 |
| Photo creds to larrybrownsports.com |
I am fascinated by the thought of getting a look into the minds of Votaze Burfict and Adam ''Pacman'' Jones. What would we see? Would we see small pebbles? Would we see nothing but a giant blank space? Who knows. It is a mystery to me how these two gentlemen can function in everyday life, being as stupid as they are. In case you live in Pittsburgh and were asleep through all of Saturday, here is the situation. With the Bengals clinging to a 16-15 lead and less than 30 seconds remaining, an injured Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass that was well out of Antonio Brown's reach. What should have been an incomplete pass that brought up fourth down ended up being 30 yards worth of penalties.
After the play was over, a gentleman who had already established himself as the scum of professional football added to his infamous legend by going nailing Brown with a helmet-to-helmet cheap shot. A few moments later (Spongebob narrator voice), a gentlemen who is known for assaulting strippers, throwing punches at police officers, playing in Canada when he became too out of control for even the NFL, and a failed career in professional wrestling decided to try and out dumbass the dumbass by getting into a altercation with Steelers assistant coach, Joey Porter (or Jerry Porter, if you saw Pac Man's gibberish Instagram rant.
I don't know which player to hate more. Burfict is a dirtier player than Jones on the field, but on the other hand, he is a young man at 25 years of age. Burfict has never had any major off the field issues, and Jones has a list that would be able to fill up the length of the Great Gatsby. The thing that is the most puzzling about Jones is that he was given a second chance, and judging from his actions tonight, he is not making the most of it.
Jones was granted a second chance by Marvin Lewis and the Bengals organization, and while he has stayed out of legal trouble, it appears that he still does not know how to act even at 32 years old. There are guys like Mike Vick, who have been given chances for redemption and ran with them, and then there are guys like Pacman who still act like complete asses.
While the behavior of Burfict and Jones is a slap in the face to Marvin Lewis, I think it is time for the Bengals to make a change at the head coaching position. I came into the week believing that Lewis deserved to keep his job regardless of the outcome of the game, but after seeing what I saw on Saturday, I have come to a conclusion that Lewis cannot cage the animals. I think that Lewis is a good man and a damn good football coach, but his teams have been getting into trouble both on and off the field for far too long, and because of that, I compare him to a substitute teacher who intends well but does not know how to control his subjects. That being said, Lewis would be fit for any other job in the NFL.
While the Bengals deserve the bulk of the blame for what went down on Saturday night, neither the Steelers nor the NFL have clean hands in this matter. Most of you are probably aware about what happened when Pittsburgh traveled to the Queen City in week 14, so it would have made some sense for the league to oh I don't know, not assign the same officiating crew for Saturday night's game? But the NFL did assign the same officials, and we got what we got.
The Steelers did not exactly behave like Eagle Scouts. The personal foul penalties speak for themselves, and Ryan Shazier is very lucky that one was not called when the inside linebacker looked to have hit Bengals running back Giovani Bernard helmet-to-helmet. But no flag was given. and a potential Bengals scoring drive turned into a turnover, as Bernard fumbled on the play. Shazier might have ruffled a few tiger feathers when he was seen celebrating on the sidelines after the turnover.
It was an eventful night for the Steeler coaching staff, as offensive line coach Mike Munchak may or may not have purposely shoved Bengals free Saftey Reggie Nelson, which led to Nelson shoving back and Munchak getting a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on him. I have told you all about the Porter incident, and while Pacman is obviously a moron, Porter had no business being on the field in that situation. Unless, of course, "J-Peezy" is now the team trainer.
Although there are other parties to blame, the Bengals and their fans were the biggest jerks by a long shot on Saturday night, and the most disgusting act of all may have been the Bengal faithful throwing debris at an injured Ben Roethlisberger as he was being carted off the field after suffering a shoulder injury in the 3rd quarter. After the game, the Bengals quarterback joined in the bozo barrage when he claimed that the weather of the game varied on which team had the ball.
According to AJ McCarron, the skies opened up when the Bengals had the ball, but not when Pittsburgh had possession. That's absurd. We all know that only Bill Belichick controls the weather. Marvin Lewis did not do himself any postgame favors when he said he did not know if Burfict's hit was dirty, and Pacman Jones performed a rant that is too profane to be quoted on this squeaky clean sports blog.
The one Bengal that did show class was Jeremy Hill, who blamed himself for the loss and apologized to his organization in a tweet. If Lewis wants to show that he cares about how his players act, Burfict and Jones will not be welcomed to training camp next season without a major transformation. The Bengals are a talented team that can do without those distractions, especially with the fact that Burfict deserves, at least, a four-game suspension at the beginning of next season.
Now back to the outcome of the game. We all know what went down. It was a great win that may have come at a cost. Both Big Ben (shoulder) and AB (concussion), may not play in Denver next week, and if that's the case, get ready for the season to be donezo. We will see what their status is. As always, just enjoy this Steeler ride for as long as you can.
No comments:
Post a Comment