Larry Brown Sports

Wes Welker played the role of safety valve to perfection for Tom Brady for six seasons. Any time the New England Patriots had to have a first down, Brady would always be looking to go to Welker. Now, the three-time Super Bowl champion will not have that option. Instead, he will have to rely on the newly-acquired Danny Amendola and his dynamic tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark wonders if the aforementioned players will be enough. During an appearance on “NFL Live” On Monday, Clark talked about Welker’s importance to the Patriots, which he thinks has been understated.

“I think what’s really underestimated is Wes Welker’s importance to not only the New England Patriots, but Tom Brady,” he said, via ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss. “A lot of what they do is timing. A lot of what they do is option reads, when you’re working inside against that nickelback or against those linebackers. Losing him is huge.

“I know they think Danny Amendola can come in and have the same type of numbers he had with the Rams, but we also have to remember, he’s fragile. He’s not a guy who has completed a whole season, especially playing inside in what can be a physical AFC East. You also think about Gronkowski and the injury; that is going to be bigger than anything for the New England Patriots coming in this year.”

The Patriots were not as concerned about Amendola’s injury history because most of his injuries have been to the upper body, but Clark makes some valid points. The chemistry Brady and Welker developed isn’t going to be instantly replicated by Brady and Amendola. Gronkowski’s health is also a major concern. However, there wouldn’t have been much bulletin board material for Bill Belichick to use if Clark had stopped there. He didn’t.

“In 2010, we saw it start with the Jets in the playoffs,” he continued. “When Tom Brady gets pressure and when you’re man-to-man and bumping those guys and making it hard for him to throw, he sees ghosts. Even when guys aren’t around him, even when he’s not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we’ll see him duck, we’ll see him flinch. When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away.”

Again, some valid points. But Brady will probably use those points as motivation before the Steelers play the Patriots on Nov. 3. Health will be a major concern for New England heading into the season, but the same can be said for a lot of teams. Is it possible that this guy could be the answer? No, I didn’t think so either.

Ryan Clark was flagged for a hit on a defenseless receiver during the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the New York Giants on Sunday after officials ruled he made helmet-to-helmet contact with Victor Cruz. Replays showed that Clark did not make contact with Cruz’s head and that it was a clean hit to the midsection, and the Giants later announced that Cruz suffered bruised ribs on the play.

The call occurred on third down and gave the Giants the ball at the 1-yard line, allowing them to score a touchdown. You could say the officiating crew simply missed the call and thought they saw something else, but Clark believes they are simply out to get him.

“I thought I did the right thing,” the Steelers safety said according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I thought I hit him in the ribs. I tried to get my head to the side, tried to obey the rules as they’ve been laid out to me.

“I think referees have meetings about me before the game. I think anytime they see ’25′ flash and a hit be made, there’s going to be an opportunity for me to get a flag.”

It’s possible the referees keep a closer eye on a player like Clark because of his history of being flagged for illegal hits, but to say the officials are looking for an opportunity to flag him and discussing it before the game seems far-fetched. In Clark’s defense, the penalty he drew for his hit on Cruz was one of a number of bad calls that Pittsburgh had to overcome in New York. The Steelers have every right to be upset with Sunday’s crew.

H/T Game On!

Now that the Seahawks have swooped in (no pun intended) and signed Matt Flynn, the Dolphins are facing what could become an extremely ugly situation. Miami’s objective this offseason was to find a viable starting quarterback, and things were looking up when they appeared to be the front-runners for Peyton Manning. Since that ship has sailed and Flynn is no longer available, Miami was reportedly negotiating with Alex Smith over the weekend, who may be upset that the 49ers have emerged as the “mystery” team that is interested in Manning. If Steelers safety Ryan Clark is right, the Dolphins won’t be able to sign Smith, either.

Clark also reminded his Twitter followers that he turned down more money from the Dolphins in 2010 to stay with the Steelers, noting that there is “not a good guy making decisions” in Miami. Clark is almost certainly referring to Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, who has quickly developed a reputation around the league as an unlikable person.

Last month, former Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder said he would never return to Miami because Ireland is not a good person. Ireland also admitted to asking Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute when Bryant was coming out of college. If Clark and Crowder are right and players truly choose to not go to Miami because of Ireland, the Dolphins would be wise to make a change in their front office.

