03-16-2018, 05:54 PM
(03-16-2018, 05:23 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: I'll never forget how Burfict, Pacman, and Hill rewarded Mike Brown for taking a chance on them with his once in a generation, first career playoff win against Pittsburgh a few years ago.
Hey there - real quick to start - your name is one of my favorites around here - can never read it without doing it in a Robin Williams/Good Will Hunting voice where he and Matt Damon are having a Taster's Choice moment between guys.
Not sure exactly where you're going with your comment though, except to expect that it comes from the same seemingly bottomless pit of frustration we all probably share from that playoff game. Lot of blame to go around, and I agree there were 3 easy plays/incidents to point to when ticking them off a long list.
But I will contend that Burfict's play was simply incredible that game, and absolutely instrumental in getting us to the point it should have been over.
For a personal backstory - I was on crutches, and watching the game on a small tablet with a sketchy internet connection halfway around the world, and as soon as Vontaze picked off Pig Ben and took the party to the tunnel, I was gimp-sprinting on adrenaline up and down a hallway at an ungodly hour with the time change, alternating f bombs, who deys, and nature boy whoooo's....such a great feeling to see a big time play like that in such a big game.
I personally have zero problem with the play he made on Brown a little later, having to saddle back up on the field after the unfortunate fumble by Hill. Vontaze is a warrior, and he's going to bring it, and leave it out there. You smack Brown in case he comes down with the ball (the new rules are beyond lame, essentially allowing the refs/league to decide if a receiver should be given the chance to catch, or not catch, a ball without getting popped either way, when it suits them.)
These plays are bang-bang, and Brown moved into the hit, intentionally or not, and at that point, the game was put in the refs hands (something that will NEVER benefit the Bengals in that scenario.) This was confirmed a few minutes later with the failure to call offsetting penalties on Porter/PacMan. (And just to let us know where we are in the pecking order, recall the league's deference to Pissburgh even later in the year with the fine against Munchak for pulling Reggie's hair quietly rescinded.)
At any rate, I completely get any disgust for that wildcard game, and certainly the Bengals deserve a healthy amount of heat from the fans for some of their performance, but in regards to whether or not Burfict's current value to the team is in doubt because of this potential suspension, I don't follow where you stand from your comment above.
Would you feel he can make a positive contribution, even in limited action, beyond what the last LB on the team could do (think Nickerson or Dimanche in past years...)? I'm sure you can tell, I definitely do.
