You know the old expression “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”? The NFL lockout has reportedly ended before training camp has even begun, but that expression has fully applied to the world of sports over the past few months. Fans have been yearning for anything NFL-related like free agency and OTAs. More importantly, the lockout has robbed us of a whole mess of trash talk.
Sure, we have gotten the occasional cry-baby spazfest from guys like James Harrison, but there has been little talk to help fire us up for some real game action. Last week, Ed Reed let a few more sparks fly within the Ravens-Steelers rivalry with his thoughts on Hines Ward.
“I love Hines as a player and I told him that,” Reed told the Baltimore Sun at his football camp. “But I told him also for a long time, ‘You’re a dirty player because I know how you play.’”
The history between Reed and Ward goes back a long time, as you probably know. Reed is one of the game’s hardest hitters and probably doesn’t like the fact that Ward has dropped him with a block. What Ed calls a “cheap shot,” some of us call being embarrassed that a receiver put you down. As a receiver who isn’t afraid to throw a block, Ward is a dying breed. Considering he is a respected veteran in the league and plays the game at full-speed, I doubt the officials will make anything of Reed saying he’s a dirty player. Bottom line: football’s back.
Chest bump to Pro Football Talk
