It is a paradoxical reality of the sports universe that if one never makes it to the big game one can still be perceived as a winner but if one makes it to the big game repeatedly without winning it then one is generally perceived as a loser. Coach Marv Levy led the Buffalo Bills to an unprecedented four straight Super Bowls (1991-94) and if the Bills had won just one of those games then history would view Levy much more kindly--but the Bills lost all four, including three blowouts plus one game decided on a last second field goal missed by Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood, and thus it is unlikely that Levy will ever get the full credit that he is due.
Rick Telander, a narrative non-fiction master, realized that there is much more to Levy than those four Super Bowl losses; in an October 17, 1994 Sports Illustrated article titled No Joke, Telander explained why Levy is not only a great coach but also a well-rounded human being. Levy possesses the intelligence and determination to succeed in just about any field but the Harvard history major fell in love with football, a decision that did not meet with the immediate approval of his father. When he told Sam Levy what he planned to do, the elder Levy considered the matter in silence before saying simply, "Be a good one."
The stereotypical football coach breathes fire and instills fear but Marv Levy rejected that approach: "I hear sometimes that to be a good coach you have to be mean. I disagree, because the essential quality of a coach is to be a good teacher. Just because my personality is different from, say, Mike Ditka's doesn't mean a thing. What I always say is, 'Plan your work and work your plan.' If you have everything prepared, the rest takes care of itself.'"
After that fourth Super Bowl loss, Levy offered a defiant response when asked if the Bills could make a fifth straight trip to the Super Bowl: "Is our goal to win? No! Our goal is to develop our team, to earn what we get, to learn, to develop unselfish attitudes. If we achieve that, the result is that we'll win."
Those words may sound trite but coaches who have won multiple championships--including Phil Jackson and John Wooden--said very similar things: competing in sports at the highest level is about the process, about doing your work the right way and about having the proper mindset: those things do not guarantee championships but they guarantee that you can look in the mirror and know that you, in the words of Rudyard Kipling, filled "the unforgiving minute/With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run."
Showing posts with label Buffalo Bills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buffalo Bills. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2014
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
What Part of the Word "Voluntary" Does ESPN Not Understand?
Various ESPN platforms--ESPN.com, SportsCenter, the Bottom Line, etc.--breathlessly informed the world on Monday that newly acquired Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens "misses start of program," as the ESPN.com headline clumsily put it--the headline is clumsy because it sensationalizes the situation and stigmatizes Owens rather than simply conveying information in a concise manner; without reading the story, you don't know if Owens did not read the opening pages of a game program, if he did not attend a school play or if he failed to show up when the federal government began a new program to fix the economy.
It turns out that the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader" activated all of its platforms to Def-Con 1 because--brace yourself for impact--Owens did not show up for a voluntary offseason conditioning program. In case you have not been paying attention or forgot, this is the same player whose yoked physique appears to consist of approximately .0002% body fat and who purportedly runs faster at the age of 35 than he ever did before. You can take shots at Owens for a lot of things--as ESPN has done and no doubt will continue to do--but questioning his dedication to conditioning simply is not one of them. Considering that the Bills have been stuttering 7-9 records for three straight years, there are no doubt plenty of players on their roster who would be well advised to report to any and all conditioning programs but it is safe to assume that whatever Owens is up to at the moment he is most assuredly not getting out of shape.
"Voluntary" means optional, in case the headline writers, reporters and columnists at ESPN don't have a dictionary handy. If the league, teams and union agree to make these offseason programs mandatory then by all means it would be newsworthy to report about players who do not show up. Until that happens, surely there are better uses of ESPN's vast resources than this kind of drivel--or, if ESPN's editors really think that this is a big story, then they should take a league-wide survey and find out exactly how many players show up for voluntary programs. Of course, whether that number turns out to be 10% or 90% it still does not mean that someone is wrong to not do something that he is not required to do.
It turns out that the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader" activated all of its platforms to Def-Con 1 because--brace yourself for impact--Owens did not show up for a voluntary offseason conditioning program. In case you have not been paying attention or forgot, this is the same player whose yoked physique appears to consist of approximately .0002% body fat and who purportedly runs faster at the age of 35 than he ever did before. You can take shots at Owens for a lot of things--as ESPN has done and no doubt will continue to do--but questioning his dedication to conditioning simply is not one of them. Considering that the Bills have been stuttering 7-9 records for three straight years, there are no doubt plenty of players on their roster who would be well advised to report to any and all conditioning programs but it is safe to assume that whatever Owens is up to at the moment he is most assuredly not getting out of shape.
"Voluntary" means optional, in case the headline writers, reporters and columnists at ESPN don't have a dictionary handy. If the league, teams and union agree to make these offseason programs mandatory then by all means it would be newsworthy to report about players who do not show up. Until that happens, surely there are better uses of ESPN's vast resources than this kind of drivel--or, if ESPN's editors really think that this is a big story, then they should take a league-wide survey and find out exactly how many players show up for voluntary programs. Of course, whether that number turns out to be 10% or 90% it still does not mean that someone is wrong to not do something that he is not required to do.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Rise and Fall of O.J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson, football legend and alleged double murderer, may spend the rest of his life in jail as a result of trying to forcibly reacquire memorabilia and property that he claims belong to him; Las Vegas Judge Jackie Glass handed down a complex sentence to Simpson as a result of his conviction on multiple kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon charges: the 61 year old Simpson could be required to serve up to 33 years in prison and apparently will have to serve at least nine years, unless his conviction is overturned on appeal. Simpson's life has devolved from a football hero's triumphant saga to a bizarre tragedy rife with bitter irony.
