We learned that again Sunday, when Cleveland nose tackle Phil Taylor got into it with running back Ray Rice in the first quarter of Baltimore's 14-6 win.
Taylor wouldn't provide specifics, saying only that "something happened." Asked by reporters if he was spit on, Taylor didn't deny it.
"Look at the film, you will see ... I'm not going to say," Taylor said, per The Plain Dealer. "It is what it is. I need to keep my composure."
We took another look this morning.
The CBS broadcast shows Rice and Taylor going face to face after the back was stopped for a 3-yard loss on Baltimore's opening drive. Rice jawed with Taylor, who then slapped the runner on the side of his helmet. That drew a 15-yard flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson hinted that Taylor was provoked.
"I heard a guy scream he got spit on," Jackson said. "If guys are spitting, that's immature. That's elementary. We're all grown men. There's no need to spit on a guy. I don't know if it was Ray, but apparently someone got spit on."
Asked if Rice had unnerved him in games past, Taylor told reporters: "I don't like any running back I play against."
Taylor is keeping quiet, but we imagine the NFL will follow his advice and take a second look at Sunday's lovefest.
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