I think it’s fair and pretty obvious to state that the Baltimore Ravens have become far and away the Steelers biggest rival. Which means that Saturday’s match-up is more than just your typical divisional playoff game.
The Steelers and Ravens have a one of a kind rivalry in today’s NFL; a brutally physical match-up where the teams beat each other up as much as beat each other. Truth be told, it’s the only current rivalry that would make the Steelers and Raiders of the 70s proud. The games are ultimately about survival as much as victory.
Both teams are built on the same philosophy; brutally physical and dominant defense. They play at least twice each year; each game a classic battle of attrition decided on or near the last possession. It’s the perfect storm for a rivalry as good as any in sports; and that’s before you consider that the Steelers swept Baltimore on the way to their 2008 Super Bowl championship. As if there was not enough fuel in the fire already.
The masochist in me wants to see the Steelers slug it out in another of those epic, bruising, physical games that they always play against Baltimore. Even in today’s kindler, gentler NFL, these teams still bring out that primordial brutality that we love in football. We may hate Haloti Ngata punching Ben in the face, and yet there is something about Ben playing…and WINNING…with his nose in three pieces that screams Steeler football.
Every playoff win is a huge deal. That said, there is something even more satisfying when it comes at the expense of a hated rival. I lived it twice during the Penguins remarkable Stanley Cup run two years ago. I can only imagine that’s how Steelers fans felt in the 70s when they would knock off Oakland and Dallas. Watching the Raven’s once again stagger off the field in bitter defeat would be nearly as enjoyable as watching the Steelers celebrate victory.
And that’s before we consider what is likely to be yet another 200 minute CBS love fest for Joe Flacco; the man who I’m told has reinvented the QB position in three short years.
Allow me a minute to bask in the glow of hope.
Now back to reality.
I would like to believe that the Steelers are better than the Ravens but let’s be honest, these teams are about as evenly matched as they get. It is merely by a fluke of the tiebreaker world that the Steelers have home field advantage and an extra week to rest. Crush the Ravens if you want for their early season loss to Cincy but remember that it apparently required divine intervention for the Steelers to beat Buffalo in November (for the record, this blog is not necessarily in agreement with Stevie Johnson’s interpretation of why he dropped that ball).
The two teams played twice this season and the games were classic Steelers/Ravens. Both came down to the final possession, both could easily have gone either way. In all honesty, I thought the Charlie Batch version of the Steelers played a better game in week 4, than Ben and the boys played in early December, but in the end, both games were decided by the narrowest of margins.
And let’s be honest, were it not for the incomparable Troy Polamalu, the Steelers would have been the team tearing the guts out of Indianapolis last weekend rather than getting a critically needed week to rest and heal.
Regardless that’s all irrelevant now. The situation is what it is. I’ve spent the week trying to convince myself that home field advantage and the first round bye is a huge advantage for the Steelers but deep down I don’t really believe it. Not after watching Baltimore brutalize an overmatched Kansas City team in Sunday’s glorified scrimmage. Not after seeing the Steelers lose countless home playoff games before finally winning the Super Bowl the year they had to play three straight road games.
No, I’m pretty set on the reality that this will be another classic Steelers/Raven’s slugfest.
There is not much point in analyzing this game from a strategic standpoint. These two teams have met 15 times in the Roethlisberger era and the blue prints are pretty well drawn. They will play a low scoring game where rushing yards come at a serious premium. Field position will be critical which will put the emphasis on special teams and of course not turning the ball over. Little mistakes that are often overlooked in other match-ups will be game changers here (see Sweed, Limas).
The Raven’s actually play the field position game better. They have a better kicker and punter and better coverage teams. That means that all things being equal, the Steelers will be fighting uphill on the field position battle all day. Historically the Steeler defense has overcome this with 60 minutes of brilliant play and one spectacular game changing moment. In short, if the Steelers win, I fully expect we will be recounting another moment where Polamalu wrecks Flacco. Dare to dream.
And there is also the Roethlisberger factor.
Personally, I’ve had enough stories of Ben’s personal redemption (though I doubt the networks have). This is now about high pressure, playoff football which is where he excels. I continue to say that Ben is one of the truly elite players in sports in regards to his ability to raise his game when it matters. Well this is yet another chance for him to prove it.
Steeler fans understandably gripe about Ben not getting enough respect from the fickle national media. Rest assured, that will change if he wins a 3rd Super Bowl, especially considering the brutal path the Steelers will likely have to travel. This is absolutely his opportunity to stuff it to the myopic football think tank that somehow pushes Phillip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and for the love off all that’s good and holy, Flacco above him.
Ben’s history suggests he can and will step up in this moment; especially now that his offense line finally seems committed to prolonging his football life. Flacco’s history suggests he might just drop an extra possession or two in our laps. Keep in mind that while Phil Simms was basking in Flacco’s radiant glow last Sunday, the man who could not start for Dave Wannstedt at Pitt did manage to fumble twice. I’m not sure the Steelers will be as forgiving of such transgressions as Kansas City was.
All that said, the reality remains that these are two very evenly matched teams. There is little doubt in my mind that the 2008 Steelers were at least a half step better than Baltimore. We can not say that this time. If the Steelers bring anything less than their ‘A’ game on Saturday, my next Steeler blog will be a post mortem and a look ahead to next year’s draft.
It is pointless and in fact inappropriate to look beyond Baltimore but hard not to given the prospect of the next opponent. Giselle’s husband and the NFL’s most arrogant head coach will likely be waiting for whoever survives Sunday’s match-up. It will take a nearly perfect performance to knock of Belicheat’s boys and I don’t see that coming from the big talk, little action New York, Jets.
The concern of course is the physical toll a playoff win against Baltimore might take on the Steelers. Remember how beat up they were for the Bungles following the Sunday night blood bath in December? It’s hard to play a “perfect game” if half your players are hobbling in and out of the huddle. That issue is compounded by the reality that even at their best, the Steelers do not match-up well with New England.
So be it. True champions find a way to win, regardless of the path. They are undaunted; not by the schedule, by the officials, or by seemingly insurmountable obstacles. They do not rely on fortuitous match-ups; they beat the best to be the best. Just the same, teams that lack championship metal tend to come up short regardless of circumstances.
How could the same Penguin team that won 7th games in Washington and Detroit lose one at home to 8th seeded Montreal the next season? How could the Steelers’ team that pulled off that epic drive against Arizona lose a critical Thursday night game in Cleveland the same calendar year? How can New Orleans win the Super Bowl and mail in a loss to 7 and 9 Seattle inside of 12 months? It’s the difference between being championship caliber…and everything else.
The Steelers have played like Champions all year. They have maintained “the standard is the standard” and no excuses. They did not back down from the loss of their franchise quarterback, injuries or questionable officiating.
The Steelers will not win a championship because they beat Baltimore and New England. They will beat Baltimore and New England because they are a championship team. That’s what champions do. Champions also take it one game at a time; which means right now its all about the Ravens.
Steelers 16 – Ravens 13
Friday, January 14, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The De-Evolution of the Pittsburgh Penguins
While most of the sports world was watching the latest incarnation of college football’s pretend national championship, I was enduring the Penguins second third period collapse against Boston in two months. The epic break down brought back painful flashbacks, though not so much to the previous incarnation in November.
No, I was flashing back to the late 1980s, or just about the time Sidney Crosby entered the world. In those days the Pittsburgh Penguins were plain and simply Mario Lemieux. If he did not dominate, the Pens did not win. If he did not play, the Pens did not have a chance.
We always understood that if the Pens were going to be more than a hockey carnival act, they needed to develop a core of great players around Lemieux. That process started in 1987 with Paul Coffey and continued as a spectacular array of stars and roll players were added over five seasons. Even with that, the Penguins evolved in to a true championship team only when they were good enough to win without Le Magnifique. They did that for half of the 1990-91 season and four critical playoff wins in the 1992 Cup run.
It’s a testament to Lemieux’s remarkable brilliance that we actually believed he could single handedly carry those mid 80s teams to Stanley Cup glory. Mario’s presence made a fairly mediocre team look playoff caliber on almost any given regular season night. We should not lose site of that reality as Crosby rekindles a Lemieux like dominance two decades later.
We are currently witnessing what might be called the de-evolution of the Penguins. The Penguins of early 90s slowly became less and less dependent on their superstar. The Penguins of the 2010s are slowly becoming more and more dependent on theirs. Witness their inept offensive performance without Crosby over the last three games.
To be honest, I’m not shocked by this development. The Crosby-less Penguins are being exposed for what they are, a team with way too many grinder forwards and not nearly enough scorers. The problem is compounded because neither Evgeni Malkin or Jordan Staal is playing anywhere near their ability offensively. Staal’s performance is partially excusable considering he is still recovering from injury. Geno’s continuing struggles are admittedly much harder to understand and significant part of my de-evolution theory.
Regardless, the Pens are fighting an uphill battle offensively. Watching these games without Crosby it’s not hard to understand why. No fewer than nine of the 12 forwards playing are 3rd or 4th line caliber. And that charitably assumes that Staal is a legitimate top six offensive forward which he has yet to conclusively demonstrate. You could reasonably argue that Malkin is the only top six offensive talent in the line-up right now.
This is the risk of building the team’s offense primarily around two superstars. Lose either one of them and the team takes a step backward. Lose Crosby and it’s a giant step.
To be fair, there was no way the Penguins were going to continue to play at their November and December level. A slip was inevitable with or without number 87. The team was playing close to perfect hockey, driven primarily by Crosby’s brilliant play during his 25 game scoring streak. Crosby’s work was as impressive an extended performance as I’ve seen in the NHL since Lemieux was last making a mockery of the game a decade ago.
And it was in no way sustainable.
It is not feasible in today’s NHL to win a Stanley Cup on the back of one superstar, no matter how incredible he is. Defensemen are too good and defensive systems are too strong. A team that depends offensively on one player is destined for an early playoff exit.
Its one thing to score eight goals on a random Wednesday night in January against Tampa. It’s quite another to score three or four in an elimination game at Philadelphia.
We’ve already seen Detroit and sadly Montreal contain or even shut down Crosby in a seven game series. Only once were the Penguins able to overcome this, in the 2009 finals. That occurred in large part because Malkin was performing as brilliantly as Crosby at that time. Notwithstanding that we have rarely seen that version of Geno over the last year and a half; it remains unreasonable to expect two players to continually carry this offense.
I’ve suspected this all season but it was masked by the team’s success and Sid’s other worldly play. Seeing the Penguins without Crosby has crystallized it in my mind. This team simply does not have enough offense to win a Stanley Cup. Every team needs a Max Talbot and a Matt Cooke to win a Stanley Cup; but you can’t win one with nine of them.
Now more than ever, I’m convinced that we will not see another Cup parade in the Burgh unless Ray Shero acquires a desperately needed scoring winger. I’m not talking about another Chris Kunitz, Ruslan Fedotenko or heaven forbid Alexie Ponikarovski. I’m talking about a player who is legitimate 30 goal scorer, whether he plays with Crosby or not.
It’s amazing to see what Crosby has done playing with Kunitz and Dupuis. Imagine what he could do if Dupuis were replaced by a legitimate sniper. Or perhaps Kunitz could drop down and give Malkin the power forward he’s been lacking since Ryan Malone took his talents to Tampa. I’m not sure it’s a coincidence that Geno’s inconsistency started about the time he lost any semblance of a scoring winger to play with.
It would help matters if Staal could reach the next level offensively. Unfortunately through his 5th season, Staal has yet to consistently demonstrate elite offensive ability. He’s too young to write off in this category, especially given his injury, but with each passing year I’m less convinced he will be more than a 20 goal, 50 point guy.
That’s not a criticism of Staal, a truly elite two way talent. He brings tremendous value as perhaps the most dominant third line center in the game. That’s not the same as suggesting the Pens can move forward expecting him to be their third offensive pillar. I still hope Staal and Malkin can forge some offensive chemistry together but there has been little evidence of that so far.
Which further enforces the desperate need for Shero to find that scoring winger.
I give Shero credit for the remarkable job he did rebuilding the Penguins defense this offseason. I initially questioned the need to sign both Michalek and Martin as an excessive use of cap space. Seeing how good the Pens can be with those two plus Orpik and Letang at their best has put those questions to rest. That said, and with all due respect to Bobby Orr, teams in today’s NHL do not win championships on the backs of their offensive defensemen.
The Penguins have one truly movable chip in Alex Goligoski and he will likely be part of any deal. We can debate how good Goligoski is or is not. I continue to see him Ryan Whitney part II but I recognize this is not a consensus opinion. What we can not debate is that Kris Letang has made Goligoski expendable and that Gogo is the one Penguin who could legitimately attract a top caliber forward without breaking up the team’s core. Of course another forward will have to be thrown in for roster and cap considerations.
It’s easy to look at the Penguins strong play in November and December and conclude that I’m panicking over three bad games. I assure you that is not the case. The goal of this Penguin team is the Stanley Cup, nothing less. Crosby and Malkin (at his best) can carry this team to a 110 point regular season and the second round of the playoffs but not all the way to the cup. Not with this supporting cast of forwards. For the Penguins that would be considered a staggering failure.
I’m comforted that Ray Shero knows this and is patiently waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. I’ve developed a tremendous amount of faith in his ability to recognize and address his team’s needs. With some general managers I would be concerned about over valuing Goligoski or putting too much credence in the Pens strong early season play. I truly believe Shero sees beyond that to the bigger picture.
Of course it will be easy to forget all this when Crosby returns. The team will start scoring and winning again leading to the easy conclusion that they are fine as long as he’s in the line-up. And they are, for 82 games and two rounds of the playoffs. What will they do if Babcock, Zetterberg and the Wings show up in the finals to clutch and grab Sid in to submission? What will they do if Sid slumps? What will they do if he gets hurt as Lemieux did in 1992?
