According to Babin’s account of the incident, he failed to notice on the spot but he watched replays afterwards and realized that he was nailed from the side at the snap. Babin said that several of the players who had watched the move on TV sent him text messages to let him know he had been unfairly hit. Babin also said that watching the play on TV afterwards, he became convinced that it had been an intentionally called play, something that he would never have expected from Coach Smith. The move wasn’t illegal from a technical perspective, but it was obvious it was directed at a defenseless player.
Babin didn’t miss the opportunity to take a stab at Smith either: he said he thought Smith was more professional than to resort to such dirty tricks. Babin was obviously singled out by the Bears, as the most disruptive player the Eagles can throw anyone’s way. While the extra attention he received could’ve been taken as a compliment, Babin said he wanted none of it. According to Babin, his team was indeed taking the incident seriously and the Eagles have already brought it into the attention of the league. With all that in mind, we think bookies should really introduce prop bets on who will be the first player to complain of dirty play next week, to go with their tournament strategy recommendations.
