Rules are RULES ! ! ! #Rams pic.twitter.com/fhZjK8iQpE
— History Of Sports (@BeforeFamePics) August 10, 2016
When you’re fighting for a roster spot at an NFL training camp, every moment counts. That’s why you’ll see players with strange numbers competing their hearts out in the second half of a preseason game you’re considering turning off (please, what else are you gonna watch), and that’s why the HBO show Hard Knocks is so compelling. Far more interesting than the workout tape of the stars you already know is the struggle of the fringe players to keep their NFL dreams alive. That’s what makes Deon Long’s story from this year’s edition with the Rams so confusing.
Long was cut by the Rams earlier this summer, and thanks to the cameras being on, we know it was because he brought a woman to his dorm room at UC Irvine. It’s a brutal move by Fisher to value a rule that harkens back to a time when women and sex were considered a drain on men’s vitality over, you know, actual football, but it’s just as perplexing for Long to try to get one over on his team when his spot was so insecure. Long has since signed on with the Eagles, and hopefully he’s learned his lesson.
But hey, at least he heard about it in person. Quarterback Nick Foles got the news he’d been cut by the Rams over the phone just as camp was starting. He’s since found a home on the Chiefs, but damn that’s cold. The best part of Fisher’s decision to cut Long for the “no girls allowed” rule? His explanation to the team:
“I’m not f—ing going 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7 … we have too much talent here for that,” [Fisher] said on “Hard Knocks.” “We had some 7-9 bulls— this morning and we can’t have that. Deon is gone. That is 7-9 bulls— and we don’t need it.”
Jeff, Jeff, Jeff. GOING 8-8 IS ALL YOU DO. IT IS YOUR DESTINY, AND NO END-OF-ROSTER SCHMOE SNEAKING A HONEY INTO HIS ROOM IS GOING TO CHANGE THAT.
