Rebuilding Assets: Byron Scott
January 31, 2011Sports Movie Review – Big Fan
January 31, 2011Would we really make a post out of a silly, meaningless, garbage time touchdown in a Pro Bowl? Well, yes. We would.
I played football for nine years – all of them were spent on the offensive and defensive lines. I played tackle and center on offense, and every down lineman spot imaginable on defense.
Not once did I carry the ball.
I recovered a few fumbles. The quarterback rode my back into the end zone on sneaks, but that is the closest I’ve ever come to scoring in a ‘real’ football game.
Browns center Alex Mack played center and defensive line in high school. In addition to being an All-California center in high school, he was named co-defensive player of the year in his league, recording 93 tackles and eight sacks.
He also did not carry the ball, and presumably never scored a TD, until last night…
My favorite part of that clip? Watch the line after the ball is snapped. Both the offensive and defensive lines completely stop. Except Alex. As soon as that ball is thrown he sprints downfield, almost as if destiny was pulling him. Was that pitch intended for him? No way. He absolutely intercepts that thing. And he never gets the chance if Brent Grimes had any interest at all in tackling Lewis. Or if Zach Miller hadn’t thrown a ‘block’ downfield. Or if the two players ahead of him had been able to play in the game.
What happened was an offensive lineman’s dream. He got to score.
Don’t tell Alex it was a garbage TD. That ball is going in a case in his living room, and the jersey framed and prominently displayed with a picture of him diving across the end zone.
Way to go, Alex.
17 Comments
Good to see a Cleveland Brown with Mack on his jersey barreling his way into the end zone again. Memories…
Good to see a Browns offensive player score a touchdown!
I actually watched the Pro Bowl last night because my only other options were the garbage as well….between Mack’s TD and the players/commentators reactions to the fans running on the field, it was 200% more entertainment than I was banking on.
I just love the official stat line: 0 receptions for 40 yards, 1 TD. (I was genuinely curious how that gets scored!)
Amazing that our center got more receiving yards on one play than our WRs get per game.
I don’t think he intercepted it, I think he was pleading for it as he ran over there. Gotta love Roman Harper, who basically said “let me give this one shot at knocking him out”, but after bouncing off of him, said “screw that!”
Ha ha, talk about being blue collar and bringing your lunch pail. Mack even flashed a little plumber’s butt in the end zone.
Looks like all those laps he had to run his rookie year paid off.
Pretty sad when the Browns’ Center averages more points in a game than the Cavs’ Centers.
It was cool, way to go Alex. He may have pissed off a few guys on the D, but who cares. He may never get that chance ever again.
Of course I turned the game off with about 4 minutes left and missed the play.
Wow, the vert on Mack’s dive was just insane.
Absolutely loved it!
Haven’t watched a single play from a pro bowl in 2 decades but what the hell was that? Do the lines count 7 mississippi?
That’s not football, so why even play. Just give ’em all a plaque and have a real skills challenge: o-line hundred yard dash, d-line scrabble games, receivers’ vow-of-silence competition. That might generate some interest.
I like the idea of making it a flag football/7v7 type game. Maybe they can take the NHL approach and let ‘captains’ choose teams and have like a little tournament.
Aside form that… how about the new coaching hires… no OC?
And I love that Bradshaw’s paying attention, he calls him “Alex Macks.” Or maybe “Alex Max,” which is way cooler ’cause there are 2 X’s.
As with Harv, I haven’t watched a Pro Bowl in 20 years. I think back then you’d actually see a tackle once in a while.
It looks like things have devolved to the point where it may be a lot of fun for the players, but what was once a merely pointless game is now completely absurd.
If this is what it’s going to be, they should probably stop with the farce of a game and do skill competition stuff – long passes, catching drills, field goals – except I don’t know what you’d do with the linemen.
They used to do stuff like play college all-star teams. Would be cool, but again no one is going to risk a career ending injury in a “fun” game.
Maybe a Battle of the Network Stars format….
Meh. It’s a fun game, let them have fun. They were playing a little harder when there was actually something to play for.
modell2hell, here’s about what I imagine the linemen doing in a skills competition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFFal6LT5cI
Can you imagine Roger Goodell declaring that the conference that wins the Pro Bowl would enjoy some sort of competitive advantage in the Super Bowl? Of course not. Idiotic idea.
But Bud Selig can.