FanHouse KeithRivers

After clarifying "The Brady Rule" on Tuesday, the NFL continued its assault on unnecessary roughness by passing four safety proposals at the league's annual owners' meetings.

Among the rule changes is a ban on "wedge blocking," as well as regulations on blindside blocking and the hitting of defenseless receivers. There is also some new rules designed to make onside kicks safer.

Clemson didn't look horrible in the first half Thursday night, but they certainly looked like a team that could be headed for a losing streak, based solely on Virginia Tech pouring in 53 points -- 22 of them from Malcolm Delaney -- before halftime.

But the Tigers rebounded in the second half, holding the Hokies to just 29 points over that span, to pull out a four point win on the road.

When the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting was tallied, it was no surprise that New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo was the runaway winner, with 49 votes on the 50-member media panel, chosen by the Associated Press.

But it was a big surprise that the one other vote went to Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers, who played in only seven games all season. How on earth could anyone pick Rivers over Mayo? To find out, I asked the guy who voted for Rivers, Jay Paris of the North County Times.

Via e-mail, he told me he had no excuse -- he just made a mistake and voted for Rivers even though he acknowledges that the award should have gone to Mayo.

Despite having their first-round pick taken away for their top-secret advanced scouting techniques, the New England Patriots still had a first-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft, thanks to a shrewd deal during the 2007 NFL draft that landed them San Francisco's pick in '08. And because the 49ers were pretty lousy in 2007, the Patriots ended up with the No. 10 overall selection following a 16-0 regular season, and a trip to the Super Bowl.

With the No. 10 pick, the Patriots selected linebacker Jerod Mayo from the University of Tennessee, and he became an instant star in the New England defense, starting every game for the Patriots and recording 128 tackles (five for loss), four pass defenses, and a forced fumble. For his efforts, Mayo was named the NFL's defensive rookie of the year on Wednesday, picking up 49 of a possible 50 votes.

According to Pro Football Talk, the 50th vote went to Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers for the seven games he played during the season. I'm going to take a wild guess and say Rivers' vote came from someone who happens to work in Cincinnati. If you're not going to vote for Mayo, who was pretty obviously the best rookie on the defensive side of the ball, the No. 2 choice probably should have been Arizona's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for his 19 pass defenses, four interceptions, blocked kick and one touchdown.

Back in October -- coincidentally, after Hines Ward ended Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers' season with a vicious (but legal) block -- the Steelers' all-time career receptions leader learned that the division-rival Ravens had put a bounty on him for their Week 15 get-together. Which, if you don't have access to a calendar, is this Sunday's game.

Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs, who originally admitted to the bounty on an Atlanta radio station, later claimed that he "misspoke," presumably to avoid the iron fist of Commissar Goodell.

Ward, for his part, made light of the situation, but just in case there's any remaining doubt, Ray Lewis would like to reiterate the Ravens' strict "no bounty" policy.

Save the first 12 minutes of the game, the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh Thursday night affair went pretty much as you might expect: the undermanned Bengals couldn't keep up with the division-leading Steelers and after 60 minutes of football, they were 1-9-1 (thanks, Philly!).

In Week 7, last time these two teams met, Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward knocked linebacker Keith Rivers out for the year. There were the inevitable conversations about payback and revenge, but ultimately, Ward emerged from the Week 12 tilt unscathed. Santonio Holmes, however, did not.

Early in the third quarter, Ben Roethlisberger, facing a Cincinnati blitz, hit Holmes on a slant pattern. It was a well-executed pass-and-catch except that Bengals safety Chris Crocker read the play perfectly. Amazingly, Holmes' head didn't come detached from his body. Not so amazingly, Holmes staggered off the field and didn't return.

After the game, everybody in Pittsburgh's locker room agreed: Crocker's hit was a clean one, and since this is still (although barely) tackle football, players should be allowed to, you know, tackle other players.

The out-to-get Hines Ward tour got off to a very unsuccessful start Thursday night.

With an entire Bengals team out to get Ward for breaking linebacker Keith Rivers' jaw with a completely legal block, Ward walked off Heinz Field with all limbs still attached, no big bumps or bruises, and a 37-yard reception. No Bengals got a good clean shot on Ward all night. Somewhere, Rivers mumbled disappointment through his wired jaw.

It's a good first step for Ward, but he still has one more stop on the revenge tour. The Ravens have gone beyond just talking about revenge and have stepped it up by putting a bounty on Ward. Then again, every time the Ravens gun to get Ward, he usually ends up laying out Ed Reed or Bart Scott. So, on Dec. 14, Ward will either get his block knocked off by the Ravens, or more likely he'll just hand out a couple more crushing blocks and ensure the Ravens up the bounty for 2009.

Hines Ward has been in the NFL for 11 years, and for most of that time, he's been known as a gritty, hard-working wide receiver and, more than that, a tenacious blocker. So it should be hardly worth noting when he legally plants an unsuspecting defender on his ass since, you know, it happens a half-dozen times a year.

Yet, every season, a small subset of folks decry Ward's tactics as dirty, over the line, so on and so forth. His latest victim (see above), Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers, suggested through a jaw wired shut that Ward would "reap what he sows." Later we learned that the Ravens defense had a bounty on Ward, not to mention the discussion this week that Cincinnati would be plotting their revenge.

Ross Tucker, a former NFL lineman who now writes for SI.com, helps dispel some myths about bounties, revenge and whatnot in his latest column.

When the Steelers and Bengals first met, Hines Ward put a hit on Keith Rivers that broke his jaw and ended his season. Since then, several Bengals players have vowed revenge (Rivers even mumbled that Ward will "reap what he sows").

Ward isn't too concerned with that. He'll be there on Thursday night waiting for Cincinnati to try something. He's also ready to bring the pain himself.

"I always keep my head on a swivel," Ward said Tuesday. "It's football. ... Their heads should be on a swivel."

"I'm not going to change because of the threat somebody is going to get me back," Ward said. "Every game, there's somebody trying to get me. I'll apologize for the guy being out the whole year, Rivers, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm not going to apologize for the way I play this game. Nobody's going to apologize to me if I get knocked out going over the middle."

He's right. Still, there is nothing scarier in sports than playing against a team that has nothing to lose. The Bengals are 1-8-1 and have nothing much to play for. Ruining the Steelers playoff hopes is their top priority.

Second on the list may be Mr. Ward.

Unlike most weeks, there hasn't been much jibber-jabbering between the Steelers and Redskins in anticipation of Monday Night's get-together (complete with halftime horse-and-pony show featuring Chris Berman, with guest appearances by Barack Obama and John McCain).

In fact, Washington players have been downright complimentary, even when talking about the scourge of the NFL, that cheap-shot artist, Hines Ward.

You may have heard mention of Ward's latest victim, Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers, vowing revenge as soon as his broken jaw heals and it's no longer wired shut. His teammates voiced similar concerns, and Ravens Terrell Suggs and Bart Scott have some things in the works.

The 6-2 Redskins, on the other hand, have been nothing but laudatory. Even offering advice some Bengals' players might be wise to heed: