The Kansas City Chiefs came into the week before the Super Bowl looking and acting quite confident in their ability to take down the San Francisco 49ers. Normally, players for teams prepping for the biggest games of their careers are careful not to say anything that could be considered “bulletin board material.” It doesn’t appear Frank Clark is worried about that sort of thing.
According to Bleacher Report , Clark threw some serious shade at one of his defensive counterparts on the Niners on Tuesday afternoon. Talking to the media, the defensive end spoke about former Kansas City Chief and current 49er, Dee Ford.
Clark started his diatribe by claiming he didn’t know much about Ford, but then quickly mentioned a costly penalty Ford committed when he was playing for the Chiefs against the New England Patriots in last year’s AFC Championship game. Clark said the following according to ESPN ‘s Adam Teicher.
“I just know he had lined up offside, and anybody who lined up offside at a time like that I feel like that’s a dumb penalty at the end of the day. I’m sure he feels the same way. Personally, I’ve lined up offside before but not in that type of [situation]… In any [situation] that’s just something that shouldn’t happen.”
This was the second time in the last few days Clark has mentioned Ford’s mistake.
KNBR reported Ford responded to Frank Clark’s first mention of his penalty. That error in question was when the former Chiefs defensive end lined up in the neutral zone with just 54 seconds to go in the AFC Championship and when the New England Patriots had the ball on offense. Ford’s teammate, Charvarius Ward, intercepted a Tom Brady pass that would have sent Kansas City to the Super Bowl in 2019. Instead, Ford’s penalty gave Brady another chance and the Patriots ended up winning the game, 31-28.
KNBR reported Ford responded to Clark the first time the play was brought up this week. That time, Clark called the mistake “inexcusable.” Ford admitted he had problems dealing with his penalty right after the game but eventually moved on and tried to forget about it.
The Kansas City Chiefs shipped Dee Ford out of town in exchange for a draft pick. San Francisco was so convinced they had an impact player, they almost immediately signed him to a five-year extension. Injuries have hampered the defender this year. After recording 55 tackles and 13 sacks in 2018, he racked up just 14 total tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Clark was also acquired via trade, coming to KC from Seattle. This season, he recorded 37 tackles and eight sacks. He also has not shied away from letting the media know what he thinks about Kansas City Chiefs’ opponents.