Ryan Clark

Steelers Safety Ryan Clark, a man whom I do not know and therefore was unfortunately not able to slap this week.

I’m just going to repeat the headline.

The last time Pittsburgh Steelers Safety Ryan Clark played in Denver he lost his spleen, gallbladder and 30lbs. He could have lost his life. I swear I’m not making this up. Clark has sickle cell trait-which I also have-something that really doesn’t bother most people who don’t hurl themselves into other people at extremely high altitudes.

Now here’s the part where I become a big old girl.

All week I could not figure out why there was a discussion about whether or not Clark would play or not. Some things just don’t bear discussion. Given what happened last time he played in Denver it seemed obvious to me that he would not play. I realize players want to be tough, but I also realize there is a really thick bright red line between “tough” and “stupid” and the Steelers would have played double dutch back and forth across that line by letting Clark even suit up. I don’t even think he should travel with the team much less play.

The other thing that’s a non-factor for me is that it’s a playoff game. If the Steelers defense can’t stop the Broncos’ barely-there offense without Ryan Clark their chances of going deep into the playoffs probably aren’t very good. No need for Clark to risk his life for a one game playoff push.

And while we’re on the subject of the Steelers, they were also unwise to allow Ben Roethlisberger to play with a high ankle sprain. There was one series in the game against the 49ers where Big Ben was sacked on every single snap. And Troy Polamalu who has been diagnosed with several concussions during the course of his career and two this season simply doesn’t seem himself as of late but continues to force his way into games despite continued concussion-like symptoms. So I don’t know why I was surprised to hear that Clark was willing to play but that Tomlin made the ultimate call. Unless there are some strange politics I don’t know about that called for the team to pretend Clark playing was ever on the table, I think a strong argument could be made that the Pittsburgh Steelers might not be the brainiest organization in the NFL.

I’m glad that Clark will sit but the fact that there was any doubt he wouldn’t after what happened last time kind of makes it hard to believe players and teams can be trusted to report concussions and other longterm impact problems. The NFL will continue to have its hands full when it comes to getting teams to make safety a priority.

It took the NBA less than 24 hours to pull down all footage of current NBA players from NBA.com once their lockout began. Apparently, the NBA cannot profit from players during their lockout. The NFL obviously has no such rule because every other day there’s a top 10 list of this or that not to mention this top 100 list that has had everyone, except me, talking for the past couple weeks. And more than that, NFL players are still appearing all across NFL network and NFL.com

First of all, I think the list is stupid. YES I SAID STUPID. Just like every other asine head-to-head conversation. It kills me that people never get tired of “comparing” and discussing who’s best. Yeah I get that sports is all about competition but having the same debates over and over isn’t for me. And that’s generally what it all boils down to.

Personally, I’d rather jab myself in the eye than hear people compare Ed Reed to Troy Polamalu or Adrian Peterson to Chris Johnson again. And God forbid there’s another Jerry Rice vs. Randy Moss debate. I even saw a Revis vs. Sanders debate. Count.me.out.  I guess I’m just no fun too sensitive to the variables.

Now you know why I haven’t and will not be blogging about the list. Well, except for this post.

Anywayyyyyy, in the midst of ignoring this top 100 player list, I noticed that several players questioned whether players had actually voted in the list, or at least made a point of saying they didn’t know anyone who did. Those players include Troy Polamalu (Safety, Pittsburgh Steelers), Kerry Rhodes (Safety, Arizona Cardinals), Jerraud Powers (Cornerback, Indianapolis Colts), Jay Feely (Kicker, Arizona Cardinals), Brent Grimes, (Cornerback, Atlanta Falcons), Jimmy Kennedy (Defensive Tackle, Minnesota Vikings), Chester Pitts (Offensive Lineman, Seattle Seahawks), Tom Crabtree (Tight End, Green Bay Packers), and Ryan Clark (Safety, Pittsburgh Steelers)-who went so far as to call the list a “sham.”

Apparently, some players have been asking around and can’t find any friends who were chosen to vote on the list. Now, of course that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, it just called into question, for me, what the NFL means by “current players.” It could have been 10 out of 1700. If so, they are being indirectly misleading, but would that surprise anyone?

Even though no one cares, I was curious and I contacted the NFL to find out how many players voted and how the voting was carried out, and I will let you know if they respond and if so what they say. In the meantime, if you have the answer to this question (maybe they mentioned it on NFL network and I missed it?) and can take time away from debating the list to let me know I’d appreciate it.

Overall, this top 100 list was a genius idea by the NFL. Kudos to them for knowing how to draw people in and keep them talking about football as the owners seem to continue to conspire to destroy the game.

I know a lot of people don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions but I do. I made a list of things I want to change over the next year and decade. I think I did a really good job, so it follows that I’d make some resolutions for other people. To help out people in and around the NFL, I made a list of resolutions that I personally think others should make.

Roger Goodell - Begin to apply fines equitably across the league.

Donovan McNabb - Learn the difference between being professional and being a pushover.

James Harrison - Relearn the fundamentals of tackling.

Braylon Edwards - Utilize cabs.

Troy Polamalu - Put some bass in your voice.

Ryan Clark - Ignore the heckling on twitter.

Darren Sharper - Come to terms with being 35.

Brett Favre - Fall back in love with your wife Deanna.

Andy Reid - Resign.

Michael Vick - Spend money more wisely.

DeSean Jackson - Balance having fun with being professional.

Roddy White - Get media training.

Coy Wire, Cortland Finnegan - Hold a press conference announcing whether you’re black or white.

Rex Ryan - Put your face in the videos so that your wife isn’t the only one exposed.

Terrell Owens - Begin to take responsibility for your shortcomings.

Shawne Merriman - Sleep in a hyperbaric chamber and stretch before practice.

Maurice Jones-Drew, LaGarrette Blount, Michael Turner - Do side bends or situps, but please don’t lose that butt.

Eli Manning - Stand in the mirror and repeat “I am somebody” before leaving the house each day.

Jerry Jones - Consider the opinions of others.

Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, and Washington Redskins - Improve your  awful offensive lines.

Announcers, analysts, and media outlets — Stop mentioning dogfighting every time you mention Michael Vick.

Gus Johnson - Call more games of all kinds.

Bob Costas - Tone the dramatics down a notch.

Jon Gruden - Lobby for the HC gig in Cincy.

Collinsworth - Think before you speak and get some black friends.

Bob Papa - Point to Theisman and Millen and inform your bosses that you simply cannot work under these conditions.

NFLPA - Continue to make the NFLPA truly friendly toward the players and improve the information contained on the lockout site.

This is my quick list, but use the comments to tell other players, announcers, and NFL management and ownership what you think they should work on in 2011.