No, I was flashing back to the late 1980s, or just about the time Sidney Crosby entered the world. In those days the Pittsburgh Penguins were plain and simply Mario Lemieux. If he did not dominate, the Pens did not win. If he did not play, the Pens did not have a chance.
We always understood that if the Pens were going to be more than a hockey carnival act, they needed to develop a core of great players around Lemieux. That process started in 1987 with Paul Coffey and continued as a spectacular array of stars and roll players were added over five seasons. Even with that, the Penguins evolved in to a true championship team only when they were good enough to win without Le Magnifique. They did that for half of the 1990-91 season and four critical playoff wins in the 1992 Cup run.
It’s a testament to Lemieux’s remarkable brilliance that we actually believed he could single handedly carry those mid 80s teams to Stanley Cup glory. Mario’s presence made a fairly mediocre team look playoff caliber on almost any given regular season night. We should not lose site of that reality as Crosby rekindles a Lemieux like dominance two decades later.
We are currently witnessing what might be called the de-evolution of the Penguins. The Penguins of early 90s slowly became less and less dependent on their superstar. The Penguins of the 2010s are slowly becoming more and more dependent on theirs. Witness their inept offensive performance without Crosby over the last three games.
To be honest, I’m not shocked by this development. The Crosby-less Penguins are being exposed for what they are, a team with way too many grinder forwards and not nearly enough scorers. The problem is compounded because neither Evgeni Malkin or Jordan Staal is playing anywhere near their ability offensively. Staal’s performance is partially excusable considering he is still recovering from injury. Geno’s continuing struggles are admittedly much harder to understand and significant part of my de-evolution theory.
Regardless, the Pens are fighting an uphill battle offensively. Watching these games without Crosby it’s not hard to understand why. No fewer than nine of the 12 forwards playing are 3rd or 4th line caliber. And that charitably assumes that Staal is a legitimate top six offensive forward which he has yet to conclusively demonstrate. You could reasonably argue that Malkin is the only top six offensive talent in the line-up right now.
This is the risk of building the team’s offense primarily around two superstars. Lose either one of them and the team takes a step backward. Lose Crosby and it’s a giant step.
To be fair, there was no way the Penguins were going to continue to play at their November and December level. A slip was inevitable with or without number 87. The team was playing close to perfect hockey, driven primarily by Crosby’s brilliant play during his 25 game scoring streak. Crosby’s work was as impressive an extended performance as I’ve seen in the NHL since Lemieux was last making a mockery of the game a decade ago.
And it was in no way sustainable.
It is not feasible in today’s NHL to win a Stanley Cup on the back of one superstar, no matter how incredible he is. Defensemen are too good and defensive systems are too strong. A team that depends offensively on one player is destined for an early playoff exit.
Its one thing to score eight goals on a random Wednesday night in January against Tampa. It’s quite another to score three or four in an elimination game at Philadelphia.
We’ve already seen Detroit and sadly Montreal contain or even shut down Crosby in a seven game series. Only once were the Penguins able to overcome this, in the 2009 finals. That occurred in large part because Malkin was performing as brilliantly as Crosby at that time. Notwithstanding that we have rarely seen that version of Geno over the last year and a half; it remains unreasonable to expect two players to continually carry this offense.
I’ve suspected this all season but it was masked by the team’s success and Sid’s other worldly play. Seeing the Penguins without Crosby has crystallized it in my mind. This team simply does not have enough offense to win a Stanley Cup. Every team needs a Max Talbot and a Matt Cooke to win a Stanley Cup; but you can’t win one with nine of them.
Now more than ever, I’m convinced that we will not see another Cup parade in the Burgh unless Ray Shero acquires a desperately needed scoring winger. I’m not talking about another Chris Kunitz, Ruslan Fedotenko or heaven forbid Alexie Ponikarovski. I’m talking about a player who is legitimate 30 goal scorer, whether he plays with Crosby or not.
It’s amazing to see what Crosby has done playing with Kunitz and Dupuis. Imagine what he could do if Dupuis were replaced by a legitimate sniper. Or perhaps Kunitz could drop down and give Malkin the power forward he’s been lacking since Ryan Malone took his talents to Tampa. I’m not sure it’s a coincidence that Geno’s inconsistency started about the time he lost any semblance of a scoring winger to play with.
It would help matters if Staal could reach the next level offensively. Unfortunately through his 5th season, Staal has yet to consistently demonstrate elite offensive ability. He’s too young to write off in this category, especially given his injury, but with each passing year I’m less convinced he will be more than a 20 goal, 50 point guy.
That’s not a criticism of Staal, a truly elite two way talent. He brings tremendous value as perhaps the most dominant third line center in the game. That’s not the same as suggesting the Pens can move forward expecting him to be their third offensive pillar. I still hope Staal and Malkin can forge some offensive chemistry together but there has been little evidence of that so far.
Which further enforces the desperate need for Shero to find that scoring winger.
I give Shero credit for the remarkable job he did rebuilding the Penguins defense this offseason. I initially questioned the need to sign both Michalek and Martin as an excessive use of cap space. Seeing how good the Pens can be with those two plus Orpik and Letang at their best has put those questions to rest. That said, and with all due respect to Bobby Orr, teams in today’s NHL do not win championships on the backs of their offensive defensemen.
The Penguins have one truly movable chip in Alex Goligoski and he will likely be part of any deal. We can debate how good Goligoski is or is not. I continue to see him Ryan Whitney part II but I recognize this is not a consensus opinion. What we can not debate is that Kris Letang has made Goligoski expendable and that Gogo is the one Penguin who could legitimately attract a top caliber forward without breaking up the team’s core. Of course another forward will have to be thrown in for roster and cap considerations.
It’s easy to look at the Penguins strong play in November and December and conclude that I’m panicking over three bad games. I assure you that is not the case. The goal of this Penguin team is the Stanley Cup, nothing less. Crosby and Malkin (at his best) can carry this team to a 110 point regular season and the second round of the playoffs but not all the way to the cup. Not with this supporting cast of forwards. For the Penguins that would be considered a staggering failure.
I’m comforted that Ray Shero knows this and is patiently waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. I’ve developed a tremendous amount of faith in his ability to recognize and address his team’s needs. With some general managers I would be concerned about over valuing Goligoski or putting too much credence in the Pens strong early season play. I truly believe Shero sees beyond that to the bigger picture.
Of course it will be easy to forget all this when Crosby returns. The team will start scoring and winning again leading to the easy conclusion that they are fine as long as he’s in the line-up. And they are, for 82 games and two rounds of the playoffs. What will they do if Babcock, Zetterberg and the Wings show up in the finals to clutch and grab Sid in to submission? What will they do if Sid slumps? What will they do if he gets hurt as Lemieux did in 1992?
Without another elite offensive player, they will lose.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A Defining Moment for Pitt Football
I’ve spent most of New Years day relaxing, watching sports, and trying to get a handle on what has transpired with the University of Pittsburgh’s football program over the last 24 hours. Admittedly, I am stunned. I'm fairly sure I am not alone in that sentiment.
My respected sources (aka, Emily) first caught word of the Mike Haywood arrest story around 11pm Chicago time on New Year’s Eve. Not long after I noted that Bob Smizik was all over the story in his blog. The story has been a non stop source of conversation throughout the Pittsburgh sports blogosphere since it broke.
Twenty four hours later (as I write this), Haywood is out of jail and out of job. Pitt is once again looking for a new football coach and trying to overcome a potentially crippling moment for a floundering program.
The Haywood situation is an embarrassing moment for the University of Pittsburgh on a national scale. It’s an unfortunate and unexpected set back that leaves everybody involved ripe for criticism. It’s the type of moment that could do unfathomable long-term damage to the football program. But it does not have to be.
What Pitt does in the next two weeks will ultimately define this incident, not what happened this weekend. The University acted swiftly and definitively by firing Haywood today, for better or for worse. They need to continue to do so by spending the next two weeks seeking and finding a candidate to build the program around. They need to understand that this absolutely can be salvaged.
Keep in mind that Notre Dame survived the George O’Leary fiasco. The program fell on hard times but those issues had nothing to do with their rapid decision to cut ties with O’Leary after his bizarre fake resume incident. Truthfully, their failure was in hiring the wrong man to replace O’Leary.
Pitt can survive this and move forward. They can acknowledge that this hire went wrong and devote all of their resources to finding the right man. A coach with the 'A' list credibility to build a program who is willing to work at Pitt. I don’t pretend to know who that candidate is but I know they don’t have to go far to find the model. Panther football needs to find their Jamie Dixon.
Pitt is in a difficult spot because the top shelf candidates are not coming. Rest assured, Urban Meyer is not coming out of retirement to coach at Pitt. Every coach Pitt has ever hired has been either an unknown or somebody from a lower tier program.
They need to find somebody who fits the Dixon profile; a young coach who commands discipline and accountability but can also build a program as a head coach. They need to find somebody excited enough about this job to not use it as a stepping stone. That’s a very difficult line to walk which is why such candidates are not easy to find. Keep in mind that many people were not happy with the Dixon hire.
Let me step back and make two important points here.
First, I’m a little disappointed that Haywood did not get some due process in this matter. My beliefs are exactly the same as they were when the first Ben Roethlisberger accusations were reported. The media and fans have some obligation to wait for the relevant facts to come through before they condemn the accused. It’s entirely possible that this incident will ultimately not play out as initially reported; just as was the case with Big Ben.
That said, I understand why Pitt moved so quickly to fire Haywood. There was a critical need to act quickly and decisively in order to get beyond this. As for Haywood, if you are going to be a high profile public figure, you have to be beyond reproach, especially if you have not had time to establish credibility with your new employer and alumni. If this incident happened after three years and 25+ wins, Pitt might have given Haywood greater benefit of the doubt.
I specifically made the point with Big Ben that he was an NFL QB, not a teacher or priest. Quite frankly, Haywood’s job does require a higher standard. He is consider a teacher; a man who is responsible for molding young men. Such charges are a greater impediment for a man in his position than an NFL QB.
Haywood simply does not have enough football cachet to overcome something as serious as a domestic assault charge. In a court of law, he deserves every presumption of innocence until proven guilty. In the end, that presumption survives only to the court house walls. If he’s found not guilty his life will go on; just not as the football coach at Pitt.
Second, the idea that this incident somehow invalidates the Dave Wannstedt firing is absolutely absurd. I’ve heard numerous fans already suggest that Pitt should lick its wounds and beg Wanny to come back. Their argument is that he’s a solid guy who produced 7 or 8 wins a year and that’s not so terrible. This is a losers lament. There is no reason Pitt can not win 10 games and compete for Big East championships.
Pitt made the absolutely correct decision to fire Wanny. The program took a step back under his leadership and continually failed in big games. The program went backwards for three years after his arrival and he nver delivered a BCS Bowl bid, in spite of coaching in an awful conference. His team looked desperately out matched and out coached in every big game. And whatever minor progress occurred in 2008 and 2009 was wiped out with a horrifically embarrassing 2010 season.
As I noted last month, Wanny continued to demonstrate the same faults and deficiencies he showed in Chicago 15 years ago. You can not keep a coach who shows no growth over two decades simply because the new hire did not go as you hoped. Pitt’s mistake was not getting rid of Wanny; it was hiring the wrong replacement. And let’s be honest, they may have simply been a victim of nearly inconceivable circumstances.
Which brings us to the critical question; what does Pitt do now.
The University must devote all of its available resources to finding the best possible candidate. They can not settle for one of their coordinators or the first coach who will take a job. They can not settle for an alumnus with no head coaching experience like Russ Grimm. Pitt needs to find someone who brings immediate credibility to the program. They need to find their Jamie Dixon.
It was important to find the right person to replace Wannstedt. It is absolutely essential that they find the right person to replace Haywood. Keep in mind, Haywood was brought in to rescues the program from poor on the field performance. The new coach must do that and rescue them from this debacle.
One name that has been thrown around is Tom Bradley. I have infinite respect for Bradley’s work at Penn State. I think you could argue that he’s been the defacto head coach without the title for the last three years. He is a smart and dedicated football man and a great recruiter. He would certainly bring credibility. Still, I’m not sure he’s the right choice and not just because I do not want to lose him in Happy Valley.
The fact is Bradley has no head coaching experience. Hiring coordinators for big time college head coaching jobs is always risky because they do not have the overall experience of building a program. I think Pitt needs to find a young and energetic coach (50 or younger) who has been successful at building a program. That’s what needed to happen from the beginning. The program needs an infusion of life after the Wannstedt era.
Do I think Bradley can stabilize the situation and lend some credibility in a crisis situation? Absolutely. Do I think he can take Pitt to the next level that Wanny could not? Frankly I’m not sure. I would rather take a risk with a younger candidate who has shown they can build a program. Admittedly this is inconsistent with the Dixon comparison but football programs are frankly more difficult to run than basketball. And Dixon inherited a good situation. The new football coach inherits a mess on and off the field.
That said, I’m fairly sure I will not be on the search committee. Its up to Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pederson (assuming status quo), to find the right man. In the end, it’s not the Haywood failure that will define them here; it’s what they do now. If they panic on Frank Cignetti or heaven forbid Rich Rodriguez (and yes I’m being presumptuous there), I think the program will start a long hard fall.
Saturday was an awful day for the University of Pittsburgh. Sunday was the first day in repairing the damage. What happens next may define Pitt football of the foreseeable future.
My respected sources (aka, Emily) first caught word of the Mike Haywood arrest story around 11pm Chicago time on New Year’s Eve. Not long after I noted that Bob Smizik was all over the story in his blog. The story has been a non stop source of conversation throughout the Pittsburgh sports blogosphere since it broke.
Twenty four hours later (as I write this), Haywood is out of jail and out of job. Pitt is once again looking for a new football coach and trying to overcome a potentially crippling moment for a floundering program.