I am too young to remember Simpson's great NFL career, though of course as a student of sports history I became quite familiar with his dazzling highlights and remarkable accomplishments. My first memory of Simpson is an image of his battle scarred knees that was shown during an NFL Today feature about him roughly 30 years ago when he was on the last legs of his career--literally--as a San Francisco 49er. In his first year as San Francisco's coach, Bill Walsh hoped to squeeze a few more yards out of the "Juice" but Simpson managed just 460 yards with a 3.8 yards per attempt average in 1979, his NFL swan song.
In his prime with the Buffalo Bills, Simpson won four NFL rushing titles in a five year span (1972-73, 1975-76). Simpson's offensive line was called the "Electric Company" because they let loose the "Juice." As a teenager, Simpson boldly walked up to Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown and declared that he was going to break all of Brown's records. Brown's career rushing record of 12,312 yards survived Simpson's onslaught (only to be later broken by Walter Payton) as Simpson retired with 11,236 yards (second on the career list at the time) but Simpson did break Brown's single season rushing record (1863 yards in 1963) by becoming the first NFL player to break the 2000 yard barrier (2003 yards in 1973). Simpson also shattered the single game rushing mark (once held by Brown, then surpassed by two other players prior to Simpson) by gaining 250 yards in a 1973 game and then again by gaining 275 yards in a 1976 game (Payton broke that record a year later with 277 yards and Adrian Peterson is the current record holder with a 296 yard outburst).
Simpson parlayed his football success into a pathbreaking career as a pitchman, including his famous Hertz ad when he ran through an airport and a series of spots with Arnold Palmer. If you grew up watching "Be Like Mike" ads then it may be difficult to believe that there was a time not too long ago when endorsement opportunities were few and far between for even the best black athletes. In the 1970s, Simpson and then Julius Erving became the first so-called "crossover" athletes, black athletes who were considered to have an appeal that "transcended" race (I am simply using the terms that were used at that time, as antiquated as those concepts seem in an era when Tiger Woods and LeBron James openly speak of becoming billionaires largely on the strength of their endorsement opportunities).
Simpson later became a member of the Monday Night Football booth, wearing one of those trademark yellow ABC jackets and after that he worked as a sideline reporter at NFL games, donning some gloves and shoes that would become infamous in a different and much more grisly context.
The popular Simpson seemed to have it all going for him but it is interesting to recall one person who never had a high opinion of him: Jim Brown always spoke derisively of Simpson, basically calling him a fake and a sellout who did nothing to help the black community. Simpson was a gang banger as a youth and Brown always intimated that despite the smiling facade that Simpson showed to corporate America on the inside Simpson never really abandoned those thuggish roots. It was easy to dismiss Brown's comments as sour grapes directed toward someone who broke some of his records and achieved greater financial success but in hindsight it seems that Brown was quite correct in his character assessment of Simpson.
The famous double murder in 1994 that claimed the lives of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman was apparently the culmination of a long history of domestic violence directed at Brown by Simpson; yes, Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges in a highly contentious, racially charged trial, but if a higher level of motive, opportunity and physical evidence were necessary for a murder conviction than what existed in that case then no one would ever be convicted of murder except in cases where the crime was captured on videotape. Subsequent to the criminal trial, Simpson was found liable for $33.5 million in damages in a civil case related to those killings (the burden of proof is lower in a civil action).
Simpson pledged to hunt for the "real killers" but he spent most of his time playing golf and hiding his assets from the Brown and Goldman families, who legally could not touch his luxurious Florida house or his sizable NFL pension. The Yiddish word "chutzpah" is sometimes defined as killing both of your parents and then asking the court for mercy because you are an orphan; Simpson's picture should be next to that word in the dictionary after he decided to write a ghoulish book titled "If I Did It," in which he denied committing the murders and yet laid out how he would have done them if he had been the killer. Is it possible to imagine a more ghastly way to try to make a buck than to trade on a double murder involving the mother of your children in which you were the primary--and still only--suspect?
Simpson's name popped up in the news a few other times over the years, including his attempt to illegally provide free satellite television for himself; that cost him a $25,000 judgment payable to DirecTV in 2005, plus more than $33,000 to cover DirecTV's legal fees.
His current legal problems stem from a bizarre incident in a Las Vegas hotel last September. Simpson apparently found out that some former associates of his had obtained memorabilia and property that Simpson considered to be his. So, Simpson gathered together a few people and barged into the associates' hotel room, drawing a gun and bellowing "Don't let nobody out of this room!" It's one thing to pay your way out of a satellite TV dispute and there were no surviving witnesses to the double murder but unfortunately for Simpson there were several witnesses to his hotel room shenanigans, plus a tape recording of the whole episode.
Before Judge Glass decreed Simpson's sentence, Simpson made a statement to the court. Not surprisingly, he failed to take any responsibility for his actions. When he said that he's sorry, what he meant is that he's sorry he got caught. Simpson bizarrely claimed that he did not know that he was committing a criminal act when he barged into someone else's hotel room with a loaded gun and he said that all he was doing was asking some old friends to return his property. Simpson talked about how long he has known these guys and their wives and their children. I don't know about you, but if I am going to ask an old friend to return something he borrowed I am not going to roll up on him with a loaded gun. Why exactly would you need a gun to communicate with trusted friends?
