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Knights of Andreas Part I Chapter Five – Roses Are Red Victory is within reach. It’s been a sloppy, back-and-forth game against the Cleveland Browns, but Farmers Field screams for a potential win, one they feel they should get. The Browns are 2-2, a decent record by their standards, but they’re still the Browns. Colt McCoy gets ready for fourth and five from the forty-two, just outside field goal range. The Knights, clinging to a 13-12 lead with under a minute to play, need one more stop, and they feel confident. The only talent on Cleveland’s offense is in the trenches. Most confident of all is Malik Rose, who has enjoyed the effortless task of covering Greg Little, a laughably designated number one receiver. Poor Little has been targeted eleven times today, resulting in no catches and two interceptions, one for Rose and one for safety Chet Ripka. Lately, Little has voiced his frustration by trash talking, an amusing development to Rose. McCoy takes the snap from shotgun and stares down Little, who runs a go route. Rose doesn’t have help over the top, and he doesn’t need it. He runs stride for stride and sees McCoy loft the pass anyway. Eyes on the ball, the two men brush shoulders and make plenty of contact. Rose smacks the ball out of midair. The nearest referee signals incomplete with no flag on the play. “No sir! No sir!” Rose taunts as he slows his sprint down. “That’s dirty!” Little replies. “You cheap ass. Can’t cover anybody without holding. You ain’t no player.” Rose feels his body flare up. He steps toward Little and gives him a good, hard shove below the neck. His head jerks back and he falls to the ground. “What now? What now?” Rose screams as he stands over him. Little scrambles to his feet to defend himself. Referees and players join the chaos, and Rose tries to take a couple more swings. By the time everything calms down, the crowd grows nervous at the sight of yellow on the grass. “After the play, personal foul, unnecessary roughness, number twenty-seven, defense. Automatic first down.” The crowd of seventy thousand strong unleashes a wave of angry, vicious boos. By order of Coach Harden, Rose watches the rest from the sidelines. The boos carry into the Browns’ next running play, and then to Phil Dawson’s game-winning field goal. Rose jogs to the locker room, unable to get off the field fast enough. Several teammates have the same feeling. The boos get louder. At the tunnel entrance, several fans voice their displeasure, Jay Cooper among them. “Malik, you fucking idiot!” Cooper screams. “Thanks for losing us the game! Go back to Shittsburgh, asshole!” Before the Pittsburgh Steelers officially make the 88th selection in the 2008 NFL Draft, general manager Kevin Colbert places a call to the young man on top of their draft board. All is well; Colbert congratulates him and passes the phone to head coach Mike Tomlin. “I really like this pick, sir,” Chance Phillips, assistant general manager, says. “I know you do, Chance. Dick likes him, too, so we’ll see if he’s a fit.” “He’s definitely a fit. If not for his off-the-field stuff, he’s probably a first round pick.” “Maybe.” Phillips is being modest to his boss. Every NFL scout who works a draft falls in love with a mid-round prospect here and there; Rose is that prospect for Phillips. He has tried to assign a second round grade to Rose, even though he sees him as a first round prospect. His attempts were unsuccessful, and he could only hope that Rose would still be there when the Steelers’ third round pick came up. He is. Furthermore, this is an atypical pick for Pittsburgh, a franchise built on integrity. If not for Rose’s checkered gang history in Atlanta, he would have been a top ten pick. Phillips is as aware of this as any personnel man in football, and he knows if Rose can get his head on straight, he’ll be an all-pro corner. For players, every loss has a lingering effect, but some stick around longer than others. By the start of Tuesday’s practice, the Knights still feel the Cleveland loss in their gut. Though everyone’s immediate reaction was to blame Rose for his inexcusable penalty, some reflection has happily reminded them how thoroughly poor they played. Rose has accepted his extra suicides as punishment and wants to redeem himself this Sunday. Los Angeles’ opponent couldn’t be timed worse: Detroit. If Rose wants redemption, he has to earn it against Calvin Johnson. Merle Harden gathers his defensive troops in the secondary. “Okay,” he says, “this week, Calvin Johnson gets doubled on every passing play. No exceptions, no excuses. Malik, it’s your job to stick him at the line of scrimmage. Chet, you give him help over the top.” Every player hearing this refrains from mentioning the elephant Harden just introduced: Chet Ripka is an aging safety with declining cover skills. Asking him to cover guys like Megatron is probably too much. Rose, however, can’t resist. “Yo Chet,” Rose says, “your wheelchair fast enough for that?” A few players laugh. “Just