The Haywood situation is an embarrassing moment for the University of Pittsburgh on a national scale. It’s an unfortunate and unexpected set back that leaves everybody involved ripe for criticism. It’s the type of moment that could do unfathomable long-term damage to the football program. But it does not have to be.
What Pitt does in the next two weeks will ultimately define this incident, not what happened this weekend. The University acted swiftly and definitively by firing Haywood today, for better or for worse. They need to continue to do so by spending the next two weeks seeking and finding a candidate to build the program around. They need to understand that this absolutely can be salvaged.
Keep in mind that Notre Dame survived the George O’Leary fiasco. The program fell on hard times but those issues had nothing to do with their rapid decision to cut ties with O’Leary after his bizarre fake resume incident. Truthfully, their failure was in hiring the wrong man to replace O’Leary.
Pitt can survive this and move forward. They can acknowledge that this hire went wrong and devote all of their resources to finding the right man. A coach with the 'A' list credibility to build a program who is willing to work at Pitt. I don’t pretend to know who that candidate is but I know they don’t have to go far to find the model. Panther football needs to find their Jamie Dixon.
Pitt is in a difficult spot because the top shelf candidates are not coming. Rest assured, Urban Meyer is not coming out of retirement to coach at Pitt. Every coach Pitt has ever hired has been either an unknown or somebody from a lower tier program.
They need to find somebody who fits the Dixon profile; a young coach who commands discipline and accountability but can also build a program as a head coach. They need to find somebody excited enough about this job to not use it as a stepping stone. That’s a very difficult line to walk which is why such candidates are not easy to find. Keep in mind that many people were not happy with the Dixon hire.
Let me step back and make two important points here.
First, I’m a little disappointed that Haywood did not get some due process in this matter. My beliefs are exactly the same as they were when the first Ben Roethlisberger accusations were reported. The media and fans have some obligation to wait for the relevant facts to come through before they condemn the accused. It’s entirely possible that this incident will ultimately not play out as initially reported; just as was the case with Big Ben.
That said, I understand why Pitt moved so quickly to fire Haywood. There was a critical need to act quickly and decisively in order to get beyond this. As for Haywood, if you are going to be a high profile public figure, you have to be beyond reproach, especially if you have not had time to establish credibility with your new employer and alumni. If this incident happened after three years and 25+ wins, Pitt might have given Haywood greater benefit of the doubt.
I specifically made the point with Big Ben that he was an NFL QB, not a teacher or priest. Quite frankly, Haywood’s job does require a higher standard. He is consider a teacher; a man who is responsible for molding young men. Such charges are a greater impediment for a man in his position than an NFL QB.
Haywood simply does not have enough football cachet to overcome something as serious as a domestic assault charge. In a court of law, he deserves every presumption of innocence until proven guilty. In the end, that presumption survives only to the court house walls. If he’s found not guilty his life will go on; just not as the football coach at Pitt.
Second, the idea that this incident somehow invalidates the Dave Wannstedt firing is absolutely absurd. I’ve heard numerous fans already suggest that Pitt should lick its wounds and beg Wanny to come back. Their argument is that he’s a solid guy who produced 7 or 8 wins a year and that’s not so terrible. This is a losers lament. There is no reason Pitt can not win 10 games and compete for Big East championships.
Pitt made the absolutely correct decision to fire Wanny. The program took a step back under his leadership and continually failed in big games. The program went backwards for three years after his arrival and he nver delivered a BCS Bowl bid, in spite of coaching in an awful conference. His team looked desperately out matched and out coached in every big game. And whatever minor progress occurred in 2008 and 2009 was wiped out with a horrifically embarrassing 2010 season.
As I noted last month, Wanny continued to demonstrate the same faults and deficiencies he showed in Chicago 15 years ago. You can not keep a coach who shows no growth over two decades simply because the new hire did not go as you hoped. Pitt’s mistake was not getting rid of Wanny; it was hiring the wrong replacement. And let’s be honest, they may have simply been a victim of nearly inconceivable circumstances.
Which brings us to the critical question; what does Pitt do now.
The University must devote all of its available resources to finding the best possible candidate. They can not settle for one of their coordinators or the first coach who will take a job. They can not settle for an alumnus with no head coaching experience like Russ Grimm. Pitt needs to find someone who brings immediate credibility to the program. They need to find their Jamie Dixon.
It was important to find the right person to replace Wannstedt. It is absolutely essential that they find the right person to replace Haywood. Keep in mind, Haywood was brought in to rescues the program from poor on the field performance. The new coach must do that and rescue them from this debacle.
One name that has been thrown around is Tom Bradley. I have infinite respect for Bradley’s work at Penn State. I think you could argue that he’s been the defacto head coach without the title for the last three years. He is a smart and dedicated football man and a great recruiter. He would certainly bring credibility. Still, I’m not sure he’s the right choice and not just because I do not want to lose him in Happy Valley.
The fact is Bradley has no head coaching experience. Hiring coordinators for big time college head coaching jobs is always risky because they do not have the overall experience of building a program. I think Pitt needs to find a young and energetic coach (50 or younger) who has been successful at building a program. That’s what needed to happen from the beginning. The program needs an infusion of life after the Wannstedt era.
Do I think Bradley can stabilize the situation and lend some credibility in a crisis situation? Absolutely. Do I think he can take Pitt to the next level that Wanny could not? Frankly I’m not sure. I would rather take a risk with a younger candidate who has shown they can build a program. Admittedly this is inconsistent with the Dixon comparison but football programs are frankly more difficult to run than basketball. And Dixon inherited a good situation. The new football coach inherits a mess on and off the field.
That said, I’m fairly sure I will not be on the search committee. Its up to Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pederson (assuming status quo), to find the right man. In the end, it’s not the Haywood failure that will define them here; it’s what they do now. If they panic on Frank Cignetti or heaven forbid Rich Rodriguez (and yes I’m being presumptuous there), I think the program will start a long hard fall.
Saturday was an awful day for the University of Pittsburgh. Sunday was the first day in repairing the damage. What happens next may define Pitt football of the foreseeable future.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Goodell Drops the Ball on Favre
Yesterday was a new low point for the NFL and its dictatorial commissioner Roger Goodell. In a season that has given us ample reason to question his abilities as commissioner, Goodell’s pathetically impotent slap on the wrist punishment of Brett Favre was his ultimate failure leadership.
Here’s a question commissioner, does the term “cop-out” mean anything to you? Does it feel good to selectively mediate justice depending on how much angst there is on TMZSPN?
If I understand King Roger correctly, Favre was not suspended because the league did not have sufficient evidence to prove he sent the now infamous “illicit” text messages to a female NY Jets employee. Which I find kind of funny since four months ago Goodell felt perfectly comfortable suspending Ben Roethlisberger for 25% of his season with likely less evidence than he had on Favre. Good luck explaining this one commissioner.
Let me start of by clarifying two things.
First, I am not a member of the group that rips Favre for his annual off season retirement waffling. It’s his option to play football as long as somebody out there is willing to give him a job and there is no requirement that he make a definitive decision before training camp starts. The NFL is a more interesting league with Favre in it and I give the man his full props for an all time great career.
My honest feeling notwithstanding is that Favre did not want to play this year but the Vikings talked him in to returning. That’s two straight years that the now unemployed Brad Childress begged Favre to play. That plus $20 Million in cash can be pretty compelling to one’s ego.
Second, I have resisted the anti Steeler conspiracy talk that is being shouted throughout the Steeler nation. I do not believe the commissioner of the NFL has it out for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The league clearly is trying to legislate a certain level of physicality out of the game and the Steelers are one of the most physical teams in the NFL. So they are going to bare a larger portion of the burden.
That is not to say I’m happy with the league’s witch hunt of James Harrison or its blatant failure to protect Big Ben on the field. There have clearly been some highly questionable calls and even more so non calls in Steeler games this year. All of which is a topic for another blog.
That said, there is little doubt in my mind that Goodell caved to the monster that is Favre’s reputation in this pathetically juvenile incident. The fact that he did not have the guts (not the word I would prefer) to suspend a retiring QB on a bad team is shocking in both its impotency and hypocrisy.
First off, this is not going to turn in to a defense attorney’s brief on Big Ben. I have covered that topic ad naseum in previous blogs. My opinion on Ben has never changed. He acted like an ignorant jerk but that’s not illegal in this country. In a he said/she said situation, I default to the police and a motivated district attorney saying there is not sufficient evidence to even consider a charge. They also mentioned, “we prosecute crimes, not morality.”
Based on that I concluded that Ben should continue as the QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers and should not be suspended. It’s a scary world we live in when a person’s livelihood can be taken away over unsubstantiated accusations. That said I reluctantly accepted the suspension for two reasons; I felt there was probably more to the story than we knew and that it would be the slap in the face Ben needed to turn his life around.
So be it.
Clearly Goodell felt in Ben’s case he COULD legislate morality. He was clear to point out that his powers as commissioner are not reliant on criminal findings. I agree with him to a point. I can be suspended or fired from my job for detrimental conduct even if that conduct is not illegal. I just found the punishment inconsistent given numerous other players who committed crimes and are still on the field, including one other player with a pending rape charge.
With the Favre situation you can scrap the term “inconsistent” above and replace it with “hypocritical and self serving.”
Let’s be clear on this. Favre deserves the same benefit of the doubt that we demanded for Ben. You are innocent until proven guilty in this country. And just like Ben he got it. He’s not going to jail. That’s the extent of innocent until proven guilty; you do not have your personal freedom taken away through incarceration without definitive proof of a crime.
Let’s be just as clear on this. Many people made and continue to make conclusions on Ben based on nothing more than the inconsistent testimony of two drunk college girls. This includes media people with tremendous ability to influence public opinion; some of whom never let facts stand in the way of a good story. In Favre’s case, there is far more compelling electronic and pictorial evidence of what he did that’s being swept under the table.
There is some pretty significant circumstantial evidence here that makes any reasonably intelligent person believe Favre sent those texts. His refusal to publically defend himself is at the top of the list. If I were faced with similar accusations, I would go to every possible length to publically clear my name. There is no way I would allow my reputation to be annihilated like this without defending myself. And Brett Favre is about 10 Million times more famous than I am. His silence on this issue is deafening.
Add to that the fact that he has apparently obstructed the investigation at every turn and I think we can draw our own conclusions.
I agree that nobody can prove that Favre sent those pictures and I agree that if this were about whether or not he should go to jail, that would be the end of the story. It’s not. The issue here is whether Favre should be allowed to play QB in the NFL which is a privilege not a right. Simply put, if Big Ben can be suspended four to six games based on unsubstantiated accusations, Favre absolutely should be suspended one game for blatant and juvenile sexual harassment.
Remember, it’s Goodell who set the precedent by suspending Ben without evidence or charges. Once he did that the door was open for him to suspend Favre. There are plenty of situations where a reasonable person can make conclusions that would not be acceptable in a legal setting and this is one of them. If it turns out he’s wrong, what was the ultimate cost to Favre? He would lose one NFL game in 20 years, a game he should not be playing in anyway.
Instead Favre pays a fine which is, to quote Eddie Murphy in Coming to America, pocket change.
So why did Goodell and his cronies back down? For my money, two reasons. First, they don’t want to tangle with Favre and his legendary reputation. I don’t know why but they continue to cow tail to this guy even now that he’s been exposed to some degree as a media fraud. It’s no different than the high soccer school coach who suspends some poor bench warmer for drinking but looks the other way when a star player does the same thing (purely hypothetical of course).
Second, I believe that Goodell’s over reaction in Ben’s case had a lot to do with the immense media scrutiny that resulted from it. For reasons I dare only speculate, the talking heads at TMZSPN did not make nearly as big a deal of the Favre story as they did with Big Ben. Apparently the ENTERTAINMENT and sports network would rather run “BREAKING NEWS” alerts on whether Favre is going to start a meaningless game for a bad team rather than call him out for ignorant behavior. It’s interesting that they did not show such restraint for Big Ben, who lets face it, was never a media darling.
Look, there are worse things in this world than what Favre is accused of. If Ben actually did what he were accused of, it would be far worse. And I’m sure Favre is not being well received on the home front for this. In the end, one dumb text message may cost him millions of dollars (see Woods, Tiger).
And I’m not asking for the law to lock Favre up and throw away the key. I’m just asking the commissioner to be consistent with his punishments. I’m asking him to take the same proactive and dictatorial stance on a beloved media icon that he took on a player who did not always conduct himself admirably the last few years. I’m asking him to stop running his league at the behest of ESPN.
Apparently I’m asking too much.
Here’s a question commissioner, does the term “cop-out” mean anything to you? Does it feel good to selectively mediate justice depending on how much angst there is on TMZSPN?
If I understand King Roger correctly, Favre was not suspended because the league did not have sufficient evidence to prove he sent the now infamous “illicit” text messages to a female NY Jets employee. Which I find kind of funny since four months ago Goodell felt perfectly comfortable suspending Ben Roethlisberger for 25% of his season with likely less evidence than he had on Favre. Good luck explaining this one commissioner.
Let me start of by clarifying two things.
First, I am not a member of the group that rips Favre for his annual off season retirement waffling. It’s his option to play football as long as somebody out there is willing to give him a job and there is no requirement that he make a definitive decision before training camp starts. The NFL is a more interesting league with Favre in it and I give the man his full props for an all time great career.
My honest feeling notwithstanding is that Favre did not want to play this year but the Vikings talked him in to returning. That’s two straight years that the now unemployed Brad Childress begged Favre to play. That plus $20 Million in cash can be pretty compelling to one’s ego.
Second, I have resisted the anti Steeler conspiracy talk that is being shouted throughout the Steeler nation. I do not believe the commissioner of the NFL has it out for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The league clearly is trying to legislate a certain level of physicality out of the game and the Steelers are one of the most physical teams in the NFL. So they are going to bare a larger portion of the burden.
