Dunlap: Burfict Despicable (Again)
Who didn't see this coming?
I mean, honestly, Vontaze Burfict acting like a knucklehead for much of the night was about the most predictable portion of Saturday's football game that anyone should have seen coming.
As I wrote back about a month ago when the Steelers and Bengals met for the second time in the regular season, Burfict was the kind of player in an ultra-violent sport who had the hardest of times understanding where the line between hard and dirty was.
He still does. He might never get it.
He has shown it time and again and, in my estimation, is a detriment to the game and very well could be the impetus to Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis losing his job after Lewis sustained a seventh-consecutive postseason loss fueled largely by Burfict's out-of-control testosterone.
Toward the end of what became an 18-16 victory for the Steelers, Burfict went high and hard -- and unnecessarily -- on Steelers standout receiver Antonio Brown. The hit knocked Brown out with a concussion, forced the Bengals to incur a 15-yard penalty (they would be flagged for another as Brown was down being treated) and turned a deep field goal into a very makeable one.
Here's the whole story though: The hit didn't need to be made at all. Burfict could have simply sidestepped Brown as the pass sailed comfortably over his head.
That's what people who aren't selfish do.
That's what people who can control their actions do.
That's what people who care about their team first and not trying to send some silly message do.
That's what people who want to win and aren't hellbent on hurting people do.
That isn't what Vontaze Burfict does.
Know why? Honestly, I don't either.
But I know this: There is positively no reason the NFL should look at Vontaze Burfict and find any endearing quality within him.
On a play a little earlier in the game, when it was obvious he was rage-filled after an official spoke to him, Burfict came off the ball and immediately went low and hard at David DeCastro's legs.
That's rubbish. Pure rubbish.
It seems like every single time his name is thrust into the league's forefront, it is for a transgression as opposed to anything positive Burfict's done.
With all that said, the logical next question is this: What's the next step? Where does it all go from here? As I stated in the previous column I wrote on Burfict, it will at some point turn into vigilante justice with the guy and, had the Steelers lost last night, I think someone would have tried to get to him after the game. It would have gotten really ugly.
The Steelers, however, couldn't afford to, as they had far too much still left in the balance with a trip to Denver on the horizon this coming weekend.
So it was with all the NFL world watching on Saturday night that Burfict went out and acted outrageously and then dismissive with the media in postgame.
The Steelers weren't in a position to retaliate.
But, at some point the NFL will have a real problem on their hands when a team -- or even just a few guys -- are in a position where they don't care enough and have had enough and do retaliate against Burfict. That's when the NFL, which has ignored all these signs that the guy is a certified lunatic, will look really silly.
Saturday might have showed many that it's time for the NFL to act in terms of the behavior of Vontaze Burfict. I've already known this. It just hammered home that it's been past time to act and hand down some discipline to him that truly matters.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
