Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy has admitted that he would ask players to fake defensive injuries to prevent the substitution tactics of the New England Patriots if he was playing against them in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots used four offensive lineman and had a running back report as ineligible to confuse the Baltimore Ravens in their divisional-round win, much to the fury of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
Dungy revealed that he would tell his players to fake an injury in order to stop the plays from Bill Belichick's men.
When asked if he would tell players to fake an injury, he told reporters: "It's something I'm totally against doing but I would certainly tell my players to do it rather than have the NFL issue an apology the next day after we lost a Super Bowl."
Dungy later apologised for his comments, saying: "I apologise for suggesting an illegal tactic to counteract this. That is not the way to handle it.
"The proper thing is to address it in the off-season with the competition committee. I'm sure that will be done by the coaches but I'm sorry for my comments that weren't well thought out."
The Patriots are currently being investigated by the NFL for allegedly deflating the footballs in their AFC championship win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Simon Sinclair
