Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive lineman Miles Brown heard what Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ president and CEO Wade Miller said about him following a high hit on quarterback Zach Collaros.
The six-foot-two, 320-pound pass rusher took his chance to set the record straight.
“I think a dirty player, malicious intent is a little too far, especially for me — I’m not that kind of person, I’m not that kind of player. I don’t see value — you don’t gain anything from playing dirty. I think that was too far, a little egregious. Not at all did I mean to try to hurt him or intend to hit him in the head. I genuinely believed I hit him in his chest,” Brown said.
“If that’s how he feels, it’s very clear he doesn’t know me. When a president of a team is calling a player dirty, naturally you influence the emotions of some people. He can’t control what happens. I think it’s really dangerous when you say things like that, especially in the media. We’ll see what Saturday holds for us.”
Brown hit Collaros following a pass toward the end zone late in the second quarter and delivered a glancing blow to the head with his shoulder and helmet. The play was penalized for roughing the passer and the No. 90 was allowed to remain in the game despite post-game comments from Bombers’ president Wade Miller.
“The rules are what they are and you have to follow them. With Miles this last week, it was a penalty. They looked at it to see if it was grade-two worthy, they didn’t think so in the game. He’s got to do a better job,” head coach Corey Mace said.
“Miles is not a dirty player, he plays a physical game, though. I know his intention is never to hurt anybody. I hope Zach’s good. Being a big boy trying to control your body, that ain’t easy.”
Collaros exited the game and did not return after halftime for precautionary reasons. The veteran QB has been a full participant in practice this week and is expected to start the Banjo Bowl at Princess Auto Stadium.
“I haven’t spoken to Zach, I saw he was taken out for precautionary reasons. I’m hoping that precautionary means there’s nothing wrong with him and that he’s OK. I’ve heard he’s taking first-team reps this week, I’m glad he’s back on the field,” Brown said.
“In this situation, the safest thing to do was to turn my head to avoid a head-to-head collision. You can see on film that I did pull up, I did not follow through with the hit. I know how strong I am, I didn’t feel like I gave him much power. I felt like I reduced as much power as I could.”
The 27-year-old Brown was fined by the Canadian Football League. As per league policy, the amount of the fine was not disclosed. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the highest fine a player can receive is equal to half a game cheque.
“In situations like this, I don’t know if there is any possibility that a 300-pound man is going to stop within two feet of a person running full speed. It’s quite difficult when you’re running full speed to stop on a dime. That’s not something that’s physically possible for a lot of men my size. It’s not something that’s possible for me,” Brown said.
“As I was closing in on him, I was directly in line with him and I was so close that I knew I was going to make contact with him but I also knew I wasn’t going to get the sack. When I realized that, I turned my head away from him to try to avoid head-to-head contact and inadvertently made contact with his face mask, which warranted a penalty.”
The Wofford College product has played 35 games through parts of three seasons in the CFL. He’s recorded 52 tackles, seven sacks and forced one fumble during his time playing in Canada. Brown did not shy away from facing questions about his questionable high hit because it’s part of the job.
“You could see me throw my hands away from him, I jumped over and rolled, I thought that was the safest way to finish that play, it obviously was not. I turned my head away from him so I didn’t hit him in the head, it’s a football play, sometimes it happens,” Brown said.
“The idea behind it is to keep quarterbacks safe, that’s something definitely I can get behind. While hard you have to find a way,” Mace said. “Those are the rules right now and we gotta abide by them.”