O.J. Simpson's athletic gifts provided him a golden opportunity to better his life, the lives of his family members and, if he had chosen, to make a positive contribution to society by using his name and influence to support a greater cause, like Jim Brown has done with his Amer-I-Can foundation. Instead, Simpson left a trail of misery and destruction culminating in the possibility of spending his final days on Earth locked behind bars. What a pitiful, tragic waste of human potential.
Epilogue
---------
In addition to seeing Simpson featured in that NFL Today piece, watching his highlights and reading about him in various books and magazines, I later encountered Simpson in, of all places, the epigraph for David Halberstam's great basketball book, "The Breaks of the Game"; it is particularly poignant to read this passage not only considering what Simpson has done with his life but also because author Paul Zimmerman recently suffered a couple strokes; hopefully, Zimmerman will make a fast and complete recovery.
Here is the epigraph from "The Breaks of the Game":
"Fame," O.J. said, walking along, "is a vapor, popularity is an accident and money takes wings. The only thing that endures is character. "
"Where'd you get that from?" Cowlings asked.
"Heard it one night on TV in Buffalo," O.J. said. "I was watching a late hockey game on Canadian TV and all of a sudden a guy just said it. Brought me right up out of my chair. I never forgot it."
--From an article by Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated, November 26, 1979, on O.J. Simpson
I am too young to remember Simpson's great NFL career, though of course as a student of sports history I became quite familiar with his dazzling highlights and remarkable accomplishments. My first memory of Simpson is an image of his battle scarred knees that was shown during an NFL Today feature about him roughly 30 years ago when he was on the last legs of his career--literally--as a San Francisco 49er. In his first year as San Francisco's coach, Bill Walsh hoped to squeeze a few more yards out of the "Juice" but Simpson managed just 460 yards with a 3.8 yards per attempt average in 1979, his NFL swan song.
In his prime with the Buffalo Bills, Simpson won four NFL rushing titles in a five year span (1972-73, 1975-76). Simpson's offensive line was called the "Electric Company" because they let loose the "Juice." As a teenager, Simpson boldly walked up to Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown and declared that he was going to break all of Brown's records. Brown's career rushing record of 12,312 yards survived Simpson's onslaught (only to be later broken by Walter Payton) as Simpson retired with 11,236 yards (second on the career list at the time) but Simpson did break Brown's single season rushing record (1863 yards in 1963) by becoming the first NFL player to break the 2000 yard barrier (2003 yards in 1973). Simpson also shattered the single game rushing mark (once held by Brown, then surpassed by two other players prior to Simpson) by gaining 250 yards in a 1973 game and then again by gaining 275 yards in a 1976 game (Payton broke that record a year later with 277 yards and Adrian Peterson is the current record holder with a 296 yard outburst).
Simpson parlayed his football success into a pathbreaking career as a pitchman, including his famous Hertz ad when he ran through an airport and a series of spots with Arnold Palmer. If you grew up watching "Be Like Mike" ads then it may be difficult to believe that there was a time not too long ago when endorsement opportunities were few and far between for even the best black athletes. In the 1970s, Simpson and then Julius Erving became the first so-called "crossover" athletes, black athletes who were considered to have an appeal that "transcended" race (I am simply using the terms that were used at that time, as antiquated as those concepts seem in an era when Tiger Woods and LeBron James openly speak of becoming billionaires largely on the strength of their endorsement opportunities).
Simpson later became a member of the Monday Night Football booth, wearing one of those trademark yellow ABC jackets and after that he worked as a sideline reporter at NFL games, donning some gloves and shoes that would become infamous in a different and much more grisly context.
The popular Simpson seemed to have it all going for him but it is interesting to recall one person who never had a high opinion of him: Jim Brown always spoke derisively of Simpson, basically calling him a fake and a sellout who did nothing to help the black community. Simpson was a gang banger as a youth and Brown always intimated that despite the smiling facade that Simpson showed to corporate America on the inside Simpson never really abandoned those thuggish roots. It was easy to dismiss Brown's comments as sour grapes directed toward someone who broke some of his records and achieved greater financial success but in hindsight it seems that Brown was quite correct in his character assessment of Simpson.
The famous double murder in 1994 that claimed the lives of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman was apparently the culmination of a long history of domestic violence directed at Brown by Simpson; yes, Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges in a highly contentious, racially charged trial, but if a higher level of motive, opportunity and physical evidence were necessary for a murder conviction than what existed in that case then no one would ever be convicted of murder except in cases where the crime was captured on videotape. Subsequent to the criminal trial, Simpson was found liable for $33.5 million in damages in a civil case related to those killings (the burden of proof is lower in a civil action).
Simpson pledged to hunt for the "real killers" but he spent most of his time playing golf and hiding his assets from the Brown and Goldman families, who legally could not touch his luxurious Florida house or his sizable NFL pension. The Yiddish word "chutzpah" is sometimes defined as killing both of your parents and then asking the court for mercy because you are an orphan; Simpson's picture should be next to that word in the dictionary after he decided to write a ghoulish book titled "If I Did It," in which he denied committing the murders and yet laid out how he would have done them if he had been the killer. Is it possible to imagine a more ghastly way to try to make a buck than to trade on a double murder involving the mother of your children in which you were the primary--and still only--suspect?
Simpson's name popped up in the news a few other times over the years, including his attempt to illegally provide free satellite television for himself; that cost him a $25,000 judgment payable to DirecTV in 2005, plus more than $33,000 to cover DirecTV's legal fees.
