RENTON, Wash. — Seahawks cornerback Walter Thurmond thinks the NFL let a guilty Wes Welker get off scot-free for his hit on the Patriots’ Aqib Talib last Sunday.
Thurmond ripped Welker for his controversial block on Talib in the second quarter of the AFC Championship, a play that knocked the New England cornerback out of the game with rib and knee injuries and proved to be a pivotal moment in the Broncos’ 26-16 victory.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick claimed it was a dirty play, but Welker wasn’t flagged and the league announced Wednesday the block was legal and the Broncos wide receiver would not be fined.
That didn’t go over well with Thurmond, the Seahawks’ fourth-year cornerback who might end up covering Welker in Super Bowl XLVIII next week at the Meadowlands.
“It was really uncalled for,” Thurmond said Wednesday in response to a question from The Post. “The receiver ran right into the guy. I don’t know the extent of the injury Talib had, but I thought we were supposed to protect football players in this league now. I guess not. I guess that only goes one way.”
Thurmond said Welker might have benefited from a “star” call by the officiating crew. Welker’s block would have been pass interference if it happened when the pass was in the air, but it appeared to happen simultaneous to Demaryius Thomas catching the ball — making it legal.
“If you’re intentionally coming at somebody, it’s supposed to be a flag,” Thurmond said. “But they didn’t throw the flag on him. Some players get away with a lot more than other players depending on status, but that’s just the nature of the game.”
Welker was trying to make contact as part of what is called a “rub” or “pick” play (a favorite tactic of both the Broncos and Patriots), but Thurmond said the term didn’t apply because Welker had his head down.
The league’s unwillingness to see it that way frustrated Thurmond.
“Welker had his head down, like he was coming down the whole time,” he said. “That should be a flag, and he should be getting fined. There’s a whole bunch of things that should happen in that situation, but I don’t run the NFL.”
Thurmond’s comments also seemed to serve as a warning to Welker — and the Broncos’ receivers — Seattle’s hard-hitting secondary, nicknamed “The Legion of Boom,” will be ready and waiting for similar plays in the Super Bowl.
“We play a lot of man coverage, so we know they’re going to have a lot of crossing routes like that,” Thurmond said. “We’re preparing for that situation to occur. We know that kind of contact is going to happen because we play so much man, and we’ll be ready for it.”