Herman Edwards used stickum in the 80’s too

Jan 2, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team Nitro head coach Herm Edwards reacts during the second half against the Team Highlight at Tropicana Field. Team Highlight defeated the Team Nitro 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Team Nitro head coach Herm Edwards reacts during the second half against the Team Highlight at Tropicana Field. Team Highlight defeated the Team Nitro 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Former NFL defensive back Herm Edwards revealed recently that he used stickum as well.

Former San Francisco 49ers great Jerry Rice found himself in a very “sticky” situation after his admission of using a little bit of stickum came to light. His ego was bruised after his claims that the Patriots should have an asterisk next to their name should they win the Super Bowl.

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Rice brushed it off as “everybody was doing it.”

Now though, since so was much made of the situation, former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Herm Edwards once made an admission backing Rice’s claims. When Edwards was coaching in Kansas City back in 2007, he claimed he used to put some stickum on the bottom of his cleats and use it from time to time.

“It’s definitely a different league now,” Edwards told Jeffrey Chadiha at the time, via ESPN.  “People are concerned about the image more than ever.  But I also know there’ll always be some gamesmanship going on.  That’s just how this business works.”

In other obvious news, of course gamesmanship has always been involved. Gamesmanship is always involved in any sport. The problem the league is facing now though is what the repercussions should be when it comes to light.

Gamesmanship is cheating. People only call it gamesmanship when it’s not caught.

It’s funny to think the NFL is actually still investigating Deflate-Gate and the New England Patriots. It’s been almost a month and still Roger Goodell has decided to stall. In fact, they’ve done the most brilliant diffusing job of all-time.

Why do you think the Atlanta Falcons fake crowd noise and Cleveland Browns texting issues were brought up so quickly following the Super Bowl? Coincidence? Or maybe the NFL’s genius way of allowing the Patriots to blend into the league, making Deflate-Gate less of an issue.

For anybody that wants to blow off Deflate-Gate, in essence what they’re saying is getting caught violating the rules is okay. If this was the mindset, then gamesmanship would run wild and nobody would think twice about the consequences, especially if their owner is “in-tight” with the commissioner.

Let’s face it, the Patriots have brought these issues on themselves due to the uncertainty revolving around Spy-Gate.

Thanks to Herman Edwards, we found out what we already knew: gamesmanship is a part of the game. What some people have trouble grasping though is that guys who get caught doing these “gamesmanshippy” things need to be punished for obvious reasons.

If punishment was brushed off, then the integrity of the game gains more cracks over time.

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