12-25-2018, 04:26 AM
Vontae Davis quits on Buffalo Bills Womens Josh Allen Jersey , tarnishes legacy Vontae Davis spent 10 years building his football legacy, earning two Pro Bowl honors and finishing as the league’s second-best cornerback in 2014, according to Pro Football Focus. Whatever sort of legacy he created during his first 10 years in the league was forever tarnished and destroyed with one cowardly gesture Sunday afternoon. As the Buffalo Bills (0-2) returned to New Era Field for the second half of their home opener, a 31-20 setback to the Los Angeles Chargers, they did it with Davis, one of Buffalo’s starting cornerbacks, conspicuously absent from the lineup. I’ve been watching sports all my life, and in the three-plus decades of watching sports, I’ve never seen anything like the stunt Davis pulled Sunday. Head coach Sean McDermott told members of the media that Davis removed himself from the game, but was not dealing with an injury at halftime. Starting linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, a leader in the locker room who never appears to quit on a play, much less an entire second half of a game, informed the media that he was told at the start of the half that Davis quit and retired during intermission. Alexander described Davis’ vanishing act as “completely disrespectful.” Alexander went on to say, “I don’t have anything to say about Vontae, I’m going to give him a little bit more respect than he showed us today as far as quitting on us in the middle of the game.”That’s being kind to Davis, and certainly better treatment than he deserves after quitting on his team. When the Bills traveled to Baltimore to open the season against the Ravens in Week 1, Davis was a healthy scratch, a befuddling move for a player expected to start opposite talented cornerback Tre’Davious White. Management has to take some of the blame for this fiasco as general manager Brandon Beane and company opted to let a good, injury-prone corner back in E.J. Gaines walk in favor of signing Davis. Davis Youth Shaq Lawson Jersey , who signed a one-year deal during the offseason, was brought in to shore up Buffalo’s secondary. His Buffalo career got off to a slow start and Davis failed to stand out during limited preseason action. Instead of serving as a mentor to White and the rest of Buffalo’s young secondary, Davis showed his immaturity. With Buffalo in dire straits at cornerback thanks to injuries to Phillip Gaines and Taron Johnson, instead of answering the bell and providing outstanding play, Davis took the easy way out, opting to take his ball and head for home at halftime. “This isn’t how I pictured retiring from the NFL,” Davis later said in a statement posted on his Instagram account. “But today on the field, reality hit me fast and hard: I shouldn’t be out there anymore.”Pro football is a physically (and mentally) demanding sport that requires complete concentration. Football players put their bodies through all sorts of physically-demanding activities to get ready for game day. You cannot tell me that Davis’s decision to hang ‘em up was spur of the moment. While his teammates were busting their humps preparing to face one of the league’s top offenses in Philip Rivers, his head wasn’t in the game, and certainly wasn’t with his teammates. He was thinking of himself, first and foremost. In all likelihood, Davis has known (or at least has contemplated) retirement for some time, and he should have talked to his coaches about his predicament. Instead, he showed up to New Era Field on Sunday, with his teammates and coaches counting on him, and he exited stage right while nobody was watching. Davis walked out on his teammates who depend on him, and didn’t even have the decency to explain himself to his teammates, face-to-face. Instead, he relied on an Instagram post to justify why he walked away. I say good riddance. The Bills were expected to have a stellar secondary with White Youth John Miller Jersey , Davis, and safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. After Davis’ vanishing act, Buffalo finds its defense reeling after allowing 78 points through two games, and thin at cornerback. But even if Davis, the former Pro Bowler, could have found his rhythm and helped the Bills’ secondary, Buffalo is a better team without Davis. Even if it means taking a step or two backwards this year, it is far better for the Bills to play with guys who want to be on the field, compared to talented cowards who don’t have the heart to play when the going is difficult.As the newest member of the Bill Collectors, fans were excited to see Davis add to his career totals of 22 interceptions, 395 tackles, and 106 passes defensed during nine years with the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins. Instead, Davis made one lousy tackle and displayed All-Pro elusive skills in bailing on his teammates and his coaches at halftime of the home opener. People don’t respect quitters, and for this, Davis’ legacy has forever been tarnished. Maybe the Ravens should have drafted another