Having to play a man down for nearly 30 minutes would have been dangerous.

It's the duty of pundits and politicians to make those differences clear, not to play them down for fear that someone will be offended.

Kitna did not play a single down for the Cowboys in the 2009 regular season.

Of course the team car was playing it down for Hinault.

To demonstrate how seriously Seattle takes such violations, the city does not try to play them down for fear of driving away visitors.

Blazejewski, however, never played a single down for the Rams last season.

"It's always tough playing a man down for 60 minutes, but we really could have done better," Mathis said.

He has talked by telephone frequently with Leyland and admitted they had agreed to play down their relationship for the time being.

He would not play another down for Penn State.

In fact, we shall have to play down Merseia's own part, for fear of shaking the uneasy peace.