After you read this maybe you will wish Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson could still suit up and destroy some running backs. Then again, maybe after you read it you will wan to throw a penalty flag at Carson for unsportsmanlike conduct, for piling on.
Questioned by Steve Serby of the New York Post, Carson Tuesday offered some comments on the Giants' defense. They turned into an indictment.
I am not going to comment on these, I am just going to pass them along.
"In watching that game," Carson said last night, "the two telling things I came away with, is even when the Saints were trying to run the game down, they scored a touchdown. They scored a touchdown! They were trying to run the clock out! And so I saw that and I thought, ‘That's sad.' "
Here is one more.
"... to listen to (analyst Jon) Gruden say, which is basically the truth, that this is a team that is not a playoff-caliber team. Some people might take issue with what he said, but the reality is, they're not. They're not a playoff-caliber team. They have to play like champions and not show up one week and not show up the next week."
Finally there is this:
"It's hard to watch ... "I'm glad I played during an era where defense was at a premium and guys played with pride. Not that we were great all the time, but we played with heart. And we didn't just talk about it, we tried to do something about it."
I generally am not a fan of former players commenting on what current players are, or are not, doing and I have made that criticism of Carson before. I am not passing judgment on whether or not he was right to make these remarks, just putting them out there for your discussion.
So, have at it.