That is not to say I’m happy with the league’s witch hunt of James Harrison or its blatant failure to protect Big Ben on the field. There have clearly been some highly questionable calls and even more so non calls in Steeler games this year. All of which is a topic for another blog.
That said, there is little doubt in my mind that Goodell caved to the monster that is Favre’s reputation in this pathetically juvenile incident. The fact that he did not have the guts (not the word I would prefer) to suspend a retiring QB on a bad team is shocking in both its impotency and hypocrisy.
First off, this is not going to turn in to a defense attorney’s brief on Big Ben. I have covered that topic ad naseum in previous blogs. My opinion on Ben has never changed. He acted like an ignorant jerk but that’s not illegal in this country. In a he said/she said situation, I default to the police and a motivated district attorney saying there is not sufficient evidence to even consider a charge. They also mentioned, “we prosecute crimes, not morality.”
Based on that I concluded that Ben should continue as the QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers and should not be suspended. It’s a scary world we live in when a person’s livelihood can be taken away over unsubstantiated accusations. That said I reluctantly accepted the suspension for two reasons; I felt there was probably more to the story than we knew and that it would be the slap in the face Ben needed to turn his life around.
So be it.
Clearly Goodell felt in Ben’s case he COULD legislate morality. He was clear to point out that his powers as commissioner are not reliant on criminal findings. I agree with him to a point. I can be suspended or fired from my job for detrimental conduct even if that conduct is not illegal. I just found the punishment inconsistent given numerous other players who committed crimes and are still on the field, including one other player with a pending rape charge.
With the Favre situation you can scrap the term “inconsistent” above and replace it with “hypocritical and self serving.”
Let’s be clear on this. Favre deserves the same benefit of the doubt that we demanded for Ben. You are innocent until proven guilty in this country. And just like Ben he got it. He’s not going to jail. That’s the extent of innocent until proven guilty; you do not have your personal freedom taken away through incarceration without definitive proof of a crime.
Let’s be just as clear on this. Many people made and continue to make conclusions on Ben based on nothing more than the inconsistent testimony of two drunk college girls. This includes media people with tremendous ability to influence public opinion; some of whom never let facts stand in the way of a good story. In Favre’s case, there is far more compelling electronic and pictorial evidence of what he did that’s being swept under the table.
There is some pretty significant circumstantial evidence here that makes any reasonably intelligent person believe Favre sent those texts. His refusal to publically defend himself is at the top of the list. If I were faced with similar accusations, I would go to every possible length to publically clear my name. There is no way I would allow my reputation to be annihilated like this without defending myself. And Brett Favre is about 10 Million times more famous than I am. His silence on this issue is deafening.
Add to that the fact that he has apparently obstructed the investigation at every turn and I think we can draw our own conclusions.
I agree that nobody can prove that Favre sent those pictures and I agree that if this were about whether or not he should go to jail, that would be the end of the story. It’s not. The issue here is whether Favre should be allowed to play QB in the NFL which is a privilege not a right. Simply put, if Big Ben can be suspended four to six games based on unsubstantiated accusations, Favre absolutely should be suspended one game for blatant and juvenile sexual harassment.
Remember, it’s Goodell who set the precedent by suspending Ben without evidence or charges. Once he did that the door was open for him to suspend Favre. There are plenty of situations where a reasonable person can make conclusions that would not be acceptable in a legal setting and this is one of them. If it turns out he’s wrong, what was the ultimate cost to Favre? He would lose one NFL game in 20 years, a game he should not be playing in anyway.
Instead Favre pays a fine which is, to quote Eddie Murphy in Coming to America, pocket change.
So why did Goodell and his cronies back down? For my money, two reasons. First, they don’t want to tangle with Favre and his legendary reputation. I don’t know why but they continue to cow tail to this guy even now that he’s been exposed to some degree as a media fraud. It’s no different than the high soccer school coach who suspends some poor bench warmer for drinking but looks the other way when a star player does the same thing (purely hypothetical of course).
Second, I believe that Goodell’s over reaction in Ben’s case had a lot to do with the immense media scrutiny that resulted from it. For reasons I dare only speculate, the talking heads at TMZSPN did not make nearly as big a deal of the Favre story as they did with Big Ben. Apparently the ENTERTAINMENT and sports network would rather run “BREAKING NEWS” alerts on whether Favre is going to start a meaningless game for a bad team rather than call him out for ignorant behavior. It’s interesting that they did not show such restraint for Big Ben, who lets face it, was never a media darling.
Look, there are worse things in this world than what Favre is accused of. If Ben actually did what he were accused of, it would be far worse. And I’m sure Favre is not being well received on the home front for this. In the end, one dumb text message may cost him millions of dollars (see Woods, Tiger).
And I’m not asking for the law to lock Favre up and throw away the key. I’m just asking the commissioner to be consistent with his punishments. I’m asking him to take the same proactive and dictatorial stance on a beloved media icon that he took on a player who did not always conduct himself admirably the last few years. I’m asking him to stop running his league at the behest of ESPN.
Apparently I’m asking too much.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Why’s Everybody Always Picking on Donovan?
As a general rule, I do not waste time or sympathy on million dollar celebrity athletes. They neither want nor need it from me, or anyone else for that matter.
Once in awhile I consider an exception.
I have little in depth knowledge about Donovan McNabb. Since he spent most of his career playing for one of my least favorite NFL teams, I’ve generally been vested in his failure. Given that, I can not claim to have the educated perspective on him that I try to maintain for Pittsburgh athletes.
Maybe he is a horrible person, or a bad teammate, or a spoiled entitled athlete who gets by on talent alone. Or maybe he’s a genuinely decent person and just about the unluckiest guy to ever put on a uniform.
Usually the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Honestly, I suspect with McNabb it is closer to the latter. Everything I have ever seen suggests that along with being a pretty good football player, McNabb is also a pretty decent guy.
So I’m at a loss to explain why he has been such a lightening rod for criticism and controversy throughout his career, most of which seems not of his own making.
Back in October, I posted a blog regarding the moronic decision by Washington coach Mike Shanahan to bench McNabb with two minutes left in a winnable game…FOR REX GROSSMAN. If you recall, Shanahan initially suggested that he felt in that situation, Grossman gave him the best chance to win. Let me repeat what I wrote at that time; they have not yet invented a situation in football where Rex Grossman gives you the best chance to win.
Honestly, the entire thing was insulting to McNabb and unfair to Grossman. If Shanahan really believes what he said, and I seriously doubt that, he should have been fired on the spot for rank incompetence. If the ultimate intent was to send a message to McNabb, through whatever means necessary, it was a classless way to do so. Not to mention he cost his team a football game. The minute Rex Grossman walked on that field, the Redskins were over and done.
I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the Skins season fell apart about that time.
Either way I thought the situation had been rectified when the Skins gave McNabb a $78 Million extension. In reality, it was simply a $3.5 Million severance payment. That became apparent when Shanahan benched McNabb for the last three games so he could, “get a look at Grossman and John Beck.”
Let me be absolutely clear on this point. NFL coaches do not need to look at Rex Grossman and John Beck. In fact, most coaches hope to see as little as possible of either one of them. The actual English translation of his comments is, “McNabb is done in Washington.”
Look, McNabb is not the first veteran player to lose his fastball or at least end up in the wrong situation. Forgetting the abomination that is his 2010 season, think of 2009 Brett Favre in Minnesota versus 2008 Brett Favre in New York. Maybe McNabb is washed up. Maybe he’s not willing to become a better QB now that his athletic ability is fading with age. Or maybe he’s just stuck playing for a perfectionist coach and his prodigal son offensive coordinator who are both hoping to rediscover John Elway.
Any of those things are possible. What is not possible is that Mike Shanahan really thinks Rex Grossman is his answer at QB.
Still, could he not have treated McNabb with a little professional class? Is that so much to ask? Which leads me back to my original question. Do these things just happen to McNabb or is he really a bad guy? You know the old saying, “where there is smoke there is fire?” How many seemingly bad things can happen to one guy and still be a coincidence?
I’ll confess I thought McNabb was overrated coming out of college. I came to that impression after watching him implode in the Orange Bowl against a really good Florida team. Regardless, NFL scouts thought he was one of the top five players in the draft. McNabb’s reward for this was to be drafted by Philadelphia and jeered mercilessly on draft day. You remember why; they wanted Ricky “the stoner” Williams who was not even the first back picked in the draft.
To my surprise, McNabb developed in to an All Pro caliber QB in Philly, in spite of mediocre offensive talent around him. He carried the Eagles to three straight NFC Championship games, but came up short each time. His reward for this was to have Rush Limbaugh suggest on national TV that he was overrated and overhyped only because of his skin color.
I remember when that happened. At first the TMZSPN commentators had little to say on the subject. I think they were prepared to let it pass until the rest of the media came crashing down on them. At that point there was suddenly a flood of what seemed like forced righteous indignation from Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin. Frankly it seemed more like protecting their territory then defending McNabb.
And just so we are clear, Limbaugh’s comments were asinine stupidity and should have been shot down on site.
So then Philly goes out and gets an All Pro receiver in Terrell Owens. And we know what happened. Somewhere along the way there was a falling out between the two. After that Owens spent the rest of his time in Philly bad mouthing and mocking his QB. At times it got truly ugly, even when they finally made it to the Super Bowl in 2004.
I have zero respect for Terrell Owens. He has been a loud mouth, locker room killing malcontent for most of his career. You would have to make an awfully compelling case for me to take T.O.’s side over McNabb in this case. It further supports my belief that McNabb is a good guy who ends up on the wrong side of issues.
Since that point, McNabb has been mocked for apparently running out of gas in the Super Bowl and mocked for losing four NFC championship games. He’s suffered the indignity of being traded within his own division and had his physical conditioning questioned by his current coach and former teammates. Oh and Philly replaced him with a convicted criminal who seems to be more beloved than McNabb ever was in that city. It’s unreal.
Seriously, what exactly did this guy do to cause so much strife?
My honest feeling about McNabb is he is actually too classy a guy. That was my take on the Owens situation. McNabb wants to be the better man and take the high road which is great. Unfortunately T.O. is a bully. He attacks anyone he perceives as a threat to him and does not respect anything but having it put right back in his face. McNabb may indeed have taken the high road but he paid for it.
Beyond that, I think he’s taken heat for never being quite as good as he was expected to be. He ultimately suffered for being a very talented, very good quarterback who never quite became a true franchise superstar. Philly fans could not forgive all those championship game losses; and McNabb became the on the field face of that pain.
That’s a laymen’s opinion of course. And I admit I could be flat out wrong.
As for his troubles in Washington, I can only speculate. And since it’s my blog, I will.
I read a great interview with former Denver QB Jake Plummer (aka Grizzly Adams Jr.) on Yahoo sports after my last Shanahan/McNabb blog. In the article, Plummer said basically that he hated playing for Shanahan. He called Shanahan an over the top perfectionist and said that he was desperately seeking another John Elway. That’s not hard to believe considering Shanahan’s mediocre coaching record without Elway.
My guess is that’s what happened in Washington. Shanahan was hoping McNabb would finally give him his Elway type QB. Instead, McNabb either did not or could not play the game the way Shanahan wanted. It would not shock me if the rumors about McNabb not getting along with Shanahan’s kid were true as well. Again, I’m siding with McNabb. Nothing good ever comes out of nepotism in sports. Parents can not hide their blind spots for their kids, even when millions of dollars are at stake.
And yet even if I’m right, how does this keep happening to one guy? Honestly, I just do not know.
Truth be told, McNabb is better off leaving Washington, as dysfunctional a franchise as there is in the NFL. He will get another opportunity in some other quarterback desperate city. He has already requested his release but I'm guessing that the Skins will not give it to him. Might as well grab some draft choices for that $3.5 Million severance payment.
Here's hoping the drama ends at his next destination. Here's guessing it does not.
Once in awhile I consider an exception.
I have little in depth knowledge about Donovan McNabb. Since he spent most of his career playing for one of my least favorite NFL teams, I’ve generally been vested in his failure. Given that, I can not claim to have the educated perspective on him that I try to maintain for Pittsburgh athletes.
Maybe he is a horrible person, or a bad teammate, or a spoiled entitled athlete who gets by on talent alone. Or maybe he’s a genuinely decent person and just about the unluckiest guy to ever put on a uniform.
Usually the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Honestly, I suspect with McNabb it is closer to the latter. Everything I have ever seen suggests that along with being a pretty good football player, McNabb is also a pretty decent guy.
So I’m at a loss to explain why he has been such a lightening rod for criticism and controversy throughout his career, most of which seems not of his own making.
Back in October, I posted a blog regarding the moronic decision by Washington coach Mike Shanahan to bench McNabb with two minutes left in a winnable game…FOR REX GROSSMAN. If you recall, Shanahan initially suggested that he felt in that situation, Grossman gave him the best chance to win. Let me repeat what I wrote at that time; they have not yet invented a situation in football where Rex Grossman gives you the best chance to win.
Honestly, the entire thing was insulting to McNabb and unfair to Grossman. If Shanahan really believes what he said, and I seriously doubt that, he should have been fired on the spot for rank incompetence. If the ultimate intent was to send a message to McNabb, through whatever means necessary, it was a classless way to do so. Not to mention he cost his team a football game. The minute Rex Grossman walked on that field, the Redskins were over and done.
I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the Skins season fell apart about that time.
Either way I thought the situation had been rectified when the Skins gave McNabb a $78 Million extension. In reality, it was simply a $3.5 Million severance payment. That became apparent when Shanahan benched McNabb for the last three games so he could, “get a look at Grossman and John Beck.”
Let me be absolutely clear on this point. NFL coaches do not need to look at Rex Grossman and John Beck. In fact, most coaches hope to see as little as possible of either one of them. The actual English translation of his comments is, “McNabb is done in Washington.”
Look, McNabb is not the first veteran player to lose his fastball or at least end up in the wrong situation. Forgetting the abomination that is his 2010 season, think of 2009 Brett Favre in Minnesota versus 2008 Brett Favre in New York. Maybe McNabb is washed up. Maybe he’s not willing to become a better QB now that his athletic ability is fading with age. Or maybe he’s just stuck playing for a perfectionist coach and his prodigal son offensive coordinator who are both hoping to rediscover John Elway.
Any of those things are possible. What is not possible is that Mike Shanahan really thinks Rex Grossman is his answer at QB.
Still, could he not have treated McNabb with a little professional class? Is that so much to ask? Which leads me back to my original question. Do these things just happen to McNabb or is he really a bad guy? You know the old saying, “where there is smoke there is fire?” How many seemingly bad things can happen to one guy and still be a coincidence?
I’ll confess I thought McNabb was overrated coming out of college. I came to that impression after watching him implode in the Orange Bowl against a really good Florida team. Regardless, NFL scouts thought he was one of the top five players in the draft. McNabb’s reward for this was to be drafted by Philadelphia and jeered mercilessly on draft day. You remember why; they wanted Ricky “the stoner” Williams who was not even the first back picked in the draft.
To my surprise, McNabb developed in to an All Pro caliber QB in Philly, in spite of mediocre offensive talent around him. He carried the Eagles to three straight NFC Championship games, but came up short each time. His reward for this was to have Rush Limbaugh suggest on national TV that he was overrated and overhyped only because of his skin color.
I remember when that happened. At first the TMZSPN commentators had little to say on the subject. I think they were prepared to let it pass until the rest of the media came crashing down on them. At that point there was suddenly a flood of what seemed like forced righteous indignation from Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin. Frankly it seemed more like protecting their territory then defending McNabb.
And just so we are clear, Limbaugh’s comments were asinine stupidity and should have been shot down on site.
So then Philly goes out and gets an All Pro receiver in Terrell Owens. And we know what happened. Somewhere along the way there was a falling out between the two. After that Owens spent the rest of his time in Philly bad mouthing and mocking his QB. At times it got truly ugly, even when they finally made it to the Super Bowl in 2004.
I have zero respect for Terrell Owens. He has been a loud mouth, locker room killing malcontent for most of his career. You would have to make an awfully compelling case for me to take T.O.’s side over McNabb in this case. It further supports my belief that McNabb is a good guy who ends up on the wrong side of issues.
Since that point, McNabb has been mocked for apparently running out of gas in the Super Bowl and mocked for losing four NFC championship games. He’s suffered the indignity of being traded within his own division and had his physical conditioning questioned by his current coach and former teammates. Oh and Philly replaced him with a convicted criminal who seems to be more beloved than McNabb ever was in that city. It’s unreal.
Seriously, what exactly did this guy do to cause so much strife?
My honest feeling about McNabb is he is actually too classy a guy. That was my take on the Owens situation. McNabb wants to be the better man and take the high road which is great. Unfortunately T.O. is a bully. He attacks anyone he perceives as a threat to him and does not respect anything but having it put right back in his face. McNabb may indeed have taken the high road but he paid for it.
Beyond that, I think he’s taken heat for never being quite as good as he was expected to be. He ultimately suffered for being a very talented, very good quarterback who never quite became a true franchise superstar. Philly fans could not forgive all those championship game losses; and McNabb became the on the field face of that pain.
That’s a laymen’s opinion of course. And I admit I could be flat out wrong.
As for his troubles in Washington, I can only speculate. And since it’s my blog, I will.
I read a great interview with former Denver QB Jake Plummer (aka Grizzly Adams Jr.) on Yahoo sports after my last Shanahan/McNabb blog. In the article, Plummer said basically that he hated playing for Shanahan. He called Shanahan an over the top perfectionist and said that he was desperately seeking another John Elway. That’s not hard to believe considering Shanahan’s mediocre coaching record without Elway.
My guess is that’s what happened in Washington. Shanahan was hoping McNabb would finally give him his Elway type QB. Instead, McNabb either did not or could not play the game the way Shanahan wanted. It would not shock me if the rumors about McNabb not getting along with Shanahan’s kid were true as well. Again, I’m siding with McNabb. Nothing good ever comes out of nepotism in sports. Parents can not hide their blind spots for their kids, even when millions of dollars are at stake.
And yet even if I’m right, how does this keep happening to one guy? Honestly, I just do not know.
Truth be told, McNabb is better off leaving Washington, as dysfunctional a franchise as there is in the NFL. He will get another opportunity in some other quarterback desperate city. He has already requested his release but I'm guessing that the Skins will not give it to him. Might as well grab some draft choices for that $3.5 Million severance payment.
Here's hoping the drama ends at his next destination. Here's guessing it does not.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Steelers Display the Heart of a Champion
There are moments when champions define and separate themselves from their competitors. Sunday night in Baltimore was such a moment for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On a night when the Steelers had every conceivable excuse to quit, they battled to the very end. With injuries, officials, and their toughest rivals stacked against them, the Steelers refused to succumb to defeat. In the most critical of moments, under the most intense pressure, the Steelers prevailed, against all odds.
I can not possibly overstate the importance of this victory. Physically, emotionally, and in the standings, it was the game of the year. We’ve known that since the hard fought last second loss in Pittsburgh in early October. This was an absolute must win game.
I will never give up the Steelers; I learned that lesson in 2005. At the same time, let’s be honest. Going the wild card route to a Super Bowl is tenuous under the best of circumstances. For a team as beat up as the Steelers, in a year with so much parity in the AFC, a first round bye would be an enormous advantage.
If the Steelers lost tonight, they were stuck going the wild card route. Now the division and a first round bye is a very real expectation.
That’s certainly a critical part of it. The other part was that the Steelers needed to step up with a signature victory in a significant game. To do so with a dramatic late game victory, spurred on by their defense was a potential season changing moment. To do it on the road, against their biggest and most physical rival…well that’s how championship teams come together.
Yes, this was a sloppy, ugly victory. I could write a 5,000 word blog on all the errors, physical and mental, that were made in this game. The Steelers made some ugly mistakes including three different brainless special teams’ gaffes. The offense struggled for 60 minutes to string together successful drives.
In other words, it was just another Steelers/Ravens battle, especially in Baltimore.
Prior to kickoff tonight I reminded Emily of what she already knows; what all Steeler fans know. Steelers/Ravens games are low scoring, incredibly physical affairs that come down to the last moments. It happens every game between these brutally physical rivals. There has not been a more violent and physical rivalry in the NFL since the Steelers and Oakland in the 70s.
And as is so often the case, when it really mattered, the Steelers showed more heart and character than their loud mouthed division rivals to the south.
There are certain things in sports that can not adequately be measured. Heart and character are at the top of that list. The Steelers consistently display championship heart. I will take that in a second over Peyton Manning’s arm or Adrian Peterson’s legs. No team in sports has consistently displayed more heart and character than the black and gold over the last 20 years.
I’m sure the critics will be all over Bruce Arians tomorrow for the offensive struggles. So be it. I’m sure Steeler fans will be up in arms about another 60 minute miscarriage of officiating justice. It is what it is.
Once again the Steelers proved what I always say about great teams in sports. Champions simply find a way to win. I’ve said it in many forms but the quote, “winners win, losers blame the ref” seems especially apropos these days.
The Steelers offensive line, a weak unit to begin with is continually devastated by injuries. They lost their punter. Their quarterback has a broken foot and suffered a broken nose. The officials flat out whiffed on two horrific personal foul calls, one of which cost the Steelers a critical player in Heath Miller. The opponent is the most devastatingly physical and impressive defensive team’s in football, except for the Steelers of course.
And the Steelers won. Champions find a way.
Honestly, this is the most impressed I’ve been with a Pittsburgh team since the Penguins beat Detroit in games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Those were ugly games as well. Like those games, tonight was not about making pretty or stylish plays. It was about the willingness to battle non stop until the final whistle. A willingness to endure pain and injustice for 60 brutal minutes and persevere to victory. A willingness to go beyond the limits of human endurance, simply to win a football game.
It may seem trite to non football fans. To the Steeler Nation, it’s a thing of beauty.
This game was the ultimate embodiment of Pittsburgh Steeler football. A victory only true members of the Steeler nation can understand and enjoy. Let the critics bash the coaches and the refs if they want. Let Trent Dilfer mock the game as a comedy of errors on TMZSPN. Let New England and New Orleans call it ugly football.
I call it Pittsburgh Steeler football, at its best. I call it the heart of a champion. Criticize Mike Tomlin if you want but I continue to believe he is a leader of men. He sets the tone for his team. No excuses, find a way to win. It’s what separates the Steelers from so many other franchises. The goal of every game is to win at all costs, under any circumstances.
I can not overstate my pride in this performance, ugly as it was. When Joe Flacco’s final pass hit the turf, I round myself stomping around my condo, screaming with pride. I have not been this fired up about the Steelers since Santonio’s catch in the end zone in Tampa. All I could think, just as it appears on this paper was, HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO !!!
Kudos to Big Ben. For those who continue to worship one dimensional fantasy football QBs that put up stats when they don’t matter, Ben once again showed what QB play is all about. I don’t care what people think about Ben as a person; on the field he is a leader of men. If a 300 pound man punched me in the face and broke my nose, I would leave work for a week. And of course I would not be there to start with given a broken foot. That we tend to take this for granted shows how spoiled we’ve become by our QB.
Keep in mind that when plays had to be made, Ben made them. And as is so often the case in this rivalry, the overrated Flacco did not. Give me Peyton Manning in the first quarter in October; give me Big Ben in the 4th quarter in December.
Kudos to Issac Redman for not being denied. There are times when the only acceptable result is the end zone. Redman absolutely should have been tacked on the five yard line. He simply wanted it more than the Ravens.
Kudos to the defense. This was the signature performance that was so often missing last season. It was without question their best game since Tennessee. It was a statement performance by a group of men tired of being pushed around by the hypocritical NFL stance on physical football. Kudos to James Harrison for ignoring the six figure hit to his pocketbook and playing dominant physical football. Kudos to Troy Polamalu for once again showing that he is the best game changing defender in the NFL.
Kudos to Shaun Suisham. Instead of a fat tub of goo kicker that whines about his contract and the grass, we now have a man who makes kicks without excuses. Suisham’s job punting tonight should be remembered as one of the critical performances of this season. If not for the two aforementioned brainless plays on special teams, he would have twice pinned the Ravens inside the five. Welcome to the Steeler Nation Shaun.
Most important, kudos to a team that has been persecuted by the league and the officials for weeks, overcoming two horrific officiating mistakes. There is not a sane football fan on earth who can explain the personal foul calls against Harrison the last two weeks and explain missing the helmet to helmet shot on Heath Miller. And if Tom Brady were punched in the face by a 300 pound linemen, the NFL would call in a SWAT team and the Navy Seals.
I’m angry, you’re angry, the entire Steeler Nation is angry. The players and coaches are angry. And behind the leader of men that is Mike Tomlin, they overcome and win. I spent most of the game lamenting key mistakes that should have cost the Steelers the game. In the end, all I can remember is this phenomenal display of the heart of a champion.
I don’t know if the Steelers will win the Super Bowl, but they are champions at heart. Tonight was yet another reminder of why I’m so proud to be a lifelong, card carrying member of the Steeler Nation. There is simply nothing on earth like the black and gold.
Every game against Baltimore is the ultimate battle of attrition. They are games that most players and most teams simply could not handle. Somehow, someway the Steelers find a way, time after time to be the better team. I can’t explain it or quantify it, but I can define it. Simply put, it’s the heart of a champion.
On a night when the Steelers had every conceivable excuse to quit, they battled to the very end. With injuries, officials, and their toughest rivals stacked against them, the Steelers refused to succumb to defeat. In the most critical of moments, under the most intense pressure, the Steelers prevailed, against all odds.
I can not possibly overstate the importance of this victory. Physically, emotionally, and in the standings, it was the game of the year. We’ve known that since the hard fought last second loss in Pittsburgh in early October. This was an absolute must win game.
I will never give up the Steelers; I learned that lesson in 2005. At the same time, let’s be honest. Going the wild card route to a Super Bowl is tenuous under the best of circumstances. For a team as beat up as the Steelers, in a year with so much parity in the AFC, a first round bye would be an enormous advantage.
If the Steelers lost tonight, they were stuck going the wild card route. Now the division and a first round bye is a very real expectation.
That’s certainly a critical part of it. The other part was that the Steelers needed to step up with a signature victory in a significant game. To do so with a dramatic late game victory, spurred on by their defense was a potential season changing moment. To do it on the road, against their biggest and most physical rival…well that’s how championship teams come together.
Yes, this was a sloppy, ugly victory. I could write a 5,000 word blog on all the errors, physical and mental, that were made in this game. The Steelers made some ugly mistakes including three different brainless special teams’ gaffes. The offense struggled for 60 minutes to string together successful drives.
In other words, it was just another Steelers/Ravens battle, especially in Baltimore.
Prior to kickoff tonight I reminded Emily of what she already knows; what all Steeler fans know. Steelers/Ravens games are low scoring, incredibly physical affairs that come down to the last moments. It happens every game between these brutally physical rivals. There has not been a more violent and physical rivalry in the NFL since the Steelers and Oakland in the 70s.
And as is so often the case, when it really mattered, the Steelers showed more heart and character than their loud mouthed division rivals to the south.
There are certain things in sports that can not adequately be measured. Heart and character are at the top of that list. The Steelers consistently display championship heart. I will take that in a second over Peyton Manning’s arm or Adrian Peterson’s legs. No team in sports has consistently displayed more heart and character than the black and gold over the last 20 years.
