ENOUGH ALREADY. Free Ed Reed, and stop the player-hating. It's time to put this one in the tough lesson learned category.
The phone calls and e-mails haven't stopped, and talk show switchboards are still lighting up from Reed's mishap in the Ravens game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
In case you missed it, and that's extremely hard because the highlight (or is it lowlight?) has been shown more times than an I Love Lucy rerun, Reed committed one of the boneheaded plays of the season by holding the ball up in anticipation of a touchdown celebration at the Bengals' 8-yard line in the first quarter.
Unfortunately for the rookie safety and the Ravens' top draft pick, T.J. Houshmandzadeh knocked the ball out of his hand and the Bengals recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
Ouch. No, make that a double ouch.
And since then, there have been suggestions of punishment for Reed only short of sending him to prison on bread and water. Fine him. Bench him. Suspend him.
Shoot, is a trade imminent?
Here's my recommendation: Next time, Ed, just tuck the ball away until you score. Then you can do forward rolls, moonwalks, Cabbage Patch or Tootsie Roll dances, whatever.
As for a punishment, there is none. This kid has already been super embarrassed. He wanted to get on SportsCenter and got there, repeatedly, as a joke being compared to former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett. Nothing can surpass the harassment he has received in the locker room.
Teammate Chris McAlister has nicknamed him "Blooper."
Coach Brian Billick has spoken with him, and so have linebacker Ray Lewis and secondary coach Donnie Henderson. It's time to leave the kid alone.
"In his estimation, he thought he was in a clear path to the goal line," said Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens' senior vice president of football operations. "At that point, as we see in a lot of our games, he started to raise the ball in celebration. The school of hard knocks is tough. That's what this team has to go through; that's what young players have to go through in this league. One of the things we have to realize is there is going to be a development period for these players."
Said Billick: "Being a professional, you don't put others at risk, as a team or individually. I don't think Ed will do that again."
Reed's excitement and anticipation of a touchdown is understandable. Here's a rookie about to score his first NFL touchdown on what was one heck of a 38-yard return. He made a great play on the ball, weaved through traffic, and made three or four tacklers miss.
He was about to hit prime time, but instead hit a low in a great rookie season.
No one should condone Reed's play, but the league promotes this behavior. Flash and flamboyance are as much a part of the NFL as helmets and facemasks.
And it's not going to change.
The Ravens can't fine Reed because there was no violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. What's it under, knucklehead plays? If that were, indeed, the case, few would even draw a paycheck.
There is also a thin line between what is and what isn't a fineable offense. The end zone dances used to be entertaining stuff, the Washington Redskins' "Fun Bunch" and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson's "Funky Chicken." It was emotion and passion, major elements of the game.
But it became annoying once players started dancing after a sack or a fumble recovery. Players now break-dance after a tackle 20 yards downfield.
And then there is the ridiculous, like San Francisco 49ers receiver Terrell Owens recently hiding a marker in his sock and autographing the ball after a touchdown on Monday Night Football. Or in 2000 when he twice ran from the end zone to midfield and spiked the ball in the middle of the Cowboys' star after scoring touchdowns.
The league has problems determining which ones are choreographed and which ones are spontaneous. Only the latter are supposedly acceptable.
"People are taking the fun out of the game," said Chiefs wide receiver Johnnie Morton. "Any little thing you do now, they have a problem with. You've got to have fun. You're supposed to show up a defensive back. That's your job. It's hard to get in the end zone."
Newsome, a Hall of Fame tight end with the Cleveland Browns in the 1970s and '80s, spiked the ball only once during his career, immediately after scoring his first touchdown (just as Reed had intended).
As a member of the competition committee, he said the league has tried to cut down on the celebrations.
"What's truly in good taste?" Newsome asked. "Is it Jerry Rice jumping in somebody's arms after a touchdown like he did Monday night, or is it celebrating after a tackle? There are some things in this league not worthy of celebrating, and most of my peers around the league would say that.
"But who can predict what an individual is going to do in an emotional, exciting time? We made a very big effort in the 2001 season to enforce the respect of the game. We've instituted some things and the league is looking for offenses whether there is a flag on a play or not. But our league thrives on spontaneous excitement. That's what sets us apart from the other leagues."
Fans haven't complained about it much in Baltimore. They give Lewis a standing ovation during pre-game introductions when he comes out dancing like Little Richard (it's choreographed, but the dancing is so bad it's hard to tell). They applauded Tony Siragusa when he flapped his wings after each sack during the past five years.
Has there been anyone who talked more smack than Shannon Sharpe during the previous two seasons?
Show time, though, backfired on Reed. Fans booed him later when his picture was shown on the video scoreboard during the game. Some people haven't let up yet, but they should.
He has admitted to a mistake, and said it wouldn't happen again. He has moved on to the next game, and so should we.