Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson was going to steal Jared Allen’s dance.
He didn’t know he was going to get lessons too.
Burleson said he approached the Vikings defensive end prior to the 2010 regular season finale, and told him his intentions.
“So I didn’t know Jared, but I just thought, ‘He’s a Minnesota Viking, and I don’t like the guy,’” Burleson said, via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “I go up to him and I say, ‘Hey, when I score I’m going to do your [calf-roping] celebration,’
“So he’s like, ‘All right. They say imitation’s the best form of flattery.’”
Burleson did score, did Allen’s dance, and looked at Allen to say “What’d you think about that?”
Allen replied: “Um, it was OK, but you’ve got to get a little bit lower. Your base is too wide. I’ll show you how to do it.”
Then Allen took a Shaun Hill interception back for a touchdown, did the dance his way, and looked at Burleson and said: “Now, that’s how it’s done.”
Likewise, the Lions can’t help but respect the job Allen’s done against them, and they know they have to game plan for him.
He has 12.5 sacks against them, along with two touchdowns and a safety.
“He’s a guy that can make a play at any time,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “There are a lot of plays where it looks like he’s out of the play -- he’s stymied in the rush, he’s been chipped or something like that.
“He’s very good at making the off-scheduled play. A lot of guys can make the plays that come to them and he can go create a play somewhere.”
And then he dances, and you can’t help but take your hat off to him.