I’m sure the critics will be all over Bruce Arians tomorrow for the offensive struggles. So be it. I’m sure Steeler fans will be up in arms about another 60 minute miscarriage of officiating justice. It is what it is.
Once again the Steelers proved what I always say about great teams in sports. Champions simply find a way to win. I’ve said it in many forms but the quote, “winners win, losers blame the ref” seems especially apropos these days.
The Steelers offensive line, a weak unit to begin with is continually devastated by injuries. They lost their punter. Their quarterback has a broken foot and suffered a broken nose. The officials flat out whiffed on two horrific personal foul calls, one of which cost the Steelers a critical player in Heath Miller. The opponent is the most devastatingly physical and impressive defensive team’s in football, except for the Steelers of course.
And the Steelers won. Champions find a way.
Honestly, this is the most impressed I’ve been with a Pittsburgh team since the Penguins beat Detroit in games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Those were ugly games as well. Like those games, tonight was not about making pretty or stylish plays. It was about the willingness to battle non stop until the final whistle. A willingness to endure pain and injustice for 60 brutal minutes and persevere to victory. A willingness to go beyond the limits of human endurance, simply to win a football game.
It may seem trite to non football fans. To the Steeler Nation, it’s a thing of beauty.
This game was the ultimate embodiment of Pittsburgh Steeler football. A victory only true members of the Steeler nation can understand and enjoy. Let the critics bash the coaches and the refs if they want. Let Trent Dilfer mock the game as a comedy of errors on TMZSPN. Let New England and New Orleans call it ugly football.
I call it Pittsburgh Steeler football, at its best. I call it the heart of a champion. Criticize Mike Tomlin if you want but I continue to believe he is a leader of men. He sets the tone for his team. No excuses, find a way to win. It’s what separates the Steelers from so many other franchises. The goal of every game is to win at all costs, under any circumstances.
I can not overstate my pride in this performance, ugly as it was. When Joe Flacco’s final pass hit the turf, I round myself stomping around my condo, screaming with pride. I have not been this fired up about the Steelers since Santonio’s catch in the end zone in Tampa. All I could think, just as it appears on this paper was, HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO !!!
Kudos to Big Ben. For those who continue to worship one dimensional fantasy football QBs that put up stats when they don’t matter, Ben once again showed what QB play is all about. I don’t care what people think about Ben as a person; on the field he is a leader of men. If a 300 pound man punched me in the face and broke my nose, I would leave work for a week. And of course I would not be there to start with given a broken foot. That we tend to take this for granted shows how spoiled we’ve become by our QB.
Keep in mind that when plays had to be made, Ben made them. And as is so often the case in this rivalry, the overrated Flacco did not. Give me Peyton Manning in the first quarter in October; give me Big Ben in the 4th quarter in December.
Kudos to Issac Redman for not being denied. There are times when the only acceptable result is the end zone. Redman absolutely should have been tacked on the five yard line. He simply wanted it more than the Ravens.
Kudos to the defense. This was the signature performance that was so often missing last season. It was without question their best game since Tennessee. It was a statement performance by a group of men tired of being pushed around by the hypocritical NFL stance on physical football. Kudos to James Harrison for ignoring the six figure hit to his pocketbook and playing dominant physical football. Kudos to Troy Polamalu for once again showing that he is the best game changing defender in the NFL.
Kudos to Shaun Suisham. Instead of a fat tub of goo kicker that whines about his contract and the grass, we now have a man who makes kicks without excuses. Suisham’s job punting tonight should be remembered as one of the critical performances of this season. If not for the two aforementioned brainless plays on special teams, he would have twice pinned the Ravens inside the five. Welcome to the Steeler Nation Shaun.
Most important, kudos to a team that has been persecuted by the league and the officials for weeks, overcoming two horrific officiating mistakes. There is not a sane football fan on earth who can explain the personal foul calls against Harrison the last two weeks and explain missing the helmet to helmet shot on Heath Miller. And if Tom Brady were punched in the face by a 300 pound linemen, the NFL would call in a SWAT team and the Navy Seals.
I’m angry, you’re angry, the entire Steeler Nation is angry. The players and coaches are angry. And behind the leader of men that is Mike Tomlin, they overcome and win. I spent most of the game lamenting key mistakes that should have cost the Steelers the game. In the end, all I can remember is this phenomenal display of the heart of a champion.
I don’t know if the Steelers will win the Super Bowl, but they are champions at heart. Tonight was yet another reminder of why I’m so proud to be a lifelong, card carrying member of the Steeler Nation. There is simply nothing on earth like the black and gold.
Every game against Baltimore is the ultimate battle of attrition. They are games that most players and most teams simply could not handle. Somehow, someway the Steelers find a way, time after time to be the better team. I can’t explain it or quantify it, but I can define it. Simply put, it’s the heart of a champion.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Saying Hello to the New Igloo
For better or for worse, I spent the last hockey season waxing poetic about the demise of the Civic Arena, aka the old Igloo. I penned not one but two blogs delineating the lifetime of memories that I and all Penguin fans acquired in that unique but antiquated building.
And so it is only appropriate that I blog the same appreciation for the new Consol energy Center in the Burgh.
This magnificent new building is as far superior to its predecessor as the current Penguins are to the hopeless, pre Mario teams of the mid 80s. I have attended games in a dozen arenas throughout the United States and Canada and I can say this with some degree of confidence; the Consol Energy Center ranks with or above any and all of them. It is the kind of first class facility that both the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh richly deserve.
I’m not here to trample on the Igloo’s grave. I freely admit that as Emily and I walked up the hill towards the new facility, I felt a tinge of sadness taking in the now empty Civic Arena. A rush of memories flooded my brain, just as they did last March on my final visit. As I noted at the time, it might be a dump, but its our dump.
The Igloo was distinctly Pittsburgh and the physical embodiment of the Penguin’s franchise. It was also the last truly unique structure standing in the National Hockey League. To some degree its unfortunate that it never got the same respect as the “vintage” old buildings in Chicago, Boston, Toronto or Montreal.
None of which should obscure the reality that its time had long since past.
To be honest, I always felt that the Igloo gave the Penguins a bit of a bush league feel around the National Hockey League. The Penguins have a history that ranks with any team outside of the original six (and maybe some of them). That history demands a certain level of respect in the hockey world. I can’t help but think that more than a few hockey folk, especially from north of the boarder, refused to give it to a team playing essentially in a minor league facility.
Rest assured, that will no longer be the case.
I remember my first visit to the United Center in Chicago. It was 1996 and to that point in my life I had seen only the Igloo and the horrific and lifeless Mausoleum on Long Island. I was absolutely shocked when I entered the UC. I could not believe the large, open, well lit concourses, the nearly perfect sightlines, or the flat out enormity of the building. I remarked at the time that the Igloo could easily fit inside the UC.
Little did I know then that the UC was not an aberration, the Igloo was. Chicago’s new edifice is bigger than most arenas but almost all the new buildings share its basic constructs. I noted this in Los Angeles, San Jose, Minnesota, Toronto, Carolina, Tampa and St’Louis. Quite honestly, I never looked at our quaint little dome in Pittsburgh the same way again. From that day forward I recognized the desperate need to upgrade the Penguin’s home.
The Consol Energy Center is a monumental upgrade to say the least.
Over the succeeding 15 years I could no longer overlook the glaring deficiencies of the Igloo. The cramped concourses and seating areas. The poor views, especially in the covered ends. The back-up goaltenders sitting in the runway on a folding chair, the coaches sliding across the ice, etc, etc. There was a time when this was the typical experience in the NHL but that time had long since passed.
And that covers the areas we could see. It was pretty common knowledge that the Igloo’s locker rooms and training areas were not exactly state of the art. I can’t help but picture the disgusted looks on the faces of visiting players, who were changing in locker rooms equivalent to those from my high school soccer days (though picturing that look on Alex Ovechkin’s face does bring a sly smile).
Anyway, enough about the past, this is about the present and the future.
Let me start by saying that there does not appear to be a bad seat in the new building. I can say this because we sat in pretty much the worst seats in the place for two straight days. We were directly behind the net in the top five rows of the upper deck. And we had brilliant, unobstructed views of the entire ice. The height of the upper deck is solid, although it might freak out those who knew only the old E and F balconies across the street.
The New Igloo is lined with glass providing some terrific (though in some cases obstructed) views of downtown Pittsburgh. You take this in as you ride escalaters, yes escalaters to the upper balconies. No more sprinting up long runways or narrow stairwells. I’ll take it on faith or from Dan Potash that these locker rooms and training areas are indeed state of the art.
Perhaps most impressive, the building pays homage to the great history of the Penguins. For all of the non stop blathering about the original six, I will argue that few franchises can match the accomplishments of the Penguins, at least since they were raised to prominence by a quiet French Canadian simply known as “Le Magnifique.”
Emily and I spent a good half hour after Friday’s game watching video highlights of all time Penguin greats (she insisted that we first check out Tom Barrasso and who am I to argue with that?). We also watched videos of great moments in Penguin’s history (Petr Nedved in the 4th overtime) and used a spectacular program to get up close and personal looks at the Stanley Cup.
Between these features, murals of current and past players, and the numerous banners hanging in the rafters, the building is a living, breathing monument to its primary tenant. It is not some lifeless edifice like in St’Louis or Carolina. Just as I saw murals of Gordie Howe and Terry Sawchuck in Detroit, I saw murals of Rick Kehoe, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in Pittsburgh.
And unlike Detroit, we can now get in and out of the men’s room with out missing half a period of action.
The New Igloo, even with its glass exterior, does lack the unique exterior charm of its predecessor and sadly is not located on prime viewing real estate. So be it. This is a miniscule price to pay for a thousand fold improvement in quality. Take this from a Chicago resident who deals with the brilliant new interior of Soldier Field obscured by an alien abomination of site on the outside.
The building was a bit quiet at times but I will chalk that up to holiday afternoon games and not playing prime rivals. It got awfully loud when Marc Andre Fleury robbed Ottawa on Friday and/or Sidney Crosby finished off his third consecutive thanksgiving Saturday hat trick against Calgary.
Of course the one place the new Igloo is completely deficient is in history and memories. You can’t buy or rush those in to being. It will take time for the Pens to turn their new house in to a home. The visions of Mario’s criminal dissection of Shawn Chambers and John Casey or Ron Francis’ 95 foot slap shot through Mike Richter will always be across the street. We will never know Gary Roberts taunting all of Ottawa at the new barn.
That being said, I anxiously await the creation of those new memories. I took in two this weekend which is a tremendous start. With this young and brilliantly talented Penguin team, I expect many more in short order. The new generation of Penguins can build on their championship legacy, while working in a first class environment. Honestly, I had to pinch myself repeatedly to make sure I was not dreaming the experience.
We should not forget that work that Lemieux put in to making this happen. I understand that his motivations were not entirely altruistic but let us never forget that Big 66 ultimately saved the franchise one final time. He could have taken the money and run to Kansas City or Las Vegas but he did his best to keep the Penguins in the Burgh. It is truly mind boggling to consider where the Penguins sit today when you consider how bleak things looked at the turn of the century.
The Old Igloo now awaits its date with the wrecking ball (even as the new one has already hosted the ageless Recchin ball). It will be a truly sad day for me when that occurs. I’m sure I’ll deal with and perhaps blog about a wealth of emotions when that happens.
Alas it is time to move forward. As a great fictional ship captain once said, “it should be noted that this death takes place in the shadow of new life.” For the Penguins and their fans, the death of the igloo is the genesis of new life at the Con. The new building is the future; a future the Penguins truly deserve.
In fitting tribute to our old friend Badger Bob, every day now truly is, “A great day for hockey,” at least in the Burgh.
ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY PENGUIN, BLESSED BE THE PENGUIN…FOR IT IS GOOD.
And so it is only appropriate that I blog the same appreciation for the new Consol energy Center in the Burgh.
This magnificent new building is as far superior to its predecessor as the current Penguins are to the hopeless, pre Mario teams of the mid 80s. I have attended games in a dozen arenas throughout the United States and Canada and I can say this with some degree of confidence; the Consol Energy Center ranks with or above any and all of them. It is the kind of first class facility that both the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh richly deserve.
I’m not here to trample on the Igloo’s grave. I freely admit that as Emily and I walked up the hill towards the new facility, I felt a tinge of sadness taking in the now empty Civic Arena. A rush of memories flooded my brain, just as they did last March on my final visit. As I noted at the time, it might be a dump, but its our dump.
The Igloo was distinctly Pittsburgh and the physical embodiment of the Penguin’s franchise. It was also the last truly unique structure standing in the National Hockey League. To some degree its unfortunate that it never got the same respect as the “vintage” old buildings in Chicago, Boston, Toronto or Montreal.
None of which should obscure the reality that its time had long since past.
To be honest, I always felt that the Igloo gave the Penguins a bit of a bush league feel around the National Hockey League. The Penguins have a history that ranks with any team outside of the original six (and maybe some of them). That history demands a certain level of respect in the hockey world. I can’t help but think that more than a few hockey folk, especially from north of the boarder, refused to give it to a team playing essentially in a minor league facility.
Rest assured, that will no longer be the case.
I remember my first visit to the United Center in Chicago. It was 1996 and to that point in my life I had seen only the Igloo and the horrific and lifeless Mausoleum on Long Island. I was absolutely shocked when I entered the UC. I could not believe the large, open, well lit concourses, the nearly perfect sightlines, or the flat out enormity of the building. I remarked at the time that the Igloo could easily fit inside the UC.
Little did I know then that the UC was not an aberration, the Igloo was. Chicago’s new edifice is bigger than most arenas but almost all the new buildings share its basic constructs. I noted this in Los Angeles, San Jose, Minnesota, Toronto, Carolina, Tampa and St’Louis. Quite honestly, I never looked at our quaint little dome in Pittsburgh the same way again. From that day forward I recognized the desperate need to upgrade the Penguin’s home.
