I like honest athletes. Thus I like DeAngelo Hall, cornerback for the Washington Redskins. Wednesday he told the press he would be targeting Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo during the two teams’ game Sunday.
“I want to get my chance to put my helmet on whatever’s hurt. Romo’s ribs. I’m going to be asking for some corner blitzes. If I know Felix Jones’ shoulder’s hurt, I’m not going to cut him. I’m definitely going to try to hit him up high. If you know something’s wrong with an opponent, you’re going to try to target in on that.”
While I don’t applaud anybody who is saying they’re intentionally going to spear a player, I do applaud Hall for his honesty. If you don’t think other players on other teams think about these kinds of things all the time, then you’re crazy! Hall is just being honest. The Redskins and Cowboys are not only rivals, but they’re rivals in the same NFC division. They’re fighting for a playoff spot!
By Hall saying he’s going to Romo’s ribs, he’s saying what every player on the Redskins wants to say, or even what every player in the NFL wants to say. Maybe that’s why they are protecting quarterbacks so much… well, no, it’s because of that wuss Tom Brady.
And it’s not just quarterbacks. Hall said he’d go after Felix Jones too if he had a hurt shoulder.
Football is not a clean sport, it’s dirty. Players will go after injured players, especially quarterbacks, just to get them on the sideline for at least a play. Or get them on the ground for a little bit longer. Get their jersey dirty. At least make them think about the other players who are gunning for the big red target on their chest every single play.
I hope Hall doesn’t get fined for saying this, because I know that’s something the NFL would do and I know they shouldn’t do that. Let the man speak his mind.
On the other end of it, Romo should look at this comment as an intimidation tool. Hall is trying to tell Romo to look out for a lot of blitzes on Sunday, and a lot of hard hits. Romo might worry, or might laugh at this comment. Either way, Sunday is game day and we at least know Hall is going to be gunning for the more fragile players on the field.
Honesty is the best policy.
