That is making the rounds on social media is a fabrication. I post this in an effort to keep the people that frequent this page from believing and proliferating nonsense. Validating stories like this makes our fanbase look, well … stupid.
To set the record straight I’ve never addressed Saturday night’s game or Burfict’s actions to the media, let alone Twitter. Complete hearsay
— Dr. Joseph Maroon (@DrJosephMaroon) January 12, 2016
Having a post game chat.
A post courtesy of an SCB reader. I’m sure that BGINTN knows her. Tennessee is small and everyone knows everyone there, right?
@SteelersFanTN:
Yeah @REALPACMAN24, the @nfl should look at the the problem of coaching staff being on the field. #SMH #ShutUp
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/9605551-74/boykin-lake-defensive#axzz3ty8aR3h9
By Mark Kaboly
For weeks, Brandon Boykin was saying that all he needed was an opportunity, and when that opportunity presented itself, he was “1,000 percent sure that I am going to do what I have been doing the past three or four years of my career.”
Who knew the key to that opportunity ultimately was held by defensive backs coach Carnell Lake — with, of course, coach Mike Tomlin signing off on it?
Lake said Thursday, as the Steelers prepared for Sunday’s key AFC North game against the Cincinnati Bengals, that he was the one who thought it was “about time” to give Boykin more playing time.
Or, in this case, any playing time at all.
After Boykin, a player the Steelers traded a conditional fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for in training camp, made the “1,000 percent” proclamation in late October, he didn’t take a defensive snap over the next four games until Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
“To be honest with you, I just thought it was about time, and Coach Tomlin agreed,” Lake said. “We made the change to help the unit out and give the unit some energy and provide productivity in the end, and that’s what happened. I thought it was time, and we got the changes made.”
The Steelers reduced first-year starter Antwon Blake’s playing time by nearly a half and inserted Boykin into the slot, where he played 40 of the final 52 snaps against the Colts on Sunday and came up with a key interception and pass breakup.
That rotation will stay intact Sunday against a much more dynamic Cincinnati offense highlighted by receivers A.J. Green, Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu and tight end Tyler Eifert.
“I liked it, I think it helps us,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “Our guys were getting worn out this time of year. We played a lot of football games, including five preseason games. Those guys have never played that many snaps in a season.”
Lake said the reason he didn’t pull the trigger earlier with Boykin and Blake was a matter of his coaching philosophy, even if the Steelers allowed three consecutive 300-yard passing games.
“I don’t like to do knee-jerk reactions, especially when I have young guys and they are trying to learn,” Lake said. “You have to give them the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from it and grow. If you shuffle the deck all the time, then it doesn’t allow for that or breaks down the player’s confidence.”
But with Blake struggling with his tackling (he leads NFL cornerbacks with 23 missed tackles, eight more than the next highest) and giving up splash plays, Lake knew it was time to alter things. Plus, it gave Blake more of a chance to focus on special teams.
“I remember my first year starting,” Lake said. “It was a lot. You get over the hump, but your productivity slides a little bit, so I wanted to make sure before it became a real problem that we could do something about it.”
Still, the situation is fluid. While Boykin played well against the Colts, he’s sure to be tested in a number of ways by the Bengals, including the running game. Cincinnati’s power back is Jeremy Hill, who has 588 yards and eight touchdowns.
“Every player on their defense is going to have their spots, and they are going to have to stand up and buck up and handle their business,” Lake said. “Each player comes with something he has to deal with. Boykin has his, just like the rest of the guys, and we are going to have to address those issues and (make sure) they get the job done.”
Boykin, one of the smaller corners in the league at 5-foot-10, 182 pounds, scoffed at the notion he can’t stand up to the run game even though he mentioned teams trying to run at him at times.
Boykin had 112 tackles in three years with the Eagles, including 102 solo while playing the majority of his plays as the slot corner.
“It’s never been a problem,” Boykin said. “I missed a tackle last game, but I missed like four or five tackles in my career. Anytime you have a defensive back in the run position, they are going to use that to see if you can tackle. Once they see that you can tackle, they don’t mess with it.”
