Ridin' Dirty

So, I initially blew off the reports of bullying and dirty play directed at the Patriots by Eagles’ CB Cary Williams. Haters gonna hate, crybabies gonna cry. It just read like the usual bullshit rationalization that losers always make. Then I realized I hoped it was true.

 

I don’t know if you can win in the NFL without a little swag, an edge, a casual indifference to certain rules; guys that play through the whistle get that first shove in then gestures in childlike innocence to the referee as he reaches for his flag when the other guy throws a punch.

According to Cary Williams, there ain’t nobody riding dirty on the Eagles. (Unlike his former team, the Ravens.) That’s why he had to sucker punch a rookie wide receiver. I’m not sure I follow the logic there but I think Williams’ throw down with Aaron Dobson was supposed to inspire his teammates to stand up to those bullies and take their lunch money back. As for why he then had to call his teammates out, well, apparently his teammates aren’t so big on metaphor so he had to spell it out for them.

Quick question: If you’re a Philadelphia Eagle not named Cary Williams or Riley Cooper, who do you loathe more, the guy who let his inner cracker out while all hopped up on booze and Kenny Chesney music, or the guy who called you a pussy?

But I digress.

Bill Belichick has moved on and I suppose we all should but I can’t help but hope there’s a kernel of truth to the pathetic mewling of a guy who didn’t even show up on the stat sheet. It’s probably much ado about nothing but I’d like to think adding Tommy Kelly and Adrian Wilson to a defense that already had a few certifiable tough guys in Vince Wilfork and Brandon Spikes will bring the big bad in 2013. I’d like to think Logan Mankins is all the way back from injury and we start reading about how dirty the Pats’ O-Line is on a regular basis around Week 6.