National Football League

Giants' Tuck: Falcons' O-line 'dirtbags'

Published Jan. 3, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The playoff trash talk began early in advance of Sunday's Giants-Falcons Wild Card matchup, with Giants defensive end Justin Tuck calling the Atlanta offensive line "dirtbags."

It is fairly common knowledge throughout the league that the Falcons' offensive line plays to the whistle, and beyond, drawing the ire of many defensive linemen, including the Packers and Lions who complained about dirty tactics this season.

"Most people, you would call them dirtbags," Tuck said. "But it is what it is. We got to make sure we do our job, and if we are doing our job well then they will be upset and they will be trying to do things to get us off our game, and we got to take that as a compliment.

"But in the same sense you got to protect yourself and hopefully the referees have 20-20 vision this week."

Tuck and his teammates on the defensive line are on a roll, with 11 sacks the past two games against the Jets and Cowboys. The Falcons have allowed only 26 sacks of Matt Ryan all season.