Delusional Ryan Clark Babbles on About the Postseason
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Clark, Pittsburgh’s part-time free safety and full-time “media whore,” was apparently hamming it up for the camera on ESPN 2’s First Take during Pittsburgh’s bye week.
Due to the fact that I would rather pour lye on my scrotum than watch Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith get into nonsensical shouting matches, I normally abstain from watching that ridiculous program.
Nevertheless, when I heard that Clark said that the Steelers would make the postseason during a show last Friday, I had to find a clip to see for myself.
Thankfully for me, YouTube and First Take provided us with this gem:
Clark however wasn’t done telling anybody who would listen that the Steelers would qualify for the postseason this season though. According to the free safety, Pittsburgh’s upcoming opponents do not seem to worry him or his 0-4 team in the least.
In fact, this is what Clark had to say in a recent article by Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
"We’re playing football teams that have vulnerabilities and teams I think we can beat, … That’s five division opponents left, so it’s in our hands. I think we can win those games, and I think we will. I just believe we can win. That’s just the bottom line, … I think we have the people in this room, the coaches (to win). Also looking at our schedule, we’re not playing world-beaters, we’re not playing gods, we’re playing men."
While I agree with Clark that all NFL teams are comprised of “men” instead of “gods,” I think he forgot to take into account the fact that most teams around the league would love to play a flawed team like the Steelers right now.
I mean, what opposing defense would not want to play Pittsburgh’s offense which has turned the ball over 11 times in four games and has surrendered 15 sacks over that span as well?
Moreover, what opposing offense wouldn’t want to play against a defense which is ranked 25th in rushing yards per game allowed, 23rd in points per game allowed, 32nd in sacks, and has failed to force a turnover through 16 quarters of regular season play?
Opposing signal-callers like Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Tannehill, Matt Stafford, and even the same Brandon Weeden Clark disparaged on First Take will be licking their chops when they see the Steelers later this year.
Heck, even the inexperienced Geno Smith, E.J. Manuel, and Terrelle Pryor could give Pittsburgh’s defense fits with the way those three first-year starters have played as of late.
Now I know that Clark is not going to go on television or go to the papers and declare that his team is “finished.” Yet I have no idea why he felt the need to insult or give bulletin board material to the rest of the teams on Pittsburgh’s schedule.
Then again, good teams and good players do not have to crow to everyone about how stellar they are.
I for one am intrigued to see how true Clark’s prophecies regarding the rest of Pittsburgh’s season actually turn out, especially when nine of Pittsburgh’s final 12 opponents have winning records at the moment. With that and the Steelers’ current struggles in mind though, count me in as one of the many who believe that this team is destined for a top five draft pick next May.
I just hope Clark doesn’t subscribe to the notion that “believing” and “wishing” will automatically put the 0-4 Steelers in the postseason this year. In fact, this video below might offer him some great advice:
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