KRYK SLANTS
ACTUAL QUOTE
“What President? Not my President. He was chosen, true. But when a President acts like that, what do you say to that? That’s not someone that stands with dignity, pride, respect, honour. Where’s the honour in that? Where’s the dignity in that? Where is anything that’s prideful in doing what you did? Words are powerful. They can either unite you, or they can divide you. So what he said united us.”
— Redskins cornerback Josh Norman
ACTUAL TWEET I
“Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy!” — U.S. president Donald
Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
ACTUAL TWEET II
“It’s really sad man … our president is a a**hole.” — Bills RB LeSean McCoy (@CutonDime25)
EXPORTS, EH?
Eye on Canadian-connected NFLers Vancouver’s Christian Covington, the third-year defensive linemen for the Houston Texans, had three tackles and a 12-yard sack of Tom Brady at New England. Seattle tight end Luke Willson of LaSalle, Ont., snared three passes for 53 yards and a touchdown in Seattle’s loss at Tennessee.
FIVE FAST FACTS
1. Buffalo has allowed just two TDs through three games, a club first.
2. The tanking Jets won a game before the playoffs-aspiring Giants.
3. Seventeen placekickers haven’t missed a field goal yet.
4. Oakland’s Marquette King is averaging 53 yards a punt. Crazy.
5. Cleveland’s DeShone Kizer has been picked off seven times, three more than any other QB.
KNOW YOUR HISTORY
It was dubbed Shula Bowl I, when 36 years ago this week Miami and head coach Don
Shula faced the Baltimore Colts and rookie punt returner
David Shula. Dad’s team defeated son’s, 31-28. Thirteen years later, father and son matched wits as coaches — Don still leading Miami, and David as head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. Dad won, 23-7, and did so again in 1995, 26-23. David Shula lost 50 games faster than any coach in NFL history and left coaching for the business world. Brother Mike Shula is offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers.
GUARANTEED LOSERS
Two teams that won’t win this week
Kinda the opposite of a suicide pool. I can pick a team only once all season, so each of 32 teams over the NFL schedule’s final 16 weeks. Last week’s picks: Cincinnati (which lost in OT at Green Bay) and Houston (which barely lost at New England). This week’s picks: Carolina (at New England) and Indianapolis (at Seattle).
Season record: 4-0.
TAKING A KNEE
This week’s winder-upper
Mostly lost, except perhaps on a couple of fantastic tabloid front pages in New York City, behind all of Sunday’s protest coverage was the latest stupid act by Odell Beckham Jr.
He really can’t control himself on a football field. And he’s in Year 4.
You remember his nasty spats with Josh Norman a couple of years ago? And other attentiongrabbing behaviours, on the field and off?
Well, in the New York Giants’ loss at Philadelphia — to fall to 0-3 — Beckham performed a way-over-the-line rude touchdown celebration. In Philly’s Eagles-logo end zone, he dropped to his knees and lifted a leg, as if he were a male dog urinating. Nice, eh?
Worse, Beckham sounded unapologetic about it afterward.
“We needed a spark,” he said. “It didn’t end up being detrimental, which is the main thing. When I get into the end zone, I’m going to do what I do to spark a team, and the consequences are going to be what they are.”
Seriously, he said all that. He’s referring to the lucky-for-him fact that the Eagles lost a fumble right after the pushed-back kickoff. Giants head coach Ben
McAdoo, who is to media friendliness what Rex Ryan is to silence, soft-criticized Beckham on Monday and refused to come down harder on him when pressed.
“We should be talking about the way he played — he made some great plays in the ball game yesterday,” McAdoo said. “I’d rather be talking about that than the celebration penalty.
“It’s real simple. I don’t want to kick off from the 20-yard line (after a 15-year unsportsmanlike conduct penalty). It doesn’t help our team.” Message unlikely received. Till next week …