Mason, Crowder Exchange Words

This is becoming somewhat of a running joke and if it is, it won’t stop anytime soon.  Why?  Because Channing Crowder can’t stop anything that runs…at least not until it’s gained a few.  This week, Channing Crowder decided to play the word volley with Baltimore Ravens 36 year old WR Derrick Mason.  Referring to him as the “old guy” when asked about the game this weekend.

Wow, those are some of the tamest words Crowder has used since being drafted.  Still, that didn’t stop Mason from rallying back with a “he was still peeing on himself when I was playing football”.  Again, another tame exchange.  Mason would go on to further explain that most 36 year olds wish they could accomplish what he has…and to some degree he is right.  Especially for those of us growing up wishing we were good enough to play at this level.

These “exchanges” are so far from bulletin board material that it almost seems funny in and of itself.  Especially when you compare the antics of Crowder and Rex Ryan in the past.  To me the issue is why Channing Crowder is saying anything?  Especially about being old.  Is it not his body that has broken down more since arriving in Miami than Mason?

While Mason has put up average to good numbers over his career what has Channing done?  To be honest, a team like this doesn’t need that one person who can spout off and really piss off an opponent.  We all know that it takes very little to motivate a team that you are about to face and Crowder is getting closer to being banned from talking to the media at all.  O.k. not really.

Crowder is a fun enigmatic player but his mouth tends to motor more than his body.  He is visibly poor on rushing the QB and there has only been a couple of handfuls of runners being taken down either on first contact or behind the line of scrimmage.  Crowder apparently believes that stopping a ball carrier 4 yards into your defense is successful.  Oddly enough, it’s his run stopping ability that is his best attribute.

I don’t want to sit here and bad mouth Crowder, he is a very nice guy off the field and I’m sure he is on the field.  His mother is one of South Florida’s most active doing a lot of work with women.  I have even run into Crowder in a dark tunnel of the stadium after a half-time.  He is towering in pads and can be pretty scary.  But, that still doesn’t dismiss the fact that he should put up a little more on the field to cover what his mouth says off of it.

So he called Mason old.  By NFL standards the dude is old, Mason should be glad that was all Crowder had to say.  Normally he wouldn’t have stopped.  While this entire article points out that Crowder doesn’t match his words with his play this incident was nothing short of comical in terms of the reaction from Mason.  As I think of it, maybe Crowder chose his words carefully.  He does play above the level of this comment, so maybe he can back it up for once.  On the field.