quarterback long ago.While Lamar Jackson is still playing a very small role in their offense, his addition appears to have made a big difference in the way the incumbent quarterback’s playing.Veteran Joe Flacco threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ravens played their traditional kind of timely defense to beat the Steelers 26-14 on the road.Flacco is throwing the ball downfield more, and hitting more of those plays. That’s what the Ravens offense has wanted to be based on through a number of versions. His yards per attempt and yards per completion numbers last year (5.7 and 8.9, respectively) were grotesque Authentic Kyle Williams Jersey , but now he has a bit more confidence downfield (8.6 and 13.0 against the Steelers).Meanwhile, Jackson had four carries for 17 yards and didn’t throw a pass. At some point, the Ravens will want to diversify his role (if he doesn’t throw a pass, the element of surprise is lessened), but it’s hard to take the ball out of Flacco’s hands right now.Especially with the Ravens creating turnovers on defense, it’s a formula that’s working, and it starts at the top.Here are five more things we learned during Sunday Night Football.1. The Steelers can spin it however they like, but there’s no denying the fact they’re not remotely the same offense without running back Le'Veon Bell.Bell still hasn’t shown up because of his contract unhappiness, and coach Mike Tomlin has declared he didn’t want to talk about him. Any efforts to trade him haven’t gotten anywhere, which makes it reasonable to wonder if he’s movable considering the contract limitations (anyone who trades for him can’t renegotiate his deal).But without him, there’s no balance to the Steelers offense, no matter how much they try to force James Conner into a lead role. Conner had nine carries for 19 yards Sunday, as the Steelers threw 47 passes and had 11 rush attempts as a team.Bell coming back, if he comes back, will help get that back to where it needs to be. But at the moment, the debate is about the balance between receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown, and that’s not to the benefit of anyone there.Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 224 yards in the first half. He finished with 274. As good as he is, relying on him to be the entire offense isn’t sustainable.2. John Brown has always shown hints of being an explosive receiver.He just hasn’t been able to keep it going.The Ravens wideout finished with three catches for 116 yards and a touchdown, with a 33-yard touchdown reception and another 71-yarder.In a perfect world Youth Vladimir Ducasse Jersey , he’d provide the Ravens with the consistent deep threat they need to take full advantage of Flacco’s skills. But he hasn’t been consistent over the course of his career.He caught 65 passes for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns in 2015 for the Cardinals, but fell off sharply after that, and they seemed willing to walk away from him.Brown can make big plays, he just needs to make them more often.3. Steelers fans have a visceral reaction to tight end Vance McDonald, and rightfully so.But he brings out big reactions from people who aren’t even in the stadium as well.McDonald got the home fans lathered up in the second quarter by rolling attempted Ravens tacklers backward during their touchdown drive before the half. It wasn’t as violent as his stiff-arm of Bucs safety Chris Conte last week, but honestly, what is?But Conte seemed to enjoy an earlier play, when McDonald had the ball taken away from him by safety Tony Jefferson, and then was blasted out of the frame by Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley.“A wise man once said…’What goes around comes around.'” Conte replied to a Twitter commenter who forwarded video of the play to him.Conte’s on injured reserve now, after he tried to play with a torn knee ligament, and it didn’t work.4. As the Steelers continue to try to improve on defense, they’ve taken to rotating cornerbacksCoty Sensabaugh and Artie Burns, opposite veteran Joe Haden.While it might be hard to discern any advantage without a close look at tape (do they make me an honorary coach for saying that?) Sensabaugh made some of the visible plays that could keep him on the field.He and safety Sean Davis were responsible for the Alex Collins fumble near the goal line, stopping a play that would have given the Ravens a 21-3 lead in the first half.Haden is so solid on the other side that the other Steelers corner is going to see a lot of traffic, so finding the right mix will be crucial.5. The Ravens secondary played an incredible game.They’re about to get their best cover player back.Cornerback Jimmy Smith will return from his four-game suspension for violating the personal conduct policy next week, giving them another playmaker in the back seven.Brandon Carr will be the odd man out when Smith returns, as 2017 first-rounder Marlon Humphrey isn’t going anywhere. But that gives them depth at a position where many teams are looking for two qualified starters.