Vince Young and Richard Seymour starred in the NFL's most recent episode of "NFL Players Behaving Immaturely."
Both talented players embarrassed themselves and hurt their teams with displays of non-professionalism from guys who call themselves professionals.
Seymour's action will have a shorter shelf life, though it was a did-you-see-that moment. Young's decisions will reverberate for a long time -- because his actions doom somebody's future in Tennessee.
It's a stunning tumble for a guy who was so brilliant in that national championship game win over USC. Remember the vision of Young standing amidst the confetti after his dramatic win? That vision is replaced by a guy who threw his shoulder pads into the stands in a post-game snit worthy of Guinness (the book, not the beverage).
The Tennessean also provided details of a locker-room confrontation between Young and coach Jeff Fisher, and it included Young leaving as Fisher addressed the team. Fisher told Young not to walk out on his teammates. Young told Fisher he was walking out on him and he ignored the pleas of safety Michael Griffin, who chased him down and tried to get him to stop.
Young may as well keep walking -- perhaps all the way back to Texas. Because his future in Tennessee seems finished. Well ... either his future with the Titans is done or Fisher's is, because the only thing that might keep Young in Nashville would be if owner Bud Adams supported Young over Fisher. Adams, after all, was the guy who forced Fisher to draft Young. And he's the guy who forced Fisher to play Young last season. And he's the guy who signs the checks.
But Fisher also is the Titans' long-time coach, and Young showed himself to be spoiled on Sunday. Yes, he tried to clear things up on Twitter by posting: "Just want to say I'm fine sorry to my teammates I just a ... Competitive ... Just want to play ... But God is great." But this could very well come down to a him-or-me ultimatum from the coach.
The problems with Young started when he gestured to the crowd as it booed him, asking for more. Later, he hurt his thumb and never told Fisher he could play again despite the fact he took some practice throws on the sidelines. Then came the post-game meltdown.
It sounds like a major meltdown, complete with insubordination and selfishness. To think that Fisher, a proud guy who demands much from his players, would take Young back would be to give control of the team to a guy who undercut the coach. But Fisher also announced to the media that Young would not be the starter, and he seemed to do it before he told the team, according to the Tennessean.
Young has never seemed able to handle the fact that in the NFL he has shown the ability to be a good quarterback, but not a great one. There have been moments when it seemed like he grew up - touted by Young himself when he was on the cover of magazines -- but now it comes to this. Fisher has been with the Titans since 1995 when the Titans were in Houston. That's an eternity in NFL time. If Adams supports Young at all, Fisher might decide it's time for a fresh start with another team, and Tennessee might decide it wants one as well. Fisher would not be looking for a job for long -- and there is a high-profile opening in Dallas this offseason.
Then there is Seymour, whose presence has been credited for the Raiders' resurgence. He brought a winning attitude, a different feel, a new culture. And maybe he has. But at one time or another Raiders players all seem to revert to the style that was played when John Madden was coach, a roughhouse, rowdy, undisciplined style.
That happened when Seymour inexplicably turned and smacked Ben Roethlisberger in the face after Roethlisberger had thrown a touchdown pass. Roethlisberger ran up to Seymour and kind of, sort of grabbed his arm and said something, and Seymour turned and gave him an open-handed smack to the throat.
Perhaps Roethlisberger taunted Seymour, who had been involved with Pittsburgh linemen earlier. (Roethlisberger claimed innocence, stating he only said his team should get ready for the extra point). But even if Roethlisberger did taunt there was no reason to throw a punch. Seymour hurt his team, and could cost them further if the league decides to suspend him.
As the NFL's world turns ...
UNLIKELY VOICE OF REASON
There's something about the way James Harrison plays that would make him one of the last guys you'd expect to be a voice of reason about the NFL's new emphasis on proper tackling.
Let's say first of all that the league's emphasis is proper. Using the helmet as a weapon can cause serious injury and the league is right to stop it (witness what happened to Ellis Hobbs of the Eagles on a legal hit Sunday night). But the emphasis on these hits seems to be leading to officials erring, to flags being thrown because hits seem wrong.