His current legal problems stem from a bizarre incident in a Las Vegas hotel last September. Simpson apparently found out that some former associates of his had obtained memorabilia and property that Simpson considered to be his. So, Simpson gathered together a few people and barged into the associates' hotel room, drawing a gun and bellowing "Don't let nobody out of this room!" It's one thing to pay your way out of a satellite TV dispute and there were no surviving witnesses to the double murder but unfortunately for Simpson there were several witnesses to his hotel room shenanigans, plus a tape recording of the whole episode.
Before Judge Glass decreed Simpson's sentence, Simpson made a statement to the court. Not surprisingly, he failed to take any responsibility for his actions. When he said that he's sorry, what he meant is that he's sorry he got caught. Simpson bizarrely claimed that he did not know that he was committing a criminal act when he barged into someone else's hotel room with a loaded gun and he said that all he was doing was asking some old friends to return his property. Simpson talked about how long he has known these guys and their wives and their children. I don't know about you, but if I am going to ask an old friend to return something he borrowed I am not going to roll up on him with a loaded gun. Why exactly would you need a gun to communicate with trusted friends?
O.J. Simpson's athletic gifts provided him a golden opportunity to better his life, the lives of his family members and, if he had chosen, to make a positive contribution to society by using his name and influence to support a greater cause, like Jim Brown has done with his Amer-I-Can foundation. Instead, Simpson left a trail of misery and destruction culminating in the possibility of spending his final days on Earth locked behind bars. What a pitiful, tragic waste of human potential.
Epilogue
---------
In addition to seeing Simpson featured in that NFL Today piece, watching his highlights and reading about him in various books and magazines, I later encountered Simpson in, of all places, the epigraph for David Halberstam's great basketball book, "The Breaks of the Game"; it is particularly poignant to read this passage not only considering what Simpson has done with his life but also because author Paul Zimmerman recently suffered a couple strokes; hopefully, Zimmerman will make a fast and complete recovery.
Here is the epigraph from "The Breaks of the Game":
"Fame," O.J. said, walking along, "is a vapor, popularity is an accident and money takes wings. The only thing that endures is character. "
"Where'd you get that from?" Cowlings asked.
"Heard it one night on TV in Buffalo," O.J. said. "I was watching a late hockey game on Canadian TV and all of a sudden a guy just said it. Brought me right up out of my chair. I never forgot it."
--From an article by Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated, November 26, 1979, on O.J. Simpson
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday Night Football Quick Hits: "Wide Right" Edition
The Cleveland Browns were on the verge of becoming the first team in NFL history to blow leads of at least 13 points in three consecutive games but Rian Lindell's 47 yard field goal attempt went wide right and the Browns escaped with a 29-27 win in Buffalo. Bills' quarterback Trent Edwards had a ghastly performance that included three first quarter interceptions and resulted in a 50.3 passer rating overall but the Browns only scored two field goals as a result of Edwards' gaffes. The Browns put together one sustained drive all game, an impressive 96 yard second quarter march that culminated in a two yard Josh Cribbs' TD run that gave the Browns a 13-0 lead; the Browns' other touchdown came on a 72 yard burst by Jerome Harrison, the speedy running back who many observers believe should be receiving more playing time. Phil Dawson's 56 yard field goal with 1:39 remaining--which turned out to be the game-winner--was set up by a 28 yard "drive" that stalled when Braylon Edwards dropped a third down pass that would have been good enough for a first down that would have either set up a much shorter kick with less time on the clock or possibly enabled the Browns to score a touchdown. Instead, they had to rely on Dawson making a difficult kick in Buffalo's swirling winds and then hope that a defense that had given up nearly 1000 yards in the previous two games could manage to keep Buffalo out of field goal range; as it turned out, the defense failed at this modest task but--as Denny Green might say--the Bills "let them off the hook" thanks to Lindell's miss, a rarity for a kicker who has been very dependable both from that distance and in late game situations when the score is close. In other words, the Browns won but they really did not play that much better than they played in the games that they lost this season and to suggest otherwise is to put lipstick on a very ugly pig.
Brady Quinn earned his first win as an NFL starter, though his statistics were hardly anything to brag about: 14-36, 185 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions and a 55.9 passer rating that was only marginally better than Edwards'. The best thing that can be said about Quinn right now is that in 79 pass attempts spanning two starts plus one drive in a game last season he has yet to throw an interception or fumble the ball. The Browns also are not plagued by false start penalties and some of the general sloppiness that took place when Derek Anderson was the starter. However, to be fair it must be added that Anderson was not committing those penalties and when he put up numbers like Quinn did against Buffalo many Browns fans screamed for his head; ESPN's Trent Dilfer and others insist that the Browns made the switch to Quinn precisely because the fans complained so much about Anderson. Barely a month ago, Anderson went 18-29 for 310 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 121.3 passer rating as the Browns tagged the New York Giants with a 35-14 loss that remains the only blemish on the Super Bowl champions' record this season. Then, in the next game against Washington, Anderson went 14-37 for 136 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 57.9 passer rating in a 14-11 loss. Note that Anderson's statistics against Washington and Quinn's statistics against Buffalo are virtually identical; the only difference between the Washington game and the Buffalo game is that at Washington Dawson missed a 54 yard field goal with 25 seconds left. Marcus Stroud almost blocked Dawson's game-winner against Buffalo, so the Browns are literally within a fingertip of remaining winless in the Quinn era.
