| | Nedney apologizes for attempt at humor
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Joe Nedney will stick to kicking instead
of comedy.
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I know there's a lot of people in Pittsburgh right now who are flaming mad and people around the nation that are flaming mad, and I'm sure the comment I made afterward left a really bad taste in everybody's mouth. I sincerely apologize for doing that, but it was only meant as a joke. ” |
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— Joe Nedney |
The Tennessee Titans kicker has been apologizing for his attempt
at humor when he said he might take up acting after drawing a
penalty that let him atone for a miss with a game-winning field
goal Saturday against Pittsburgh.
"I've been trying to extinguish fires all day,'' Nedney said
Monday.
"I know there's a lot of people in Pittsburgh right now who are
flaming mad and people around the nation that are flaming mad, and
I'm sure the comment I made afterward left a really bad taste in
everybody's mouth. I sincerely apologize for doing that, but it was
only meant as a joke.''
Nedney went home feeling like a hero Saturday night after his kick in overtime gave the Titans a 34-31 victory over the Steelers
and a berth in the AFC championship.
When he woke up Sunday morning, he learned about the firestorm
he unintentionally created.
So he has been apologizing ever since.
"I didn't mean to come off sounding cocky or put it in
anybody's face,'' he said of his postgame comment.
Now he wants to focus on his chance for payback against Oakland
with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. He played three games
for the Raiders in 1999, then was used briefly as an insurance
policy for Sebastian Janikowski before being released in 2000.
This was not how Nedney imagined his first playoff appearance
would play out. A seven-year veteran with his eighth team, Nedney
dreamed about kicking game-winning field goals but without the
controversy at the end.
Nedney missed a 48-yarder into a breeze at the end of regulation
that would have given Tennessee the victory.
Titans quarterback Steve McNair drove his team 61 yards to open
the overtime and gave Nedney something kickers rarely, if ever get
-- a second chance.
Pittsburgh set off the surreal finish by calling a timeout an
instant before Aaron Graham snapped the ball. Nedney kicked a
31-yard field goal through the uprights, and fireworks went off as
officials announced it didn't count because the Steelers were
granted the timeout.
Nedney just laughed and lined up again.
This time, he hooked it right. Pittsburgh cornerback Dewayne Washington, who had swung wide of Titans tight end Erron Kinney,
ran into Nedney's left leg, spun him around and Nedney fell to the
ground.
It's not easy to knock down the 6-foot 5, 225-pound Nedney.
He is one of NFL's two tallest kickers, along with Mike Vanderjagt of Indianapolis. He also was a receiver at Santa Teresa
High in San Jose, Calif., until he punctured a lung in practice,
forcing him to try kicking to avoid contact. This season, he had
seven tackles on special teams and one against Pittsburgh.
"I pride myself on not being a small, frail, unathletic
kicker,'' Nedney said. "He got me down. I went down, and I got
another chance. That's it.''
With Washington penalized for running into Nedney, the kicker
got a third straight chance, this time from 26 yards. Pittsburgh
tried to ice him again, but officials told the Steelers they had no
timeouts left despite the scoreboard showing two remaining.
Nedney, who hit 25 of 31 field goals this season for the
second-highest percentage of his career, didn't waste his chance at
redemption.
Now he insists he has learned his lesson. He cannot wait to
start talking about the Raiders and to play again near his hometown
of San Jose.
"What a better way to wipe the slate clean than to go out and
have a good game against them? People forget very quickly as long
as you do well week by week,'' Nedney said. "That's my goal -- to
get everybody to forget this. Have a good game against Oakland,
celebrate the victory and go on to San Diego.''
And he promises not to joke after a game again.
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Conference Championship
'Played out completely wrong'