try not to get flagged too many times, kid,” Ripka says. Rose doesn’t look happy. “Listen,” Harden says, “once we’re through with positional drills, we’re gonna use D-Jam as our Johnson clone. We’ll start there. Here we go.” Rose and Ripka continue jawing at each other, all in good fun. Ripka is one of many teammates who have given him support in the wake of his unforgivable personal foul. Many have commended him for his passionate play, but insisted he still needs to be disciplined during key moments. Other teammates have said nothing, and Rose knows they disapprove of his playing style. He doesn’t expect everybody to understand. When he and D-Jam go head to head, frustration mounts. Wilkes is overly physical, taking liberties at times. Rose tries to be physical back, but Wilkes just shoves him, abandoning his route altogether. Coach Daniel seems to be yelling at them every other play. Finally, Rose has had enough. The whistle blows for another snap and Rose runs straight at Wilkes. He extends his arm to deck him in the facemask, but Wilkes apparently has the same idea. They exchange a few solid blows and end up on the ground. As players run in to break it up, the perimeter of cameras gladly captures the footage. The third round changes the draft clock from eight to five minutes, and the draft speeds up. The Bills are on the clock with the 68th pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, and the Knights are next. None of the players still on the board have a second round grade. Chance Phillips was hoping Brandon Harris or Marcus Gilbert would fall, but no luck. The top player on L.A.’s board, however, had a second round grade before a positive marijuana test at the scouting combine. This creates a good bit of discussion. “As long as we’re discussing kids with off-the-field issues,” Phillips says, “what about that trade we discussed?” Everyone looks around, confused, then realizes what he’s saying. Phillips picks up his phone and dials a familiar number. “Colbert,” says a voice from the receiver. “Kevin!” Phillips says. “It’s Chance, L.A.” “Hey Chance,” says Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager. “What are you doing, trying to bait me into trading up?” “Not exactly. What do you think of Justin Houston?” A brief silence. Chance suspects Houston is high on the Steelers’ board, and this silence tells him he’s right. “What are you up to, Chance?” “If we take Houston with the next pick, are you interested?” “Technically we’re in a lockout, remember? We can’t trade players.” “We won’t be locked out forever, and you didn’t answer my question.” “Depends. What do you want?” “Malik Rose.” “Let me get back to you.” Phillips notices someone trying to get his attention in the war room. “Look, Buffalo just picked, so we’re up. Three minutes, Kevin.” He hangs up. Phillips turns to his colleagues. “Since nobody we love is on the board, I’m thinking we take Houston and try to work out the trade with Pittsburgh whenever the hell this lockout ends. If the trade doesn’t go through, we hang on to Houston.” “I certainly don’t object to that,” Coach Harden says. “Neither do I,” Coach Daniel says. “Mr. Schneider,” Phillips says, “when can we expect the lockout to end?” Schneider smiles. “Let’s just say I’m cautiously optimistic.” Phillips smiles back. Malik Rose hasn’t lit the world on fire in Pittsburgh, but he hasn’t been given sufficient playing time. As a Knight, he would be an immediate starter, and probably the team’s best corner now that Nnamdi Asomugha is gone. He comes with red flags, of course, but Coach Daniel prides himself on having zero tolerance for off-the-field issues. After dodging the media all week, Rose heads home Friday looking forward to tomorrow’s flight to Detroit. He lives in a city of almost four million people, but there’s only two he wants to see right now. As soon as he walks through the door he sees Eva, his wife, and embraces her. “Hey babe,” he says he hushed tones. They kiss. “You doing okay?” Eva asks. “I’m fine. What do you mean?” “Everything that’s going on.” “You know I don’t let that bother me.” “Well, it bothers me. I’m not sure I like this city. Pittsburgh was better, quieter.” She’s right; Pittsburgh was quieter. Rose even won a Super Bowl ring his rookie year, but he barely saw the field. To him, it doesn’t count. Los Angeles will be different. “We’re here now,” he says. “This is home. I’m gonna make Pittsburgh regret trading me. Where’s Jasmin?” “She just went down for a nap.” Malik leaves Eva, walks through a hallway lined with pictures, and sees his two-year-old daughter, peacefully asleep. He leans in and kisses her on the cheek. She’s just as beautiful as the day she was born. The weather hits them the instant they get off the plane. The Knights have played three of their last four at home, and the road game was in Houston. It’s October 22nd, so much of the nation is immersed in fall weather. Not Los Angeles, though. Sunday’s game is played indoors at Ford Field, shielded from the chilly Detroit weather. The