Oct 29 2004
The big double-standard
The NBA in the 90s had the Jordan Rules. Does the NFL now have the Rule of Law? Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward seem to think so.
“They’re arm-barring guys out of bounds,” Burress said earlier this week, “Ty Law’s pushing guys 10-15 yards downfield, stopping in front of guys and bumping them when they’re 20 yards downfield. So I think it applies to everybody but them.”
Said Ward, “I’ll be sure to talk to the refs early in the game, just to remind them of that…”
Clearly, Plax and Hines want to get it in everyone’s heads that the Pats’ defensive backs aren’t being called for illegal contact like everyone else is this season, and that’s why New England has won 21 in a row — not because they’re a good, well-coached team with a quarterback who is arguably the best in the game right now.
Regardless, Steelers WRs vs. Pats DBs is far from the most interesting matchup in that game this weekend. There’s also the Pats run defense vs. Duce Staley, the Pittsburgh Blitz vs. Tom Brady, and the New England pass rush vs. Ben Roethlisberger.
Given the mediocrity of the Pittsburgh secondary, the Steelers may choose not to blitz as much as they would like. That will be interesting to see. This entire game will be interesting to see, as it will tell us all just how good this Steelers team is right now. I can’t wait…
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