In fairness, officials have a tough job. The game is played at a high speed. And every week the league is giving emphasized guidelines that must be followed. (When the game is over, there is a snot-nosed guy behind a computer to write about it.) So the officials react. And there is a cogent argument to be made that erring on the side of safety is a good thing.
But there also is Harrison's argument that perhaps ... perhaps ... the Steelers are under an unfair microscope. In Sunday's dismantling of the Raiders, Pittsburgh was flagged for a franchise-high 163 yards in penalties (yes, they still beat the Raiders by 32), calls that included three questionable ones for roughing the passer or unnecessary roughness.
Lamar Woodley was flagged for roughing the passer when he merely ran into Jason Campbell.
"I was trying to hold back," Woodley said. "But once again, a penalty."
Safety Ryan Clark was flagged for what was called a helmet-to-helmet hit when Clark hit the Raiders receiver in the back. Clark, who has been a loud critic of the league, even adjusted the way he tackled to not use his helmet, and said he got hurt because he hit Jacoby Ford awkwardly (Clark returned to the game).
"Right now, it's a game where the referees have to be on edge," Clark said. "It's kind of 'Make the call first, review it later.'"
Finally, Harrison was flagged for a hit on Campbell when all he did was tackle Campbell after a throw and force Campbell to land awkwardly. That call negated a Steelers interception return for a touchdown.
"I wrapped and when I went to the ground, I put my arms out to try and stop myself so I wouldn't land with my full force on him," Harrison said. In other words: He did not drive him to the ground.
None of these hits seemed especially vicious or violent -- not live or on replay. Yet the Steelers were flagged. For years, the Steelers have played hard-nosed, tough and hard-hitting football. It borders on nasty, but the Steelers have never been a team that people have pointed to and called a bunch of thugs. Just a bunch of nasty, hard-nosed football players.
Now they seem to be watched like a hawk watches a backyard rabbit. Sunday, the Raiders were their old chippy selves, yet the Steelers had twice as many penalties and three times as many penalty yards.
"You look at some of the things that happened on the field with their defensive guys and no penalty being called," Harrison said. "I believe if that were to happen the other way and it was our defense doing that, there would have been a lot more penalties called. They may have even kicked five or six of us out of the game."
Harrison is embittered by the $75,000 fine he received for hitting Cleveland's Mohamed Massaquoi earlier this season, one of the hits that led to the change in emphasis. But he also has a point when he implies that the officials do not have to flag everything, and that football is a rough, physical game.
The league's emphasis is proper. How it is being officiated might not be.
REVENGE IS ...
Happened to catch one of those silly NFL Network shows the other night. The ones about Best Snow Game or Best Left-Handed Passer Games. This one: Best Revenge Games.
More from NFL.com:
The second-ranked best revenge game -- silly as that is -- was Minnesota beating Green Bay twice in Brett Favre's first year with the Vikings. Never mind that these were two games, but they were considered second-best revenge/payback games.
Ever.
Brett Favre, said one expert, had the last laugh.
Which leads to two questions: Why do people always say Brett Favre instead of merely Favre?
And what does that make Sunday's 31-3 shellacking by the Packers, in Minnesota, of Brett Favre and the Vikings?
The latest best revenge game?
If Brett Favre had the last laugh last season, does that last laugh extend to this season? Do Aaron Rodgers and Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy have the really last laugh?
Or do all those who chortled at the Vikings ridiculous begging to get Favre to return get the last laugh? Clearly, Brett Favre does not chuckle last.
Sunday's game tolls the bell for Minnesota's season, for Favre's career and for the future of coach Brad Childress. This season was a dream that turned into a nightmare, and it started with Favre's terrible interception in the championship game against New Orleans
This does not take away from Favre's career. He has been outstanding, exciting and a joy to watch.
But it sure is ending ugly.
JAGUARS' EDGE
Are the Jets and Jaguars destined to play in the AFC Championship Game? Laugh all you wish, but the Jaguars are tied for first in the AFC South and the Jets are tied with New England for the league's best record at 8-2. They somehow keep finding ways to win, which means either they are destined for greatness -- or things will explode in nasty ways at some point. There usually is no in-between.
New York pulled off a miracle against Houston, winning a game it had no business winning. But that's what the Jets have done this season. They beat Houston, beat Cleveland on a 37-yard completion with 16 seconds left in overtime and beat Detroit in overtime thanks to an inexplicable play-call by the Lions and a Detroit penalty.