crowd is amped up, even during warm-ups. The Lions are 5-1, their best start in decades. Detroit fans are enlivened by their team breaking the habit of losing season after losing season. How much longer until the Knights break theirs? Rose blocks everything out until it’s time to get on the field. When he finally does, he stares Calvin Johnson down. At 6’5”, he’s hard to miss, but Rose is 6’3”. Tall receivers have never intimidated him. On the first snap from scrimmage, Rose approaches as if playing bump-and-run. Instead, he gives Johnson a hard shove in the neck. This disrupts the rhythm of the play call, and Stafford is sacked before making a throw. Nice to meet you, Calvin. “Get used to it,” Rose chirps. On second down, Rose mercifully allows Johnson off the line, then jumps a crossing route and gives Stafford nowhere to go. He ends up scrambling and throwing it away. Rose goes back to bump-and-run on third down, and Ripka’s coverage over the top shuts the play down; Stafford apparently isn’t looking to go anywhere else with the ball. This continues series in and series out. Harden never calls zone coverage, so Rose stays with Johnson on every play. He bumps him at the line and gives him everything he can on run plays. Meanwhile, the Knights offense finally finds balance, plays turnover-free football, and owns a 14-3 lead late in the first half. One particular third down, Harden calls an all-out blitz, Ripka included. Rose is alone on Megatron. He sticks with his plan and jams Johnson at the line of scrimmage. Johnson sidesteps the jam and breaks downfield. He’s blistering fast but Rose stays with him. At the last second, Rose looks up and sees a deep pass coming for them. He can’t get to it. Johnson leaps in the air, catches it, and comes back down—Rose punches it out of his grasp. Incompletion. “C’mon, CJ!” Rose yells, waving his arms horizontally. “Gotta have that one, CJ!” When Rose returns to the bench, everyone congratulates him, even the ones who have given him the cold shoulder since the Cleveland game. Eventually, Coach Harden walks up, kneels in front of him on the bench, and stares him straight in the eye. He’s never done this. “Great. Fucking. Job. Keep it up, Malik.” The second half is more of the same. The Knights give up a touchdown to no fault of Rose’s; the Lions catch the defense off guard and set up a screen to Jahvid Best, who takes it to the house courtesy of a few missed tackles. Jonathan Maverick responds with a brilliant drive, including several electrifying scrambles by him and capped by an Alex Johnson touchdown catch. With a 21-10 lead, the defense goes back to work. Rose runs to press Johnson again, but he steps laterally instead. A screen. Rose moves in to intercept the pass, but Johnson breaks downfield. He’s been beat. He sprints to catch up but Johnson is long gone, until Ripka comes over the top and swats Stafford’s pass away. Disaster averted. “Sorry, old man,” Rose says. “Won’t happen again.” “Make sure it doesn’t. Gonna need a hip replacement running with that fucking guy.” The next play, Harden makes an interesting decision: he leaves Rose alone again, sending Ripka on a delayed blitz. Rose thinks about backing off but decides against it. He gives Johnson a hard shove. Johnson runs downfield then cuts to the middle on a crossing route. Rose breaks late but catches up. He looks and sees Stafford throwing for him. An errant pass sails into Rose’s hands. Johnson wrestles him down as he cradles the ball. As the Knights celebrate the turnover (Stafford’s second of the day), FOX’s commentators Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick contemplate Calvin Johnson’s stat line so far: 1 reception, 3 yards, 0 TDs. He’s being shut down by some no-name corner from L.A. Might be time to learn his name. The Knights add another touchdown in the fourth quarter, and the Lions can only manage one more reception—again on a screen—for their star receiver, completely blanketed by Malik Rose. Johnson finishes with 2 receptions for 10 yards. More importantly, the Knights finish with a 28-10 win. After seven weeks, a 2-5 record isn’t much to be proud of, but the Knights celebrate in the Ford Field visitor’s locker room like they’re 5-2. After things die down, Coach Daniel gets everybody’s attention. “We are a team,” he begins. “Always will be. But we are a team of individuals. And sometimes, one of those individuals rises to a greater level and inspires all of us. Malik Rose…” Rose steps forward from the crowd and everyone cheers. “After last week, Malik wanted to redeem himself. Well, son, you’ve done a hell of a lot more than that. Today, you shut down one of the best receivers in the game. Today, you introduced yourself to the National Football League. Way to go, Malik.” Daniel hands him the game ball, and everyone mobs the game’s hero, last week’s blunder now forgotten. Rose enjoys the moment and thinks of next week’s matchup against the Chiefs, who have a legitimate number one receiver in Dwayne Bowe. Rose can’t wait to meet him.