So you’ve probably seen this commercial where the Madden ‘07 likeness of Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark gets plastered by Phildelphia Eagles defensive end Darren Howard:
Well, after hearing how much Clark hated that commercial for making him look like punk, the gang at a site called Rooster Teeth, who claim to have made the original commercial, have decided to appease the pissed-off Clark by creating a director’s cut of that ad. It looks like this:
This is why the Internet exists, folks. You think ESPN would point you at this stuff? They would just keep playing that Madden commercial and ignore anything Clark actually said. Someone has to fill in the gaps. If it weren’t for us bloggers, you would never know just how big an idiot Michael Irvin is.
Mathias Kiwanuka, the rookie defensive end that let go of Vince Young in this play, was flagged for a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty three weeks ago. After the game, he said he thought Young had already passed the ball, and he was scared that if he didn’t let go, he might get flagged again, giving the Titans an automatic first down.
Sure, Young got the first down, anyway. That’s not the point. The point is that Kiwanuka was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Even if he went through with the tackle, who’s to say he wouldn’t have gotten flagged for hitting Young in a way that caused his head to bounce off the turf?
The rules that the NFL uses to protect quarterbacks have gone too damn far. I saw at least two roughing-the-passer penalties called in last week’s games that should not have been penalties — Julius Peppers’ not-really-late hit on Jason Campbell, and Cullen Jenkins’ barely-touched-his-head hit on Matt Hasselbeck. Calls like this are the reason Kiwanuka held up, and I suspect he’s not the only one.
These are not Faberge eggs. These are grown men playing a rough, physical sport, and those men get hurt. If you’re so scared that your quarterback might get injured, find better offensive linemen. Or stockpile more decent quarterbacks. Or go back to the single wing. Here’s an idea: let’s just outlaw pass-rushing all together and let the quarterback stand back there for 10 seconds until he finds someone open, and if he doesn’t, the play’s dead. That should do wonders for this sport…
Enough is enough, NFL. Quit punishing defensive linemen for doing their jobs.
I missed more than usual while getting gorged on turkey, stuffing and birthday cake in the last 7 days, so let’s take a look around and see what’s happening out there…
Tony Romo is starting to draw comparisons to another great Parcells-coached QB: Jeff Hostetler. The real question, though, is whether Hoss could have pulled Debbie Gibson after winning that Super Bowl…
Dallas Clark has beef with EA Sports because of that Madden commercial. Perhaps Clark and EA Chairman Lawrence F. Probst could settle this the old fashioned way — a best-of-7 Need for Speed Underground drift-off…
Bill Cowher will return to NC State one of these days, but not just yet…
Kyle Turley, music mogul. I think I just saw Suge Knight getting past him to try and tackle Larry Johnson…
The Houston Texans are giving track star Justin Gatlin a look. Gatlin quit his high school team because of an argument with his coach. Watch your back, Gary Kubiak…
Jim Haslett wants you to stop being so damn negative. Everyone else wants his run defense to actually stop someone, too, but neither of those things are happening any time soon…
Johnnie Bettis worked as an electrician for the city of Detroit. He and his wife, Gladys, attended every one of their son’s regular-season and postseason games, dating back to ninth grade.
They had a dinner for the Steelers at their home four days before the Super Bowl and hosted about 65 people in their home for a Thanksgiving dinner in 1998 when Pittsburgh played the Detroit Lions, a game remembered for a botched coin flip in overtime with Jerome Bettis as a captain.
When their son offered to buy them a new home, the Bettises spurned the suburbs and moved about six miles to a house on the city’s west side, trying to lead a normal life.
“When Jerome found out we were going to the laundromat, he said that wasn’t acceptable and told us to go get a new washer and dryer,” Johnnie Bettis said a few days before the Super Bowl. “But I kind of liked the laundromat because you get to meet so many interesting people.”
Funny, but that’s the same reason I prefer to go to sports bars to watch football. Rest in peace, Mr. Bettis, and thanks for raising a good kid.
Today marks the completion of my 35th trip around the sun.
365 days ago, I celebrated my birthday by watching the Pittsburgh Steelers get throttled by the Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers would get their revenge in the playoffs, though, and they would go on to win the Super Bowl — the first Steelers’ championship I had seen since Super Bowl XIII, since Mom sent me out of the room for being a crying, screaming little brat during Super Bowl XIV. Overall, it was a very good season.
But that was last season. Two days ago, the Baltimore Ravens dominated my Steelers, but unlike last season, there will be no playoff revenge, because there will be no playoffs. Pittsburgh is losing games like I’m losing the hair on my head — as opposed to the hair on my back — the kick-ass sports bar where I watched that game and many others is now closed, and my other team, the Carolina Panthers, may be the most frustrating football team to watch ever.
The only things that are more frustrating? My recent inability to get a date, my dad’s constant complaints that I haven’t given the family any grandchildren, and the fact that I’ve been doing this damn blog for three years now, and the only things I have to show for it are a few small checks from AOL and Google and a whole lotta footprints on my ass that were left there by a posse of Deadspin commenters.
It’s my birthday. Send hookers and soma immediately.
Y’know, I can understand why the Dallas Cowboys would give Mike Vanderjagt his walking papers. He’s been a pretty lousy kicker for them this season, making only 13 of 18 and missing multiple field goals in at least one game. Dude’s accuracy is pretty much shot.
But seriously, Martin Gramatica? That’s the guy to replace him? Does anyone really think he’ll be any better than Vanderjagt?
Apparently, nobody’s told Jerry Jones about the Most Valuable Canadian. Dude made 11 straight in the CFL postseason, and not all of them were chip shots. Sounds a lot more clutch to me than a Gramatica, eh?
The Falcons’ coach killer completed 9 of 24 for 84 yards. One pass went for 43 yards. That means 8 of those 9 completions gained an average of 5.125 yards. To be fair, Mexico did rush for 166 yards — 57 more yards than LaDainian Tomlinson gained on the ground yesterday. On the other hand, Tomlinson had more passing touchdowns than Mexico yesterday…
I didn’t see much of the 4th quarter. Clearly, there was nothing there to see. Pittsburgh was demoralized in a thousand different ways today. The Ravens maintain their playoff position, which will force San Diego to win today to keep pace.
That’s about all I want to say, really. This team was done when it lost at Oakland. The offensive line stunk up the joint today. I can’t imagine how ugly JJ Cooper’s report card will look later this week.
I’m kind of glad I was outside today, away from the crowd. It had to be depressing to be in that main room today.
Jake Delhomme looked down the field for Steve Smith, but under pressure, he practically threw it up for grabs, and Sean Taylor came down with it. There were 3 maroon helmets back there. Smith never had a chance.
That mistake, paired with the missed tackle on Chris Cooley, only tell part of the story here. Ladell Betts finished the day with 104 yards on 24 carries, and the Skins had 143 yards rushing over all. What’s more, DeAngelo Williams only got 7 carries in the 2nd half for 13 yards. Was it the Redskins’ defense who shut him down, or was it Dan Henning’s inability to call plays to get Williams into the open field where he’s most dangerous? Who knows?
I’ll have a recap at the Panthers FanHouse later, much as it pains me to write it. New Orleans knocked off Atlanta in the Georgia Dome today, so Carolina has fallen back to Wild Card position. What an ugly loss.
Today marks the completion of my 35th trip around the sun.