There is no question that the Browns got off to a disappointing start this season but that had more to do with injuries, dropped passes and gaffes by other players than it did with Anderson, even though it is true that he did not play as well as he did last season. Anderson was a Pro Bowler in 2007 after throwing 29 TD passes--one short of the franchise's single season record held by Brian Sipe--and he bounced back from Cleveland's 0-3 start this year to post a 3-2 record in his last five games as a starter before being benched, which ironically means that Anderson and the team were playing their best football right before he lost his job to Quinn. Anderson had seven touchdowns and just two interceptions in those five games; the two losses were the aforementioned setback versus Washington after Anderson drove the team into position to attempt to kick a tying field goal and a 37-27 loss to Baltimore after the defense could not hold a 14 point second half lead. Anderson had a solid 80.2 rating versus Baltimore and even though his horrible "pick six" interception in that game has been replayed over and over on TV the reality is that if the defense had not already blown the big lead then he would not have been in a situation in which he felt desperate to make something happen--and the thought of punting the ball to Baltimore and relying on the defense to get a stop could certainly make anyone feel desperate.
I'm not trying to bash Quinn or make excuses for Anderson; my point is that quarterback play is not the team's primary problem. The Browns' biggest issue is that the team lacks focus and toughness, which is why virtually every week there is a breakdown offensively, defensively and/or on special teams. The problem is not one particular player but the general way that this team is coached. Anderson is a strong armed quarterback who provides a deep threat but is not particularly mobile; Quinn is much more mobile but primarily throws short to intermediate passes, though I think that casual observers are underestimating his arm strength. With the right game plans--and provided that receivers hold on to catchable passes, which has been a problem no matter who is throwing the ball--the Browns can win with either quarterback. Since Quinn is apparently the choice for the rest of the way, the Browns should continue to try to come up with game plans that play to his strengths. However, all of the fans who clamored for him to be the starter need to understand that he is a young player who will inevitably have to go through growing pains. The Browns fans mistreated Anderson and I hope that they don't show the same fickleness toward Quinn.
Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:
*As you probably have already heard, prior to Philadelphia's 13-13 tie with Cincinnati in the Ineptitude Bowl, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb did not know that regular season NFL games end in a tie if no one scores during the sudden death overtime. During his postgame remarks, McNabb candidly admitted his ignorance of this rule and then wondered aloud what would happen if no one scored during overtime in a playoff game or the Super Bowl (Donovan, if you are reading this, please be advised that postseason games do not end in ties; the teams keep playing overtimes until someone scores). Monday Night Countdown devoted a whole segment to the implications of McNabb's lack of knowledge. Several people on the set of that show usually defend McNabb and throw Terrell Owens under the proverbial bus, so I was very curious to see what they would say about McNabb's error. Fortunately, everyone got it right: the bottom line is that there is absolutely no excuse for an NFL starting quarterback to not know the rules. As Trent Dilfer said, the quarterback is supposed to be the "coach on the field" who informs his teammates about the "nuances" of the game but this is not even a nuance: this is "remedial" information or, as Tom Jackson so aptly put it, "common knowledge" among not just players but any serious NFL fan.
Jackson prefaced his critical comments about McNabb by stating that everything about McNabb's life--from his time at Syracuse to the business acumen that he has displayed--suggests that he is very intelligent and Jackson said that a talk show caller who described McNabb as a "cementhead" was most likely using that term as a euphemism for something else. Jackson did not elaborate any further but the elephant in the room is obvious: McNabb is black and literally for decades some ignorant fools perpetuated the pernicious myth that blacks lack the intelligence and leadership skills to play quarterback. That is why Warren Moon spent the first part of his pro career in the CFL and why many talented black quarterbacks--such as Marlin Briscoe--were forced to switch to other positions. It is so indescribably stupid to think that skin color affects the ability to play quarterback that I am not even going to say anything else about that sordid history. What matters in this instance is that McNabb's mistake has nothing to do with being black or with how well qualified blacks are to be NFL quarterbacks, so I hope that race does not become a distraction when discussing this issue.
The question is not whether McNabb is intelligent but rather why he has not fully applied his obvious intelligence to becoming the best leader that he can be. Cris Carter rightly scoffed at the notion that the outcome of the game was not affected by McNabb not knowing the rule; of course the outcome of the game was affected. This falls into the category of "situational football." Keyshawn Johnson, Tom Jackson and Dilfer all described how the best NFL coaches go over various situations with their players so that they are prepared to deal with anything that happens. A big part of what makes Bill Belichick the best coach in the NFL--and arguably the best football coach of all-time--is his relentless focus on situational football; remember four years ago when his Patriots took an intentional safety versus Denver and used the resulting field position shift to come back and win? One of my favorite NFL Films clips eavesdrops on Belichick teaching various players the ins and outs of certain rules and specific situations; he makes it perfectly clear that if you don't understand situational football then you cannot be on the team. The Monday Night Countdown crew rightly said that even though McNabb should be held accountable that Coach Andy Reid is also to blame for not paying greater attention to detail; Jackson observed that the lack of attention to detail is also reflected in Philadelphia's poor conversion rate in short yardage third down situations.