Chest bump to Pro Football Talk

After the Patriots lost to the Super Bowl Sunday, Steelers defensive players James Harrison and Ryan Clark said the loss was karma for New England cheating. Patriots linebacker Dane Fletcher, who had 32 tackles in 10 games this past season, responded via Twitter late Tuesday night:

That was pretty much my response. If the football gods were trying to reward teams that play the game the right way with Super Bowl wins, then James Harrison, one of the dirtiest players in the league, certainly would not have won a ring. The Steelers — and especially James Harrison — are the last people who should pipe up on the matter.

Clark dismissed Fletcher’s tweet, saying “I don’t know him & he didn’t say names. So, no response at all. He can tweet what he wants.”

H/T Steelers Depot

If you have not yet seen the way the Ravens 2011 season came to an end, you probably aren’t a sports fan. If that’s the case, I’m sorry you ended up on this site. For those of us who have seen at least a dozen replays of Billy Cundiff shanking a 32-yard field goal, we know how painful the AFC Championship game was for Baltimore. Cundiff has been called the Billy Buckner of football among many other not-so-nice nicknames, but I think Steelers safety Ryan Clark may have come up with the best metaphor thus far.

“I know for those guys it is heart breaking, but that is what football is about,” Clark said during an interview with 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh Wednesday. “You have to make every play and New England made just enough plays to win the game. I know it seems like for the Ravens right now always the bridesmaid and never a bride. It just shows that no matter how good your team is from year to year, no matter how many future Hall of Famers you have, you have to perform every day and winning Super Bowls is hard.”

What about always the best man and never a groom? I know that phrase wouldn’t be as powerful, but the Ravens and Steelers already don’t like each other.  Whether he meant anything by it or not, being compared to a bridesmaid has to irritate the Ravens — even if only a little.

That being said, Clark is right.  The Ravens are their own worst enemy right now in terms of getting over the hump.  They have been one of the best teams in the AFC for the last several year, but they continue to find ways to lose big games.  Oftentimes the more that happens, the tougher performing in the clutch becomes.

If you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers or LSU fan, ESPN is a bad channel to watch this week. The coverage the past two days has been nonstop about Tim Tebow, and to a lesser extent, Alabama.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark saw his team get knocked out of the playoffs by the Broncos Sunday, and then his alma mater lost to Bama in the title game the next night. It’s been a bad week for Clark and it’s forced him to keep ESPN off his television.

“Hate not being able to watch ESPN! It’s either Tebow talk or Alabama! Worst week ever!” he tweeted Tuesday.

I feel your pain, Ryan, I do. I’m not even a Steelers or LSU fan, but I’ve had to tune out ESPN the past two days for the same reason. At least it’s helped me catch up on my movie watching. The same probably can’t be said for Clark, sadly.

Mike Tomlin has confirmed once again why he is my favorite coach in the NFL. The Steelers are playing the Broncos in Denver Sunday for the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Putting aside that it’s utterly asinine for a 12-4 team to face an 8-8 team on the road, the real issue is that safety Ryan Clark will not travel with the team because of a health concern.

Clark has a sickle cell trait that is affected in high altitudes. He had to be rushed to the hospital during a 2007 game in Denver and had his spleen and gallbladder removed. Despite the serious nature of his condition, he wanted to play in the playoff game but coach Tomlin wouldn’t let him.

“I mean, everybody knows I want to play and I would have played,” Clark told ESPN. “I talked to my doctors and we actually had a plan in place for me to play. All things pointed to me going until (Tomlin) told me I can’t. He said he wouldn’t have let his son play and so I’m not playing either.”

Clark tweeted a similar sentiment later on Tuesday.

“On this treatment table thinking about the game,” he wrote. “Thinking of how blessed I am to still be here & how Id play if I Muke T would let me. Mike Tomlin is without a doubt one of the best most unique head coaches ever. I’d run through a wall for him. Great coach, better man!”

If you think this was an easy call for Tomlin, think again. Clark is the team’s leading tackler. He says they had a medical plan in place for him to play. Most coaches would have let the player assume the health risk and told him the team needed him on the field. Rather than looking out for his job, and the team’s success, Tomlin is looking out for his player’s best interest. He’ll probably be rewarded for doing the right thing.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that this wouldn’t be an issue if the NFL’s seeding system weren’t out of whack?