The Consol Energy Center is a monumental upgrade to say the least.
Over the succeeding 15 years I could no longer overlook the glaring deficiencies of the Igloo. The cramped concourses and seating areas. The poor views, especially in the covered ends. The back-up goaltenders sitting in the runway on a folding chair, the coaches sliding across the ice, etc, etc. There was a time when this was the typical experience in the NHL but that time had long since passed.
And that covers the areas we could see. It was pretty common knowledge that the Igloo’s locker rooms and training areas were not exactly state of the art. I can’t help but picture the disgusted looks on the faces of visiting players, who were changing in locker rooms equivalent to those from my high school soccer days (though picturing that look on Alex Ovechkin’s face does bring a sly smile).
Anyway, enough about the past, this is about the present and the future.
Let me start by saying that there does not appear to be a bad seat in the new building. I can say this because we sat in pretty much the worst seats in the place for two straight days. We were directly behind the net in the top five rows of the upper deck. And we had brilliant, unobstructed views of the entire ice. The height of the upper deck is solid, although it might freak out those who knew only the old E and F balconies across the street.
The New Igloo is lined with glass providing some terrific (though in some cases obstructed) views of downtown Pittsburgh. You take this in as you ride escalaters, yes escalaters to the upper balconies. No more sprinting up long runways or narrow stairwells. I’ll take it on faith or from Dan Potash that these locker rooms and training areas are indeed state of the art.
Perhaps most impressive, the building pays homage to the great history of the Penguins. For all of the non stop blathering about the original six, I will argue that few franchises can match the accomplishments of the Penguins, at least since they were raised to prominence by a quiet French Canadian simply known as “Le Magnifique.”
Emily and I spent a good half hour after Friday’s game watching video highlights of all time Penguin greats (she insisted that we first check out Tom Barrasso and who am I to argue with that?). We also watched videos of great moments in Penguin’s history (Petr Nedved in the 4th overtime) and used a spectacular program to get up close and personal looks at the Stanley Cup.
Between these features, murals of current and past players, and the numerous banners hanging in the rafters, the building is a living, breathing monument to its primary tenant. It is not some lifeless edifice like in St’Louis or Carolina. Just as I saw murals of Gordie Howe and Terry Sawchuck in Detroit, I saw murals of Rick Kehoe, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in Pittsburgh.
And unlike Detroit, we can now get in and out of the men’s room with out missing half a period of action.
The New Igloo, even with its glass exterior, does lack the unique exterior charm of its predecessor and sadly is not located on prime viewing real estate. So be it. This is a miniscule price to pay for a thousand fold improvement in quality. Take this from a Chicago resident who deals with the brilliant new interior of Soldier Field obscured by an alien abomination of site on the outside.
The building was a bit quiet at times but I will chalk that up to holiday afternoon games and not playing prime rivals. It got awfully loud when Marc Andre Fleury robbed Ottawa on Friday and/or Sidney Crosby finished off his third consecutive thanksgiving Saturday hat trick against Calgary.
Of course the one place the new Igloo is completely deficient is in history and memories. You can’t buy or rush those in to being. It will take time for the Pens to turn their new house in to a home. The visions of Mario’s criminal dissection of Shawn Chambers and John Casey or Ron Francis’ 95 foot slap shot through Mike Richter will always be across the street. We will never know Gary Roberts taunting all of Ottawa at the new barn.
That being said, I anxiously await the creation of those new memories. I took in two this weekend which is a tremendous start. With this young and brilliantly talented Penguin team, I expect many more in short order. The new generation of Penguins can build on their championship legacy, while working in a first class environment. Honestly, I had to pinch myself repeatedly to make sure I was not dreaming the experience.
We should not forget that work that Lemieux put in to making this happen. I understand that his motivations were not entirely altruistic but let us never forget that Big 66 ultimately saved the franchise one final time. He could have taken the money and run to Kansas City or Las Vegas but he did his best to keep the Penguins in the Burgh. It is truly mind boggling to consider where the Penguins sit today when you consider how bleak things looked at the turn of the century.
The Old Igloo now awaits its date with the wrecking ball (even as the new one has already hosted the ageless Recchin ball). It will be a truly sad day for me when that occurs. I’m sure I’ll deal with and perhaps blog about a wealth of emotions when that happens.
Alas it is time to move forward. As a great fictional ship captain once said, “it should be noted that this death takes place in the shadow of new life.” For the Penguins and their fans, the death of the igloo is the genesis of new life at the Con. The new building is the future; a future the Penguins truly deserve.
In fitting tribute to our old friend Badger Bob, every day now truly is, “A great day for hockey,” at least in the Burgh.
ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY PENGUIN, BLESSED BE THE PENGUIN…FOR IT IS GOOD.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Slamming the Door on the Jeff Reed Era
It’s taken nearly two years but this blog has officially reached uncharted territory. I’m about to focus an entire entry on a kicker. More specifically, a former kicker, given the abrupt ending to Jeff Reed’s Steeler career this week.
Reed’s career in black and gold veered wide right this season through a perfect storm of bad performance, bad attitude and bad behavior. Before 2010, he had solid standing in the Steeler Nation, notwithstanding his eccentric tendencies and his well established position on the Pittsburgh party scene. His rapid fire decent is thus nothing short of stunning.
I counted myself a solid Jeff Reef fan before 2010. Good kickers are hard to find and Reed was a consistently good, especially working in the place kicker’s graveyard that is Heinz Field.
Well, consistently good with some caveats. Reed’s range was five or so yards shorter than most NFL kickers and his kick offs rarely reached the goal line. It’s also fair to say that he lacked Daniel Sepulveda’s affinity for making special teams’ tackles. The Steelers accepted these flaws because Reed was remarkably accurate inside of 48 yards. Before this season.
And therein lies the rub.
Jeff Reed is unemployed today primarily because he stopped making field goals. No matter how obnoxious and ignorant he’s acted in the last 12 months (or seven days), he would still be wearing number 3 for the Steelers today if he were making his kicks. His petulant whining and excuses, not to mention his various off season escapades simply greased the skids.
Reed’s limitations, which became more apparent in 2009, reduced his collateral with the Steelers’ organization. His moronic behavior over the last year or so burned up whatever he had left. Reed could have learned a thing or two from his good buddy Marc-Andre Fleury about how to handle a slump with grace. Clearly he did not.
That being said, I maintain that on the field performance, or lack thereof, is what did in Reed.
NFL teams do not keep back-up kickers. There is no Brent Johnson in reserve when the kicker struggles. When kickers stop making kicks they lose their jobs, even under the best of circumstances. And to state the obvious, Jeff Reed circa 2010 has hardly been the best of circumstances.
Under the NFL’s unofficial code of conduct, kickers are to be seen and not heard. It is an odd idiosyncrasy that this vicious, hard hitting game, played by large angry men, puts so much emphasis on kickers. They are a necessary evil in the sport, tolerated when they succeed and hated when they fail.
When kickers open their mouth or make a spectacle of themselves, bad things happen. See Vanderjagt, Mike, aka “the idiot kicker” who got liquored up and ran his mouth about how Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy were not clutch performers. We last saw him choking a game tying field goal about ten yards wide right against the Steelers in the 2006 playoffs.
Clearly Reed did not learn any lessons from the man affectionately known as VanderJerk in Indianapolis. Clearly he did not see how fast Vanderjagt was run out of the NFL when his game slumped. And he clearly did not learn from his former teammate Tommy Maddox who prior to Reed was standard bearer for fastest alienation of the Steeler Nation in 2005.
Over three seasons, Maddox became immensely popular in Pittsburgh. He resurrected a failed NFL career and for a brief period looked like the star QB Steeler fans were waiting on for two decades He blew it all in one game against Jacksonville, Maddox might have survived his horrendous performance on the field had he not gone Roger Clemens in the post game press conference, throwing everyone and everything under the bus.
Pittsburgh fans demand accountability from their athletes. We can live with a bad game or two if you are willing to take responsibility for it. Just don’t insult our intelligence by blaming the wind, the turf, your wife, or Bruce Arians for your failure. In summary, don’t blame the bad turf when you miss a chip shot 26 yard field goal; the same bad turf you’ve been kicking on for nine years.
Getting beyond the obvious issue of poor performance, I think there are three fatal blows to the relationship between an athlete and a fan base. Lack of accountability is at the top of the list. The other two are publically complaining about your salary and ripping the fans. Given that Reed is a well known Penguin fan, its fair to say he’s had a hat trick of moronic behavior in about four months.
My issues with Reed started when he spouted off in training camp about his contract. I have no idea if the Rooney’s promised Reed a long-term deal or not. I suspect they said something like, we’ll discuss it in the future. Regardless, I don’t care. The guy was getting paid $2 Million, to kick a football. We should all have such problems.
Look, I am generally not one who complains about the exorbitant salaries of athletes. Yes they are outrageous and ridiculously disproportionate to the rest of society. Yes I think a good teacher provides more value than a good offensive linemen. Regardless, it’s irrelevant. Athlete salaries are what they are and I’ve accepted it.
All I ask is don’t complain about it. Modern athletes love the term “disrespect.” Do not disrespect me by complaining about your seven or eight figure salaries. Maybe I can’t kick a football in an NFL game but I’m pretty sure Jeff Reed can’t debit and credit. And he makes a heck of a lot more money than I do.
Seriously, does Reed expect sympathy from hard working fans because the Steelers are making him earn his next contract? Did he sleep through Sports Center the day they explained that NFL teams focus on other positions before they lock down kickers who can’t get kickoffs inside the ten yard line?
So that’s two grievous violations of the athlete/fan covenant. And to complete the trifecta, Reed blasted the fans. Showing a frighteningly ignorant and exaggerated view of his own importance, Reed suggested that Steeler fans come to games just to boo him. Newsflash Jeff, nobody and I mean nobody pays $200 for an NFL ticket to jeer you and Sepulveda (who to my knowledge was not being jeered anyway). If we boo you Jeff, it’s because you keeping missing kicks.
Ok, let me expand on that. We also boo you after you say, “I’m not one to complain to the media,” right before you complain to the media about your contract. We boo you because you say, “I’m not one to make excuses,” right before you make ridiculous excuses. But I covered that already.
I’m not even bringing Mr. Reed’s various drunken escapades in to the equation (a google search on him is quite enlightening), because it’s not relevant. Jeff Reed is not the first person, athlete or not, to get soused and take out his aggressions on an inanimate object. Just the same, I’m not bringing Reed’s charitable work in to the equation. All are irrelevant to me if he produces on the field and keeps his mouth shut.
That’s not to say these things are not important to his employers. If the Steelers were willing to Blue Light Special Santonio Holmes for bad behavior, they would certainly jettison a non performing kicker for the same reasons. I know the Steelers held on to Big Ben after his less than stellar offseason. Rest assured they would not have done that if Ben were Derek Anderson. And whatever you think of Ben as a person, he has always demonstrated accountability on the field.
In summary, Reed’s poor performance is why he was cut. His bad attitude and moronic behavior is why we are so happy about it. At least most of us.
I know some Steeler fans are upset about this. They see cutting Reed as a knee “jerk” reaction by the organization. I’ve heard credible arguments that Jeff Reed has a far better track record than Shaun Suisham. Those arguments may be true but they are also irrelevant. Suisham may or may not be good enough this season, Reed definitely was not.
I’m sure there will be plenty of second guessing if Suisham misses a key field goal. Such second guessing is based on the flawed assumption that Reed would have made the kick. Nothing about his performance this season suggests that to be true.
Combine a season’s worth of poor performance with embarrassing and mocking the entire Steeler Nation and I simply say this. Goodbye Jeff Reed, and good riddance.
Reed’s career in black and gold veered wide right this season through a perfect storm of bad performance, bad attitude and bad behavior. Before 2010, he had solid standing in the Steeler Nation, notwithstanding his eccentric tendencies and his well established position on the Pittsburgh party scene. His rapid fire decent is thus nothing short of stunning.
I counted myself a solid Jeff Reef fan before 2010. Good kickers are hard to find and Reed was a consistently good, especially working in the place kicker’s graveyard that is Heinz Field.
Well, consistently good with some caveats. Reed’s range was five or so yards shorter than most NFL kickers and his kick offs rarely reached the goal line. It’s also fair to say that he lacked Daniel Sepulveda’s affinity for making special teams’ tackles. The Steelers accepted these flaws because Reed was remarkably accurate inside of 48 yards. Before this season.
And therein lies the rub.
Jeff Reed is unemployed today primarily because he stopped making field goals. No matter how obnoxious and ignorant he’s acted in the last 12 months (or seven days), he would still be wearing number 3 for the Steelers today if he were making his kicks. His petulant whining and excuses, not to mention his various off season escapades simply greased the skids.
Reed’s limitations, which became more apparent in 2009, reduced his collateral with the Steelers’ organization. His moronic behavior over the last year or so burned up whatever he had left. Reed could have learned a thing or two from his good buddy Marc-Andre Fleury about how to handle a slump with grace. Clearly he did not.
That being said, I maintain that on the field performance, or lack thereof, is what did in Reed.
NFL teams do not keep back-up kickers. There is no Brent Johnson in reserve when the kicker struggles. When kickers stop making kicks they lose their jobs, even under the best of circumstances. And to state the obvious, Jeff Reed circa 2010 has hardly been the best of circumstances.
Under the NFL’s unofficial code of conduct, kickers are to be seen and not heard. It is an odd idiosyncrasy that this vicious, hard hitting game, played by large angry men, puts so much emphasis on kickers. They are a necessary evil in the sport, tolerated when they succeed and hated when they fail.