In 2004 at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, I had a fascinating conversation with Tom Brown, who started at safety for the Green Bay teams that won the first two Super Bowls (he also played briefly in MLB for the Washington Senators). One of the things that we discussed is what changed when Vince Lombardi was no longer Green Bay's coach. Brown told me that Lombardi knew what every single player was supposed to be doing at all times, so the slightest error by anyone in practice was immediately corrected. When Lombardi departed, that attention to detail left with him and the resulting slippage in "small" areas led to an overall decline in the team's performance. The importance of coaching is not revealed by sideline tantrums during games or witty comments in press conferences; the great coaches do their work on the practice field, outside of the public eye.
The Eagles had an opportunity to beat Belichick's Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX but their poor clock management down the stretch proved to be an important factor in New England's three point win. Owens later said that McNabb was hyperventilating in the huddle and could barely get out the play calls at the end of the game; the media pounced on Owens for that and other perceived "sins" but you may have noticed that few if any Eagles spoke up for McNabb while many of them remained on good terms with Owens. Those players know what's up, even if a large portion of the general public is content to be fooled. McNabb is a very talented player who has accomplished a lot during a fine career but there has always been something missing that kept him from ascending to the elite level of a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning--and that press conference in Cincinnati provided a glimpse of the lack of awareness, lack of focus and/or lack of preparation that has prevented a Pro Bowler like McNabb from attaining that status.
Brady Quinn earned his first win as an NFL starter, though his statistics were hardly anything to brag about: 14-36, 185 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions and a 55.9 passer rating that was only marginally better than Edwards'. The best thing that can be said about Quinn right now is that in 79 pass attempts spanning two starts plus one drive in a game last season he has yet to throw an interception or fumble the ball. The Browns also are not plagued by false start penalties and some of the general sloppiness that took place when Derek Anderson was the starter. However, to be fair it must be added that Anderson was not committing those penalties and when he put up numbers like Quinn did against Buffalo many Browns fans screamed for his head; ESPN's Trent Dilfer and others insist that the Browns made the switch to Quinn precisely because the fans complained so much about Anderson. Barely a month ago, Anderson went 18-29 for 310 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 121.3 passer rating as the Browns tagged the New York Giants with a 35-14 loss that remains the only blemish on the Super Bowl champions' record this season. Then, in the next game against Washington, Anderson went 14-37 for 136 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 57.9 passer rating in a 14-11 loss. Note that Anderson's statistics against Washington and Quinn's statistics against Buffalo are virtually identical; the only difference between the Washington game and the Buffalo game is that at Washington Dawson missed a 54 yard field goal with 25 seconds left. Marcus Stroud almost blocked Dawson's game-winner against Buffalo, so the Browns are literally within a fingertip of remaining winless in the Quinn era.
There is no question that the Browns got off to a disappointing start this season but that had more to do with injuries, dropped passes and gaffes by other players than it did with Anderson, even though it is true that he did not play as well as he did last season. Anderson was a Pro Bowler in 2007 after throwing 29 TD passes--one short of the franchise's single season record held by Brian Sipe--and he bounced back from Cleveland's 0-3 start this year to post a 3-2 record in his last five games as a starter before being benched, which ironically means that Anderson and the team were playing their best football right before he lost his job to Quinn. Anderson had seven touchdowns and just two interceptions in those five games; the two losses were the aforementioned setback versus Washington after Anderson drove the team into position to attempt to kick a tying field goal and a 37-27 loss to Baltimore after the defense could not hold a 14 point second half lead. Anderson had a solid 80.2 rating versus Baltimore and even though his horrible "pick six" interception in that game has been replayed over and over on TV the reality is that if the defense had not already blown the big lead then he would not have been in a situation in which he felt desperate to make something happen--and the thought of punting the ball to Baltimore and relying on the defense to get a stop could certainly make anyone feel desperate.
I'm not trying to bash Quinn or make excuses for Anderson; my point is that quarterback play is not the team's primary problem. The Browns' biggest issue is that the team lacks focus and toughness, which is why virtually every week there is a breakdown offensively, defensively and/or on special teams. The problem is not one particular player but the general way that this team is coached. Anderson is a strong armed quarterback who provides a deep threat but is not particularly mobile; Quinn is much more mobile but primarily throws short to intermediate passes, though I think that casual observers are underestimating his arm strength. With the right game plans--and provided that receivers hold on to catchable passes, which has been a problem no matter who is throwing the ball--the Browns can win with either quarterback. Since Quinn is apparently the choice for the rest of the way, the Browns should continue to try to come up with game plans that play to his strengths. However, all of the fans who clamored for him to be the starter need to understand that he is a young player who will inevitably have to go through growing pains. The Browns fans mistreated Anderson and I hope that they don't show the same fickleness toward Quinn.
Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:
*As you probably have already heard, prior to Philadelphia's 13-13 tie with Cincinnati in the Ineptitude Bowl, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb did not know that regular season NFL games end in a tie if no one scores during the sudden death overtime. During his postgame remarks, McNabb candidly admitted his ignorance of this rule and then wondered aloud what would happen if no one scored during overtime in a playoff game or the Super Bowl (Donovan, if you are reading this, please be advised that postseason games do not end in ties; the teams keep playing overtimes until someone scores). Monday Night Countdown devoted a whole segment to the implications of McNabb's lack of knowledge. Several people on the set of that show usually defend McNabb and throw Terrell Owens under the proverbial bus, so I was very curious to see what they would say about McNabb's error. Fortunately, everyone got it right: the bottom line is that there is absolutely no excuse for an NFL starting quarterback to not know the rules. As Trent Dilfer said, the quarterback is supposed to be the "coach on the field" who informs his teammates about the "nuances" of the game but this is not even a nuance: this is "remedial" information or, as Tom Jackson so aptly put it, "common knowledge" among not just players but any serious NFL fan.