Serious question. Why are we doing it? I was going to post this last week after the decision was announced. However, the last preseason game was that night and roster cuts were keeping most of us occupied. But, now that the roster is “final”, or as final as it can be, I’m sure many people will turn back to hand wringing over Brady. I just don’t understand it.
People will make the argument that Brady and the Patriots have a long history of bending the rules where they thought they could get away with it and this is just another example.
Fans will make the argument that the Patriots’ dramatically improved turnover statistics post 2006 (Warren Sharp’s May ’15 debunking of his attempted debunkers), Brady’s own personal fumble rates after the rule change, text messages between Jastremski & McNally and those between Jastremski & Brady, the balls being taken without permission into the bathroom by McNally, Jastremski & McNally being fired while the team maintains that they did nothing wrong, Brady destroying his phone at his lawyer’s behest and Brady’s reluctance to implicate himself in the investigation are clear “proof” that “something” was going on.
People will insist that because <<insert player’s name here>> was suspended for something that did less to impact the integrity of the game, that Brady should absolutely get the book thrown at him and that everyone, New England fans and the media included, should all collectively say, “Shame On You, Tom Brady“. Or that because <<insert player’s name here>> was suspended for “probably” having done something that Brady should be too. That the precedent was set.
I say, so what?
Look, you’re getting your way. It just isn’t coming exactly the way you want it to come. The court of public opinion rendered it’s decision a while ago and has adjourned court. As has been pointed out to me by a Pats fan no less, the burden of proof for common sense is lower than the one for legal purposes, even in civil proceedings. That standard was met long ago and most sports fans have already decided that Brady was involved, obstructed the investigation and that had he turned over his emails and text messages, the picture would be very clear.
People have listened to your arguments about Brady, Belichick, Dougie Spoons McNally, et al and they already believe you. Let it go.
Face it: Hypothetically speaking, Tom Brady could be caught driving down the road with a dead hooker in his trunk while beating his children and Patriots fans would still make excuses for him and cry in disbelief. Stop trying to convince them. You have better things to do with your time. Their agreement with your point of view doesn’t matter. Brady’s reputation is ruined anyway.
As I pointed out in June, from now until the end of time, every time that the Patriots of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are brought up anywhere, anytime, cheating will be a part of the conversation.
You have already won.
Let it go.
You got what you wanted and as an added bonus, Roger Goodell has been made to look like a horse’s ass, once again, by the NFLPA in court. See? It’s not so bad.
Besides, based on their comments, the Steelers players, to a man, all want Brady to play and have all along. Mike Tomlin seems indifferent, but definitely wants to stop answering questions about it and concentrate solely on 2015.
Do all of you have valid arguments about why Brady should be punished? Maybe. But he is being punished, so it doesn’t matter. His reputation has been given a stain that will never wash out. His endorsement opportunities will take a nose dive as quickly as his likeability has, maybe faster.
Let me take a quick moment to remind you that what Judge Berman ruled on were NFL procedures only. He said the NFL could not punish Brady for non-cooperation or “general awareness” of anything without warning the NFLPA first.
Nowhere in Berman’s decision does he mention inflation, deflation, PSI, guilt, innocence or anything having to do with the original accusation that Brady was involved in a scheme to make footballs easier to handle during the course of a game by exceeding the lower threshold set for a game ball’s PSI.
In short, what Berman did was say that the NFL was wrong, not that Brady was right nor that he is innocent. Despite some grave dancing Patriots fans’ points of view, this accusation is not dead. Unfortunately. Far from it. The NFL will appeal and this circus will go on, possibly for years.
The NFL mishandled this thing almost from the jump. Tom Brady got bad advice and followed it; almost from the jump. The parties most affected by this? NFL fans who have invested and continue to invest energy into it.
I echo Mike Tomlin’s sentiments, “It’s too bad we have to carry last year’s garbage into this season.”
