Unable to play winning football, the Broncos have decided to play the victim, expressing the belief that the NFL is out to get them.
You know what losers do? In the wake of a suspension to safety Kareem Jackson, the Broncos now blame the refs, because that’s much easier than taking accountability for stupid mistakes and bad football.
Rather than focus on all the reasons Denver has lost 16 straight times to Kansas City, captain Justin Simmons came out Wednesday, blasting the league for unjustly punishing Jackson, now serving a two-game suspension after being fined for brutal hits in five games this season.
“The whole dirty player analogy we’re kinda trying to stick to his name and his reputation is absolute bull,” Simmons said.
Jackson is not a dirty player. But he’s a knucklehead.
And to not understand the difference? As much as I admire and respect Simmons, that’s absolute balderdash.
I get it. Simmons was trying to stand up for a teammate. But he badly missed the point.
You are what you do. The reckless shots Jackson has repeatedly taken this season have cost the Broncos no less than one victory and put a dent of more than $350,000 in the 35-year-old safety’s wallet. His undisciplined play, especially a vicious helmet-to-helmet shot on Washington tight end Logan Thomas in which Jackson left his feet to deliver the blow, is indefensible.
“I think he’s being victimized for the past couple weeks,” Simmons said.
Jackson is a victim of nothing but his own stupidity. Any player with a recent history of citations for unnecessary roughness in a league that turned a blind eye to brain injury for far too long has to know he’s going to be the target of increased scrutiny on the field.
So debating whether the hit Jackson made on defenseless Green Bay tight end Luke Musgrave was worthy of his second ejection from a game in this young season because there was no serious contact to his victim’s head sorely misses the point.
Everybody, including coach Sean Payton, realized Jackson’s prior violations were troublesome in the eyes of game officials, something akin to getting pulled over by a state trooper for your fourth or fifth speeding ticket in a period of two months. “You’re going to spend a little bit more time on the side of the road than if you don’t have any,” Payton said Sunday.
Jackson is no raw rookie. He’s a veteran of 200 NFL games.
So Jackson should know better: When under intense scrutiny, delivering a blow with the shoulder and zero attempt to use arms to make a tackle is unforgivably bad situational football. Getting kicked out of a game by pushing the envelope isn’t being tough, it’s a poor decision that puts your teammates in a tougher situation.
Unable to win an argument with the refs, Jackson is now trying to win a Twitter war. Is that really a good idea, when Payton prefers his players keep a low profile?
Jackson celebrated his suspension being reduced from four to two games by beefing with internet trolls, tweeting more than 100 times on Tuesday night, including this response to a stranger that called him a clown and suggested the Broncos should cut him: “I’ve played long enough and made a (bleep) ton of money. I wouldn’t care.”
Maybe it’s time for Jackson to follow Randy Gregory and Frank Clark out the exit door of Broncos headquarters.
Denver has been down for so long, it doesn’t know which way is up. The Broncos have been lost for so long, they no longer know the difference between right and wrong.
Stupid football is bad football.
Jackson is a veteran safety that’s lost a step, leaving him so slow to the ball that far too frequently, his only recourse is to deliver hits with his shoulder or helmet. On a team that needs to rebuild, he’s clearly not part of the future. So you tell me: What’s the point of Jackson starting another game for the Broncos?
Rather than complain the NFL is doing them dirty, it’s time for this franchise to clean house.
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