Jackson prefaced his critical comments about McNabb by stating that everything about McNabb's life--from his time at Syracuse to the business acumen that he has displayed--suggests that he is very intelligent and Jackson said that a talk show caller who described McNabb as a "cementhead" was most likely using that term as a euphemism for something else. Jackson did not elaborate any further but the elephant in the room is obvious: McNabb is black and literally for decades some ignorant fools perpetuated the pernicious myth that blacks lack the intelligence and leadership skills to play quarterback. That is why Warren Moon spent the first part of his pro career in the CFL and why many talented black quarterbacks--such as Marlin Briscoe--were forced to switch to other positions. It is so indescribably stupid to think that skin color affects the ability to play quarterback that I am not even going to say anything else about that sordid history. What matters in this instance is that McNabb's mistake has nothing to do with being black or with how well qualified blacks are to be NFL quarterbacks, so I hope that race does not become a distraction when discussing this issue.
The question is not whether McNabb is intelligent but rather why he has not fully applied his obvious intelligence to becoming the best leader that he can be. Cris Carter rightly scoffed at the notion that the outcome of the game was not affected by McNabb not knowing the rule; of course the outcome of the game was affected. This falls into the category of "situational football." Keyshawn Johnson, Tom Jackson and Dilfer all described how the best NFL coaches go over various situations with their players so that they are prepared to deal with anything that happens. A big part of what makes Bill Belichick the best coach in the NFL--and arguably the best football coach of all-time--is his relentless focus on situational football; remember four years ago when his Patriots took an intentional safety versus Denver and used the resulting field position shift to come back and win? One of my favorite NFL Films clips eavesdrops on Belichick teaching various players the ins and outs of certain rules and specific situations; he makes it perfectly clear that if you don't understand situational football then you cannot be on the team. The Monday Night Countdown crew rightly said that even though McNabb should be held accountable that Coach Andy Reid is also to blame for not paying greater attention to detail; Jackson observed that the lack of attention to detail is also reflected in Philadelphia's poor conversion rate in short yardage third down situations.
In 2004 at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland, I had a fascinating conversation with Tom Brown, who started at safety for the Green Bay teams that won the first two Super Bowls (he also played briefly in MLB for the Washington Senators). One of the things that we discussed is what changed when Vince Lombardi was no longer Green Bay's coach. Brown told me that Lombardi knew what every single player was supposed to be doing at all times, so the slightest error by anyone in practice was immediately corrected. When Lombardi departed, that attention to detail left with him and the resulting slippage in "small" areas led to an overall decline in the team's performance. The importance of coaching is not revealed by sideline tantrums during games or witty comments in press conferences; the great coaches do their work on the practice field, outside of the public eye.
The Eagles had an opportunity to beat Belichick's Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX but their poor clock management down the stretch proved to be an important factor in New England's three point win. Owens later said that McNabb was hyperventilating in the huddle and could barely get out the play calls at the end of the game; the media pounced on Owens for that and other perceived "sins" but you may have noticed that few if any Eagles spoke up for McNabb while many of them remained on good terms with Owens. Those players know what's up, even if a large portion of the general public is content to be fooled. McNabb is a very talented player who has accomplished a lot during a fine career but there has always been something missing that kept him from ascending to the elite level of a Tom Brady or a Peyton Manning--and that press conference in Cincinnati provided a glimpse of the lack of awareness, lack of focus and/or lack of preparation that has prevented a Pro Bowler like McNabb from attaining that status.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Welcome to Believeland!
Cleveland has improbably become "Believeland." The Indians did better than expected last season, the Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to the efforts of LeBron James--who is perhaps the NBA's best young star--and the Browns are just one win away from clinching the team's first playoff berth since 2002. The Browns and their loyal fans have suffered through bad drafts, disappointing free agent signings, a rash of bizarre injuries and horrible quarterbacking--all of which combined to produce losing records year after year. This season began in all too familiar fashion with a humiliating loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Amazingly, since that disaster the Browns have become the turnaround story of the season and after Sunday's 8-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills they are tied with Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC North with a 9-5 record. The Steelers hold the tiebreaker advantage due to a 2-0 head to head record but if the Browns can close out the season by beating Cincinnati and San Francisco then they will only need a Pittsburgh loss either at St. Louis or at Baltimore to clinch the franchise's first division title since 1989. The Steelers have lost two in a row and are just 2-4 this year on the road.
"Red Right 88," "The Drive" and "The Fumble" are reminders that even some good Cleveland teams seemed to be snakebitten but this year's squad won a game thanks to a "double doink" field goal and beat Buffalo in the third lowest scoring game in franchise history with a final score that has not been seen in the NFL since 1929. After the Browns almost beat Arizona on a last second pass, receiver Braylon Edwards quipped that if the Browns had won that game he'd say that they were going to the Super Bowl because destiny is on the team's side. Well, what can you say about a vitally important game in which the winning team's points came from a safety after a snap sails over a punter's head and two field goals that the kicker had to intentionally aim outside of the goal posts because of swirling winds? When Coach Romeo Crennel sent Phil Dawson out to kick a 49 yard field goal I thought that he had lost his mind--and when the kick landed precisely on the spot where the "double doink" kick hit I thought of Edwards' statement and wondered aloud if the Browns really are a team of destiny this year.
