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There are two sentences from a CBS Sportsline article that I find interesting. Given the first statement, the second stands out as ironic:
1. [Prosecutors] said they were concerned that Clarett was driving with the guns only a few blocks from the home of a woman who was set to testify against him next week in an alleged robbery outside a Columbus bar.
2. [Clarett] plans to play for the Mahoning Valley Hitmen, one of five teams in the Eastern Indoor Football League.
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1 comment:
Subject: Darrel Sheffey
When he first came up to the line of scrimmage I wasn't scared of him at all. Actually I felt sorry for him because he was damned ugly.
Then the ball was snapped and he hit me so hard I was looking out through my chin strap.
It was clear that I needed to implement a different strategy by the time he came up to the line again.
I'll tell you the rest of the story tomorrow. In the mean time, good luck on this important work.
Best regards,
Bill
Subject: Darrel Sheffey the rest of the story
If you ever want to get an indication of how a football game is going to go look at the line play immediately after the ball is snapped. If you can detect a surge in either direction that is consistent over the course of a variety of plays, then there is a high likelihood that the team who is moving the line in their direction will win.
On defense it's a real bad deal if a lineman gets moved back past the line of scrimmage. He, in effect, becomes an obstacle for the linebackers who need to move laterally to the ball. So, I knew that I couldn't let Sheffey drive block me back despite his 80lb weight advantage.
So I tried everything in my book. I slanted in and out. I lined up in the gaps. I did my patented Curly from the Three Stooges "Woop, Wooop, Woop, Wise Guy, eh!" right in his face as the quarterback was calling out the snap count. (In almost every case prior I was able to get the other guy to laugh at me.) Unfortunately, Darrel Sheffey must not have been a Three Stooges fan.
This guy was very good. He was quick. He was strong. I was overmatched. So, I finally decided that I would have to "take one for the team". In other words, I decided that I would not allow him to drive me off the line, but I would also probably not get any tackles or sacks. Think about what you would do if you lined up against Dermontti Dawson. You'd probably do, like I did, which is I submarine him. Which means I shot out of my stance so low my face was rubbing in the dirt as my head went between Sheffey's feet. It's damned hard to block someone who's an inch off the ground. And, fortunately for my team, Sheffey was dumb enough to take the bait and just land on top of me. (He could have easily jumped over me and gotten to a linebacker. I guess he thought I was kind of comfortable. Woah!)
I can't remember much from this game. Maybe I've had to repress some real bad memories, hah! Is there anything I could give you from this experience that might help with our current situation? Probably not. I can't find much relevance in a high school football game from over 20 years ago that involved a 6'7" albino black man who weighed 270lbs. I do know that my prayers were answered. We won that game, and I didn't get hurt.
I'm not sure how I got into telling you this story. I will say that I am damned appreciative of how you've all stepped up to this challenge. I'm glad we're on the same team.
Bill
p.s. Maybe sometime I'll tell you about the game against a team from Williamsburg and my encounter with Lawrence Taylor. Talk about an ass whuppin'.
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