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Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Ted Larsen protects his quarterback in more ways than one. Larsen's main job is to snap the ball to quarterback Josh Freeman, and to naturally block for Freeman.
Larsen took his protection to the next level on Sunday. Freeman threw a pick-six to Carolina Panthers defensive back Captain Munnerlyn, and Panthers defensive tackle Dwan Edwards, who forced the poor throw from Freeman, laid on top of the Tampa Bay quarterback.
Larsen didn't like that one bit, and bulldozed Edwards away from Freeman, drawing a personal foul penalty on the play.
Since personal fouls come with automatic fines, Larsen's wallet will be a little lighter this week, but Tampa Bay's center still had no regrets about the incident.
"You can't do that," Larsen said. "You've just got to protect your quarterback all the time. You see your quarterback down there, obviously he can't get up, getting mugged. You've got to get him off."
Larsen was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, but was released when Bill Belichick made his final cuts prior to the season. Larsen was claimed by the Buccaneers, and has since appeared in 38 games for the Buccaneers, starting in 21 of them.