It’S Slim Pickens For Bengals Receiver
Receiver Carl Pickens was reprimanded Monday for his selfish outburst during the Cincinnati Bengals’ latest loss.
Pickens was frustrated by what he perceived as a limited role in a 33-26 loss to Denver Sunday. After an incompletion in the second quarter, he jumped and waved his arms in exasperation because Neil O’Donnell had thrown to someone else.
A much bigger outburst followed his 20-yard reception in the middle of the field on the second play of the fourth quarter. Pickens popped up after making the catch, repeatedly pumped his fist in the air, then held out his arms and looked at the Bengals’ sideline.
The usually reticent Pickens confirmed Monday that he was trying to send a message: Throw him the ball.
Coach Bruce Coslet had a message of his own: Stop it.
“Basically it was wrong and I don’t want to see it happen again,” Coslet said. “I can dismiss a lot of things during a game that come under the category of ‘in the heat of the battle.’ I didn’t dismiss that. I addressed that to Carl in front of the team, told him my point of view on it, and the case is closed.”
Pickens said that he just got carried away by his emotions.
“Football is an emotional game,” he said. “I’m a competitor. I’m very aggressive on the field. And when I do stuff like that, I’m not trying to point the finger at anybody or bring that much more attention to myself. I’m caught up in the game.
“If it’s misunderstood, then that’s not my problem. I come to win, I play to win.”
A grand farewell tour
Halfway through his farewell season and six weeks shy of his 37th birthday, Reggie White is playing like he’s just starting his career, not ending it.
His 11 sacks, as many as he had all of last season, have him on pace to challenge his career-best of 21, which he set in 1987 for the Philadelphia Eagles.
That was the only time in his career that the sack-master reached double digits faster than he did this season.
He sacked the elusive Steve Young three times in Green Bay’s win over San Francisco on Sunday.
“Reggie White is a phenom,” defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur said. “Anybody starts to talk about Reggie White, look at him in big games. Look at him in the Super Bowl game we won. Look at him in this game and tell me this isn’t the best player to play that position.”
Just call him Tom
New Orleans Saints quarterback Kerry Collins was arrested and charged with driving while impaired just hours after a loss to his former Carolina Panthers teammates.
Collins was driving his girlfriend’s 1995 Lexus when police pulled him over at 12:50 a.m. Collins failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breath test, according to a police spokeswoman.
He was charged with driving while impaired.
Collins, 26, was taken to Mecklenburg County Jail and released at 4:30 a.m. after posting a $1,000 bond.
Give Charles Atlas a call
The outcome was foreign to the Minnesota Vikings, their first loss since the playoffs last January. The way they got there was all too familiar.
They were outmuscled and pushed around, bullied by one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Linebacker Ed McDaniel even had to leave Sunday’s loss at Tampa Bay briefly when he got sand in his eyes, a figuratively appropriate image if ever there was one.
“They came in wanting to control the ball, and they did,” said defensive end Derrick Alexander. “There was never any deception on their part.”
The Buccaneers’ 27th-ranked offense ran for 246 yards and never had to punt.
He’s no Bum
The talk is about Doug Flutie, the little guy running around the field with the football. But the big guy patrolling the sidelines with the clipboard hasn’t been bad either.
In his first season with the Bills, Wade Phillips is quietly crafting a contender.
With Flutie the top-rated passer in the AFC, Phillips won’t get credit for reversing the Bills’ fortunes after an 0-3 start, but he’s had plenty to do with it.
“He’s a great communicator, great teacher, and he’s got the team well-prepared,” said general manager John Butler. “So, when you do that your team’s got a chance even through some tough times.”
After three seasons as the Bills’ defensive coordinator, Phillips was named head coach in January. It was his second head coaching job, having led the Broncos to the playoffs in 1993. He was fired after Denver went 7-9 the next season.