Bengals rookie compared to 'Longest Yard' player, jokes write themselves
We were scanning some OTA reports from around the NFL when an interesting note about a Cincinnati Bengals rookie crossed our eyes. It turns out that fourth-round pick Carl Lawson, who was viewed by some as a top-50 prospect who fell a bit unexpectedly, is impressing in his early work with the team, according to the team’s official website.
So much so, in fact, that one new Bengals teammate had a unique and — we think — endearing comp for Lawson, a country-strong defensive end from Auburn.
“The dude in ‘The Longest Yard’ (who says), ‘you brok-ed my nose,’” Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict said. “He’s strong as hell. He’s fast as hell. He gets to the corner. Really, he can kind of be like a Von Miller off the edge type guy. He never gets tired. He has a great pass-rushing ability. I’m excited to see him play in the preseason.”
OK, let’s attempt to clean this up a tiny bit. First off, we think Burfict, who was born in 1990, is referring to the remake of the “The Longest Yard,” which was made in 2005. (The original — more on this one below — was made in 1974. That Burt Reynolds looks only 3-5 years younger in that one is not germane to this discussion but must be mentioned for posterity’s sake.)
Here’s the clip, for reference:
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Now, what we don’t know is exactly which character Burfict was referring to — the guy who suffers the broked-ed nose or the one doing the damage, although the praise he heaps on the rookie suggests the latter.
Of course, all that is almost immaterial when you consider the hilarious irony of this whole thing. A Bengals player — one who has found himself amid, oh, a controversy or two — is comparing his new teammate to a character who is an inmate in a prison football movie.
Really, if the first movie hadn’t been made when Marvin Lewis was 16 years old, we might have assumed it was an inspiration of Lewis’ Bengals teams, which have, shall we say, taken some colorful and morally liberal paths through life. Of course, maybe a teenage Lewis saw the original movie and been inspired by it the way a 15-year-old Burfict was, able to recite a line from what frankly was a pretty putrid cinematic experience (in our own eyes, of course).
The ’74 flick is a classic, and you should watch the original scene — and the whole thing, for that matter — for comparison.
So yeah, the good news for Bengals fans is that it appears Lawson might have been a steal. The bad? More jokes about the roster in relation to correctional facilities. It comes with the turf.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
