World’s Most Dangerous Job – QB vs. AZ D
Sep 24, 2012, 10:57 PM | Updated: Sep 25, 2012, 12:19 am
As I’m finding out on a daily basis, five-year-olds like to ask questions. Any question any time of day dealing with anything — that pretty much sums it up.
On Saturday night, the resident Five-Year-Old Punk (affectionately acronym’d to 5YOP) engaged his old man in the following real-life exchange:
5YOP: Dad?
Me: Yes.
5YOP: Can I be an engineer?
Me: Engineer, huh? Absolutely.
5YOP: Is it dangerous?
Me: Dangerous?! Uh, no. You’re fine…engineer away til your heart’s delight.
5YOP: Dad?
Me: Yes?
5YOP: Is a stunt man dangerous?
Me: (Spit-take) Stunt man?!! Uh, yes. VERY dangerous.
5YOP: Okay.
At the time, let’s just say I was more than a little concerned that I wouldn’t be able to afford his health insurance much longer. Turns out, I shouldn’t have been alarmed. I should’ve been thankful. Cuz, what’s our saying: #ItCanAlwaysGetWorse – right?
See, he could’ve asked to play quarterback against the Cardinals defense. Noooo!
“They were on him all freaking day,” Eagles tight end Brent Celek told Yahoo Sports, when asked about Michael Vick. “He had no chance. They don’t make many mistakes. You have to hold onto the ball and play well to beat them.”
The Eagles did neither. But it wasn’t their fault. The East Coast media failed to make ’em aware by ignoring the fact that the Cards held the Patriots under 20 points for the first time in 26 home games. If not for East Coast bias/ignorance/ambivalence, the Eagles might’ve known they were destined to be kept out of the end zone for the first time since their 2009 season finale.
“Fast and frenetic,” is how James Sanders answered when I asked him to describe the Cardinals’ defense during our post-game radio interview on Arizona Sports 620. “We go out there and try to create havoc as a defense and we have done that pretty successfully through three weeks of the season.”
If you don’t believe him, ask Michael Vick. Of course, you’ll be asking him from the ice tub after suffering five sacks and absorbing 13 (official) hits.
“We didn’t want to give him time to sit back and read the defense, so we got after him pretty well,” said Sanders. “We just want to let him know it’s going to be a long day for him and we did that from start to finish.”
And we could cite the fact that the AZ D has at least two sacks in nine straight games, the longest current streak in the NFL. But, it’s more than that. It’s seeing the Cards defense with your own eyes. It’s an eye-opener. As the sideline radio dude who almost got jackstomped when Vick ran for his life and got driven out of bounds on the first snap, I can attest to that.
“Did I see you chase down Michael Vick in the open field?” I asked Daryl Washington after not winding up on the injury report. “I did witness that, didn’t I?”
“Yes you did. Don’t be surprised,” said Washington. “Don’t be surprised at all.”
Fair enough. And, hey, we’re on board. Good stuff that makes for good times. Unless your kid wants to be the quarterback playing against this defense. Cuz I can hear myself already: “Not in this household, capisce?!”
