Seahawks DE Michael Bennett goes on profanity-laced tirade against reporter
ATLANTA — Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett spent much of a 36-20 divisional playoff loss to the Falcons showing his frustration in various ways, whether it was attempting to eye gouge tackle Ryan Schrader, jawing Matt Ryan after an Atlanta touchdown or charging at the Falcons' line even in victory formation.
And by the time he got into the locker room, Bennett still hadn't cooled off, berating and threatening a Seattle television reporter following a question he didn't like. The episode only ended when cornerback Richard Sherman came from across the locker room to defuse the situation.
After first calmly assessing the game and calling Ryan the "obvious MVP of the NFL this year," Bennett cut off a question in mid-sentence that suggested the Seahawks' linemen weren't getting as much pressure on Ryan as they typically do.
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"We got a lot of pressure," Bennett said. “He threw the ball really fast and there was a bunch of stuff going on and obviously you don't know football.
"There's some (expletive) that happened. He threw the ball pretty fast. He did his thing, we rushed as good as we could."
That's when Bennett began to blow up, building to a full yell.
"Don't point (at us) and say we didn't do what we needed to do, OK? Don't do that, OK? Get out of my face now. Don't tell me I didn't do my job, mother------. Get the (expletive) out of my face. Like I said, get out of my face.
"Don't play with me! I just put my heart on the (expletive) field! Don't play with me. Get the ---- out of my face! Try me again and see what happens. I ain't one of these mother------ . Don't tell me what I didn't do, mother------.
"We lost the game! That's the NFL, you non-playing mother------! What you do with your life? What you do with your lifetime mother------? What injury you play through? What adversity you went through?"
Though the reporter never responded or attempted to escalate the situation, Bennett's voice grew louder and louder, drawing the attention of Sherman, who broke up his own interviews to calm Bennett down.
Other Seattle defensive linemen had a much more reasoned response to questions about what happened against Ryan, who finished with 338 passing yards
"He was getting the ball out pretty fast and when he didn't get the ball out we got some hit on him,” defensive end Cliff Avril said. “That was probably the most frustrating thing for me."
While it's unclear exactly why Bennett was so ornery throughout the game, it seemed he thought Schraeder was blocking him at the knees. Schraeder, however, said Bennett was going after the wrong guy.
"I don't know, man. Those guys – they just kept going after the whistle," Schraeder said. "We do it between the whistle, and I don’t know, they were doing extra stuff. It’s not really a big deal.
"It took a lot for me to walk away, and I think I kind of grew some today. I guess he didn’t like getting whooped during the play. So, that’s kind of how he reacted after the play."
