ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Surely, the Oakland Raiders had to know this was a possibility when they signed Vontaze Burfict to play middle linebacker, right?
Right. Kinda. Doesn't mean they have to agree with it.
"He's marked, in part, because of his reputation," Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther told ESPN.com this spring.
And it is a well-earned reputation, so to speak. One that, due to repeated violations of unnecessary roughness rules, has landed Burfict a season-long suspension and cost the Raiders the quarterback of their defense with his helmet-to-helmet hit on a prone Jack Doyle Sunday in the Raiders' 31-24 victory at the Indianapolis Colts.