The Jets have been lucky, yes, but sometimes teams make their own luck.
Look at Jacksonville, which beat Houston on a Hail Mary and then beat Cleveland thanks to a 75-yard screen pass to Maurice Jones-Drew. How many times do screen passes go for 75 yards, much less in the final minutes? Jacksonville also beat the Browns when the Jaguars turned the ball over six times, something akin to a basketball player shooting an airball from six feet. It just doesn't happen.
This marks the first time since 1999 that the Jaguars have been in first place this late. It also means the Jets control their destiny.
Lucky? Sure. Fluky? Absolutely. But when the playoffs start, all folks do is add the wins. Nobody asks how they were earned.
Watch highlights from Sunday's games:
COLTS, PATS DO IT AGAIN
The Patriots and Colts produced another of those exciting games that go right down to the wire. Tom Brady started fast, Peyton Manning finished faster. Until the end, when he threw a ill-advised pass that ended the game and sealed the win for the Patriots.
As Manning was driving the Colts for what appeared to at least a field goal to send the game to overtime, New England safety James Sanders said the defense huddled and said: "If we don't make a play, we're going to lose this game, because Peyton is not going to give it to us." That was not really true. Because Manning did give it to them.
On first down, Manning tried to throw over Pats linebacker Jermaine Cunningham when he could have easily side-stepped him. Trying to throw over Cunningham forced Manning to throw awkwardly, and the duck was intercepted by Sanders. Had Manning slid slightly to his left, he could have planted and put more on the ball -- or seen that his two receivers were outnumbered on that side of the field.
Clearly, this is easy to say not being on the field, and Manning has made hundreds more great plays in his career than bad ones. But this one was not his best.
To his credit, he followed the old quarterback edict after the game when he said he made a bad throw and didn't get enough on the ball. The edict: A quarterback spreads the credit when things go well, but when things go wrong he takes the blame. Manning, a pro's pro, will always follow that edict.
The win gives Brady his 25th in a row at home -- tying him for the all-time lead with Brett Favre.
TAKING NOTE
The Colts are 6-4, beat up with injuries and finish against San Diego, Dallas, Tennessee (twice), Jacksonville and Oakland. Could this be a year when they (Gasp!) miss the playoffs? ... Nah. ... Browns fans are not happy that Colt McCoy might be injured (ankle), but they can look at it this way: If he doesn't play it should improve the team's draft position and they will have McCoy back next season more experienced and established as the starter. ... Steelers coach Mike Tomlin properly assessed Seymour's slap of Roethlisberger when he said: "I haven't seen a quarterback get punched since I've been in this league after a play like that. It was unfortunate. I got big-time respect for Richard Seymour as a football player. That guy's got an 11-year resume that's pretty impressive as a professional. (The game) got away from us all. I'm not going to let that play cloud my opinion of Richard Seymour. I think he's an awesome football player and professional. It just got away from us, all parties involved." ... Lost in the discussion about penalties was the reason Pittsburgh spanked Oakland: Its defense harassed Jason Campbell and allowed the league's second-best running team to run for a mere 61 yards. ... The Bengals' implosion against Buffalo -- blowing a 28-7 lead and losing -- probably seals Marvin Lewis' fate. Lewis has done as much as anyone can in Cincinnati, yet even with that the Bengals will have 18 losing seasons in the last 20. ... Anyone doubt the Patriots after they beat the Colts and Steelers back-to-back? ... Tampa Bay is much maligned, but a shutout is rare in the NFL and the Bucs got one in San Francisco. ... Amazing how the league makes replay rulings based on slow-motion, frame-by-frame analysis. Which is what happened to the Eagles Sunday night on Ahmad Bradshaw's fumble. The college replay system is light years better. ... A lot of receivers were traded in the offseason. Brandon Marshall. Anquan Boldin. The Jets, though, made the best move, acquiring Santonio Holmes for a fifth-round pick. ... At about 11:20 p.m. Sunday night, Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe tweeted this: "Bill Belichick is playing lacrosse on the Gillette Stadium turf right now. Carry on."
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar