Former NFL defensive end Renaldo Wynn spiced up Radio Row on Friday by claiming that former Titans (now Rams) defensive coordinator Gregg Williams had gotten his hands on the Jaguars’ playbook before the 1999 AFC title game.
On Monday, Wynn backpedaled. Sort of.
“It’s important that I do clarify,” Wynn told 610 SportsRadio in Houston. “Somewhere along the way someone said ‘stolen’ playbook. Just to clarify I never said stolen.”
Fine. We said “stolen.” Because “stolen” was implied in Wynn’s original comments.
Other synonyms could apply. Misappropriated. Purloined. Absconded with. Pilfered. Bogarted. Regardless, if Williams managed to finagle an opponents’ playbook, it didn’t happen legitimately.
Wynn’s broader point seems to be that he’s not sure whether Williams was kidding about having the Jacksonville playbook.
“The first time I ever even met or even talk to Gregg Williams,” Wynn said, “he jabs me right there in the side there and says, ‘Hey, we had your playbook.’ I’m hot, man. And as I got to know Gregg, Gregg is the biggest trash talker that you’ll probably ever meet in your life.”
“I never seen the playbook, but at the end of the day, Gregg is a trash talker so, how seriously did I take it? . . . He didn’t clarify one way or the other. Was it just him jabbing at me? Because, obviously, just going back to those heated rivalry days. You know, I don’t know. But again, the same words I said to you guys when I was at the Super Bowl, those were his exact words. ‘Hey man, we had your playbook.’ What does that mean? I’m not sure. All I know is, heck we did lose three times to them.”
Wynn also knows, based on what he said Friday, that the practice continued -- if Williams wasn’t kidding about getting his hands on playbooks.
“I know how he got them,” Wynn said Friday. “He started getting playbooks when I was with him.”
What Wynn said Friday doesn’t sound like exaggeration. What Wynn said Monday sounds like a guy trying to cram toothpaste back in the tube after realizing that people actually heard about and reacted to his contention.