crashes every Sunday. Just ask former Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, who walked away from the game in his prime after suffering a number of concussions and other injuries during his time in the NFL.
By the sound of it, Washington Redskins linebacker Ryan Anderson doesn’t share the same concerns over playing the position as Kuechly does. In fact, he embraces those concerns, so much so that he delivered this absolutely insane quote about why he plays the game so hard:
Ummmm, ok then. Apparently, Anderson said this in private to former teammate Garrett Hudson. Hudson relayed the story on the Redskins brawl podcast while discussing Anderson’s penchant for spearing him during practices.
"Of the people that were on the team when I was there in 2018, I don't think anybody hits harder than Ryan Anderson” Hudson said. “I've heard him call himself the billygoat, the bulldog and the ram. And he would frequently yell those things at me after he would spear me in the chest.”
The hard hits prompted Hudson to ask Anderson directly: why are you hitting me so hard?
"I remember a conversation in the hot tub after practice and I was like, 'Dude, why are you going so hard all the time?' And, this is a quote, this is verbatim, he said, 'If I can remember my grandkids' names then I didn't play the game right.' So he is a lunatic. He has the mentality to play the inside linebacker position."
Yep, lunatic is a fair description. Hey, if that’s how Anderson wants to play, that’s how he wants to play. But for the sake of his grandchildren and for the sake of his own brain let's hope he makes cleaner, form tackles going forward (unlike this one).