The Europeanization of American football?

I sure hope somebody’s embarrassed about this:

Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams offense were running the no-huddle offense on a depleted New York Giants defense on Monday night and doing it with great success. Unable to stop the Rams through traditional means like tackling and pass deflecting, the Giants tried a different strategy: faking injuries.

Following an 8-yard run on first down, two Giants players, Deon Grant and Jacquian Williams, simultaneously fell to the ground as the Rams came to the line without a huddle. The phoniness of both injuries was so obvious it was called out in the booth by the usually uncritical ESPN announcing team.

Here, watch:

And when I say “I sure hope somebody’s embarrassed about this,” I mean besides me. I’m embarrassed, and I’m not even a Giants fan.

There wasn’t a damn thing the refs could do about it – they don’t want to be in the business of deciding who’s really hurt and who’s not. So the NFL should fine these two guys. And then they should fine the team. And the entire football world should mock them like the dainty little girls they are until faking injury is the NFL equivalent of …oh, I dunno, what embarrasses teenagers these days? Realizing that the whole class can see their underwear?

Hm. No.

Well, something. And these players should be mocked so mercilessly that even the guys who spend all their free time hanging out in the AV room waiting for Dungeons and Dragons club (or whatever today’s social outcast equivalent is) feel sorry for them. And this should continue until faking injury like that is so toxic that Danica Patrick publicly airs her concern over attending an NFL game.

And until that all happens, I don’t want to hear another f’n word about how soccer is a wimpy sport.