Great analysis Lori! My two cents on the Middleton incident. I was at that game with my wife and daughter. My brother who lives in Tampa had got us tix in the upper deck. I was there with my Cowart jersey on. He was unquestionably my favorite back then. And I got to see him play the quarter of his life. Besides the sacks, he was simply all over the field. They had no answer for him, other than that cheap shot. Which I agree was among the worst I have seen in many years of watching football. Sam was from Florida and the 15 rows of the section next to us was his family and friends, all in their jerseys. It was a pretty cool sight. Between that injury and the achilles he blew out against the Saints, he was never the same player. Injury free, he may have been headed to Canton. Just goes to show how football careers can change in literally one play.
I also remember the punt return. While the flag did get picked up, I have to add that our special teams at that time were "coached" by none other than Ronnie Jones. Still perhaps the worst positional coach in the history of the NFL, and that's saying something.