I don't really believe in things like luck or good fortune, though, and there are some fundamental football reasons that explain the Browns' success so far. Football games are won by teams that are strong in the trenches and that play in a disciplined, smart and physical manner. None of those things were true of the Browns for many years. Now the team has a very good offensive line, which is a big reason for this season's scoring explosion. Obviously, strong-armed quarterback Derek Anderson deserves a lot of credit as well and he has pair of great targets in Edwards and tight end Kellen Winslow. Returner Joshua Cribbs consistently provides the Browns with good field position.
While a good offensive line, a dependable quarterback, good receivers and quality special teams play are very important, every Browns playoff team has had a good running back; Cleveland weather gets nasty late in the season and it is essential to be able to run the ball. It is scandalous that this franchise went two decades without having a 1000 yard rusher but that problem has been solved now: Jamal Lewis already has become just the second Browns running back since 1985 to rush for more than 1000 yards. He is on pace to finish the season with 1239 yards, which would be the most by a Browns running back since Mike Pruitt's 1294 yards in 1979. Lewis needs 216 yards in the last two games to become the only running back in Browns history other than Jim Brown to rush for 1300 yards in a season. Lewis runs with an attitude and his physical style can break an opponent's will. Recent Cleveland teams would not have had a chance to win a bad weather game like last Sunday's because they had no running game. Lewis pounded the Bills for 163 yards on 33 carries. I don't know what the CBS announcing crew was talking about when they said before the game started that it could be a high scoring affair. When is the last time that blizzard-like conditions produced a high scoring game? It was obvious from the start that this game had to be the Jamal Lewis Show. The Browns did a good job of mixing in some pass plays to keep Buffalo off balance but when money time arrived, Crennel told Lewis, "It's your time"; Lewis gained 69 yards on 16 carries in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.
The defense is still a work in progress but the good news is that it has gotten better during the season and shown the ability to make key stops at the end of games. It is still a stretch to see this team winning a championship this year but the Browns are not some fluky team backing their way into the playoffs; they are a legitimately good team with several Pro Bowl quality players, each of whom is young and still improving. Regardless of what happens the rest of the way this season, the future is bright for the Cleveland Browns--and who in September would have dreamed that those words could be uttered with a straight face in December?
"Red Right 88," "The Drive" and "The Fumble" are reminders that even some good Cleveland teams seemed to be snakebitten but this year's squad won a game thanks to a "double doink" field goal and beat Buffalo in the third lowest scoring game in franchise history with a final score that has not been seen in the NFL since 1929. After the Browns almost beat Arizona on a last second pass, receiver Braylon Edwards quipped that if the Browns had won that game he'd say that they were going to the Super Bowl because destiny is on the team's side. Well, what can you say about a vitally important game in which the winning team's points came from a safety after a snap sails over a punter's head and two field goals that the kicker had to intentionally aim outside of the goal posts because of swirling winds? When Coach Romeo Crennel sent Phil Dawson out to kick a 49 yard field goal I thought that he had lost his mind--and when the kick landed precisely on the spot where the "double doink" kick hit I thought of Edwards' statement and wondered aloud if the Browns really are a team of destiny this year.
I don't really believe in things like luck or good fortune, though, and there are some fundamental football reasons that explain the Browns' success so far. Football games are won by teams that are strong in the trenches and that play in a disciplined, smart and physical manner. None of those things were true of the Browns for many years. Now the team has a very good offensive line, which is a big reason for this season's scoring explosion. Obviously, strong-armed quarterback Derek Anderson deserves a lot of credit as well and he has pair of great targets in Edwards and tight end Kellen Winslow. Returner Joshua Cribbs consistently provides the Browns with good field position.
While a good offensive line, a dependable quarterback, good receivers and quality special teams play are very important, every Browns playoff team has had a good running back; Cleveland weather gets nasty late in the season and it is essential to be able to run the ball. It is scandalous that this franchise went two decades without having a 1000 yard rusher but that problem has been solved now: Jamal Lewis already has become just the second Browns running back since 1985 to rush for more than 1000 yards. He is on pace to finish the season with 1239 yards, which would be the most by a Browns running back since Mike Pruitt's 1294 yards in 1979. Lewis needs 216 yards in the last two games to become the only running back in Browns history other than Jim Brown to rush for 1300 yards in a season. Lewis runs with an attitude and his physical style can break an opponent's will. Recent Cleveland teams would not have had a chance to win a bad weather game like last Sunday's because they had no running game. Lewis pounded the Bills for 163 yards on 33 carries. I don't know what the CBS announcing crew was talking about when they said before the game started that it could be a high scoring affair. When is the last time that blizzard-like conditions produced a high scoring game? It was obvious from the start that this game had to be the Jamal Lewis Show. The Browns did a good job of mixing in some pass plays to keep Buffalo off balance but when money time arrived, Crennel told Lewis, "It's your time"; Lewis gained 69 yards on 16 carries in the fourth quarter to preserve the win.
The defense is still a work in progress but the good news is that it has gotten better during the season and shown the ability to make key stops at the end of games. It is still a stretch to see this team winning a championship this year but the Browns are not some fluky team backing their way into the playoffs; they are a legitimately good team with several Pro Bowl quality players, each of whom is young and still improving. Regardless of what happens the rest of the way this season, the future is bright for the Cleveland Browns--and who in September would have dreamed that those words could be uttered with a straight face in December?
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