Rob Long: Kill The Quarterback?
While listening to my favorite morning show on 105.7 The Fan Wednesday morning, Steve Davis and Ed Norris played a sound bite of Lardarius Webb from Tuesday night's "Cover Two" saying , "...kill the quarterback."
Ron Cook of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was a guest on the morning show and the bite was played for him. Once he heard the bite, he responded by calling Webb, "a jerk." (Listen Here) Cook went on to criticize James Harrison for his hit on Colt McCoy. From the beginning Cook said the hit ,"deserves a hefty fine" as he posted that on post-gazette.com Sunday.
My issue is how Cook goes personal on a young man when he really doesn't know him. I completely disagree with Webb's opinion on hits to quarterbacks. There's a new day in the NFL. Players are bigger, stronger and faster today, as I pointed out on "Cover Two" and you have to protect quarterbacks. They are often lame ducks both while in the process of and after throwing the football. You cannot just "kill the quarterback."
I agree with Cook's views on how things have changed in the NFL, which he stated in his interview on "Norris and Davis." However, there's no need to get personal by calling the guy a jerk. Maybe this is a continuation of Webb's comment about Mike Wallace in early November saying that Antonio Brown is a better receiver than Wallace, "in all aspects of the game." Who knows what Cook's motivation was behind his comments? I could say Cook's a jerk for judging someone he's not even personally familiar with.
Cook has watched Webb play so he can say he's a mediocre defensive back. I would disagree but at least Cook's familiar with him as a player and can pass judgement there. However, I would challenge Mr. Cook to sit down with the young man before making such outlandish comments about one of the players on the Baltimore Ravens' roster who is extremely courteous of his time.
Ron, you do great work, but go to lardariuswebb21.com. If you don't have the time, let me tell you that's the site for the Lardarius Webb Foundation. Here's the purpose of the foundation according to the site:
"Lardarius Webb Foundation, Inc. will raise and distribute funds to provide aid to underprivileged children and their families. The primary purpose of this foundation is to keep young men and women off the streets and out of trouble, by giving them the knowledge, confidence, and support to achieve any positive goals they set."
Yeah, that guy is SUCH a jerk... Let's all just learn how to agree to disagree sometimes.
Rob Long