When kickers open their mouth or make a spectacle of themselves, bad things happen. See Vanderjagt, Mike, aka “the idiot kicker” who got liquored up and ran his mouth about how Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy were not clutch performers. We last saw him choking a game tying field goal about ten yards wide right against the Steelers in the 2006 playoffs.
Clearly Reed did not learn any lessons from the man affectionately known as VanderJerk in Indianapolis. Clearly he did not see how fast Vanderjagt was run out of the NFL when his game slumped. And he clearly did not learn from his former teammate Tommy Maddox who prior to Reed was standard bearer for fastest alienation of the Steeler Nation in 2005.
Over three seasons, Maddox became immensely popular in Pittsburgh. He resurrected a failed NFL career and for a brief period looked like the star QB Steeler fans were waiting on for two decades He blew it all in one game against Jacksonville, Maddox might have survived his horrendous performance on the field had he not gone Roger Clemens in the post game press conference, throwing everyone and everything under the bus.
Pittsburgh fans demand accountability from their athletes. We can live with a bad game or two if you are willing to take responsibility for it. Just don’t insult our intelligence by blaming the wind, the turf, your wife, or Bruce Arians for your failure. In summary, don’t blame the bad turf when you miss a chip shot 26 yard field goal; the same bad turf you’ve been kicking on for nine years.
Getting beyond the obvious issue of poor performance, I think there are three fatal blows to the relationship between an athlete and a fan base. Lack of accountability is at the top of the list. The other two are publically complaining about your salary and ripping the fans. Given that Reed is a well known Penguin fan, its fair to say he’s had a hat trick of moronic behavior in about four months.
My issues with Reed started when he spouted off in training camp about his contract. I have no idea if the Rooney’s promised Reed a long-term deal or not. I suspect they said something like, we’ll discuss it in the future. Regardless, I don’t care. The guy was getting paid $2 Million, to kick a football. We should all have such problems.
Look, I am generally not one who complains about the exorbitant salaries of athletes. Yes they are outrageous and ridiculously disproportionate to the rest of society. Yes I think a good teacher provides more value than a good offensive linemen. Regardless, it’s irrelevant. Athlete salaries are what they are and I’ve accepted it.
All I ask is don’t complain about it. Modern athletes love the term “disrespect.” Do not disrespect me by complaining about your seven or eight figure salaries. Maybe I can’t kick a football in an NFL game but I’m pretty sure Jeff Reed can’t debit and credit. And he makes a heck of a lot more money than I do.
Seriously, does Reed expect sympathy from hard working fans because the Steelers are making him earn his next contract? Did he sleep through Sports Center the day they explained that NFL teams focus on other positions before they lock down kickers who can’t get kickoffs inside the ten yard line?
So that’s two grievous violations of the athlete/fan covenant. And to complete the trifecta, Reed blasted the fans. Showing a frighteningly ignorant and exaggerated view of his own importance, Reed suggested that Steeler fans come to games just to boo him. Newsflash Jeff, nobody and I mean nobody pays $200 for an NFL ticket to jeer you and Sepulveda (who to my knowledge was not being jeered anyway). If we boo you Jeff, it’s because you keeping missing kicks.
Ok, let me expand on that. We also boo you after you say, “I’m not one to complain to the media,” right before you complain to the media about your contract. We boo you because you say, “I’m not one to make excuses,” right before you make ridiculous excuses. But I covered that already.
I’m not even bringing Mr. Reed’s various drunken escapades in to the equation (a google search on him is quite enlightening), because it’s not relevant. Jeff Reed is not the first person, athlete or not, to get soused and take out his aggressions on an inanimate object. Just the same, I’m not bringing Reed’s charitable work in to the equation. All are irrelevant to me if he produces on the field and keeps his mouth shut.
That’s not to say these things are not important to his employers. If the Steelers were willing to Blue Light Special Santonio Holmes for bad behavior, they would certainly jettison a non performing kicker for the same reasons. I know the Steelers held on to Big Ben after his less than stellar offseason. Rest assured they would not have done that if Ben were Derek Anderson. And whatever you think of Ben as a person, he has always demonstrated accountability on the field.
In summary, Reed’s poor performance is why he was cut. His bad attitude and moronic behavior is why we are so happy about it. At least most of us.
I know some Steeler fans are upset about this. They see cutting Reed as a knee “jerk” reaction by the organization. I’ve heard credible arguments that Jeff Reed has a far better track record than Shaun Suisham. Those arguments may be true but they are also irrelevant. Suisham may or may not be good enough this season, Reed definitely was not.
I’m sure there will be plenty of second guessing if Suisham misses a key field goal. Such second guessing is based on the flawed assumption that Reed would have made the kick. Nothing about his performance this season suggests that to be true.
Combine a season’s worth of poor performance with embarrassing and mocking the entire Steeler Nation and I simply say this. Goodbye Jeff Reed, and good riddance.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Time to Close Down the Wanny Era
There are times in life when you are right, you know with certainty that you are right, and yet you do not really want to be.
I had such a moment when the University of Pittsburgh hired Dave Wannstedt as their head football coach. I knew then, with almost shocking clarity that Pitt was making a huge mistake. I hoped to be wrong. Deep down, I knew I was not.
When you live in a city, watch many of a team’s games, and hear all the post game analysis, you get to know the team pretty well. So I learned quite a bit about Wanny my first four years in Chicago. And one thing I could tell you with absolute certainty was that Dave Wannstedt is not a good head coach.
The Bears went were a 500 team in Wanny’s first four years although they never won more than 9 games. Then came the collapse to 8 and 24 the next two years and Wanny’s inevitable firing. They ran what I lovingly called the three yards and a cloud of dust offense; and a straight 4-3 vanilla defense. They seemed to always lose close games and were frequently out played in the second half of games. Sound familiar Pitt fans?
Every time the Bears lost, Wanny would say, “we’re gonna coach harder.” The best quote I ever heard was from a Chicago sports radio host who said (paraphrasing), I don’t care how hard you coach. I want you to win games.
For the second time, sounding familiar Pitt fans?
Ever watch the 4th line grinders on an NHL hockey team? They are important role players but you don’t build a team around them. You build around star players who see the entire ice surface and adapt to all different situations. Grinders dump and chase.
Dave Wannstedt is a grinder. A good guy and a hard worker but a grinder none the less.
I simply do not believe Wanny can see and think the game at the same level as better coaches. He tries to compensate with excessive preparation and hard work. That might work for a coordinator; it does not work for a head coach. Great coaches understand that game plans are fluid. They evolve and adjust within the game, based on the talent and scheme of the opponent.
Wanny never adjusts in game. I believe it’s because he can’t. What’s worse, the schemes he’s trying so hard to win with were popular in the 1970s. He’s about 25 years behind the curve on both sides of the ball.
Another interesting trend that I noted about Wanny in those first four years was this; the national media loved him. It used to drive the Chicago media crazy when the national folks would blindly say, “Dave Wannstedt is a good football coach.”
The same radio personality mentioned above was doing a weekly segment with Craig James, then of CBS during Wanny’s last year in Chicago. At some point James said, “Dave Wannstedt is a good football coach; he will turn this thing around.” So the interviewer asked him point blank, tell me one thing about Wanny that makes him a good coach. Give me one example of something he does as well or better than other great coaches?
James had no answer. He was just another national media guy who bought in to the Wanny façade.
I will not say Wanny was handed a Super Bowl team by Jimmy Johnson in Miami but he was definitely handed a playoff team. In his first two years, they made the playoffs twice and won once. In that one win Wanny ran journeyman running back Lamar Smith over 40 times. Smith was completely useless the next week when Miami lost. Sound familiar Pitt fans? Here’s a hint, Deion Lewis, Cincinnati, 2009.
In year three, Miami was 9 and 6 and needed to beat New England to make the playoffs. The Pats had nothing to play for. Miami had a huge lead in the game and ended up losing. Any chance Bill Belicheat made adjustments at the half, Wanny did not. That was the year he ran Ricky Williams in to the ground. The next year Miami started 1 and 8 and Wanny bailed.
See where this is headed Pitt fans?
Pitt hired Wanny because they fell for that same Wanny façade. They looked at his record in Miami and deemed it successful. In reality they should have looked at how the franchise regressed during his tenure. They figured they were getting a proven NFL head coach and a Pitt man. It looked like the perfect combination. Sadly it was a mirage.
I know many Pitt fans do not like Walt Harris but the reality is he was the most successful Pitt coach since Jackie Sherrill. I realize that’s not exactly launching the bar but it is what it is. They went to five straight bowl games and deserved or not, the Fiesta Bowl in his last year. Wanny took that Fiesta Bowl team and went 16-20 over the next three years. You know, while he was implementing his “system.”
And what is that system? Lining up in the I formation and running the tailback 40 times off right tackle? This in an era of unprecedented offensive creativity in college offenses. For heaven’s sake, even Penn State runs a spread offense from time to time. It’s no better on defense where Pitt lives in a vanilla 4-3 and rarely adapts (see UConn, Thursday night).
Does anybody find it interesting that Wanny is always pegged as a defensive genius from his time in Dallas and yet he has never had a signature great defense in 16 years as head coach?
Pitt has one signature win in the Wannstedt era. They knocked WVU out of the national title game in a season where Pitt was already guaranteed a losing record. I watched that game;. WVU lost it more than Pitt won it. Wanny has lost every other big game at Pitt since he took over. That includes his team blowing a 31-10 lead at home against Cincy last year when apparently Brian Kelly figured out how to deal with all Deion all the time at halftime.
In spite of all this, I initially hoped Wanny might succeed in college based solely on his recruiting ability. I hoped he could provide stability to the Pitt coaching job that has never before existed. There are plenty of guys who can not coach a lick in the NFL but succeed in college as great recruiters. Alas, even Wanny’s recruiting ability appears over blown.
Such coaches usually hire great assistants to help them. Wanny hired Matt Cavanaugh who later admitted he did not really understand college offenses. I’m not sure I understand that since I’m fairly sure Cavanaugh played college football. That being said, he was Wanny’s offensive coordinator in Chicago and I’m not sure he understood pro offenses either. In either case, he was a known commodity to Wannstedt. So much for hiring good assistants.
It’s amazing that in year six I still hear excuses for Wannstedt. Are you really willing to accept that in six years, the pinnacle of his success was beating North Carolina in some second rate December bowl game? After blowing two chances to win the Big Least? That’s the North Carolina game where Pitt got to first down on the 31 yard line with one minute left and ran up the middle three straight plays. I mean nothing says game winning strategy like, set the kicker up for a 47 yard field goal.
I’m assuming Pitt ends up 7-5 this year. If that’s the case, here is Wanny’s record in 16 years of coaching. Eight seasons of 500 or worse. Three seasons total with 10 wins. Two playoff wins. No championships at any level, not even a conference championship game. No Big Least championships or possibly one championship this year backed in to in the worst season by a conference in BCS history.
That’s a 16 year track record of futility folks. If you don’t want to buy my in depth analysis of Wanny’s weaknesses, just look at that. Wins and losses are the ultimate measuring stick in sports. You can’t hide from them, at least not over 16 years.
I’ve entertained the idea that Pitt could do worse than a coach who wins 8 to 10 games every year, recruits well, and remains loyal to the program. That assumes these things can actually happen. Pitt is on its way to a 7 win season in the worst conference in college football. That would be four of six seasons Wanny has not hit 8 wins.
Honestly, do you believe Pitt is better off today then they were in September 2005? Wanny was supposed to take the program to the next level. At the absolute best, it’s a break even.
One final thought; how much disrespect for Wanny’s defense did the UConn coach show Thursday night? Going for it on 4th and 1 from his own 25 yard line with two minutes left? And please explain to me why Pitt did not put ten in the box and sell out to stop the run when there was absolutely no way UConn was going to pass?
Simple answer, that’s Wanny football. Unchanged and without adaptation since 1992. If Pitt is smart, they will adapt next year…with a new coach.
I had such a moment when the University of Pittsburgh hired Dave Wannstedt as their head football coach. I knew then, with almost shocking clarity that Pitt was making a huge mistake. I hoped to be wrong. Deep down, I knew I was not.
When you live in a city, watch many of a team’s games, and hear all the post game analysis, you get to know the team pretty well. So I learned quite a bit about Wanny my first four years in Chicago. And one thing I could tell you with absolute certainty was that Dave Wannstedt is not a good head coach.
The Bears went were a 500 team in Wanny’s first four years although they never won more than 9 games. Then came the collapse to 8 and 24 the next two years and Wanny’s inevitable firing. They ran what I lovingly called the three yards and a cloud of dust offense; and a straight 4-3 vanilla defense. They seemed to always lose close games and were frequently out played in the second half of games. Sound familiar Pitt fans?
Every time the Bears lost, Wanny would say, “we’re gonna coach harder.” The best quote I ever heard was from a Chicago sports radio host who said (paraphrasing), I don’t care how hard you coach. I want you to win games.
For the second time, sounding familiar Pitt fans?
Ever watch the 4th line grinders on an NHL hockey team? They are important role players but you don’t build a team around them. You build around star players who see the entire ice surface and adapt to all different situations. Grinders dump and chase.
Dave Wannstedt is a grinder. A good guy and a hard worker but a grinder none the less.
I simply do not believe Wanny can see and think the game at the same level as better coaches. He tries to compensate with excessive preparation and hard work. That might work for a coordinator; it does not work for a head coach. Great coaches understand that game plans are fluid. They evolve and adjust within the game, based on the talent and scheme of the opponent.
Wanny never adjusts in game. I believe it’s because he can’t. What’s worse, the schemes he’s trying so hard to win with were popular in the 1970s. He’s about 25 years behind the curve on both sides of the ball.
Another interesting trend that I noted about Wanny in those first four years was this; the national media loved him. It used to drive the Chicago media crazy when the national folks would blindly say, “Dave Wannstedt is a good football coach.”
The same radio personality mentioned above was doing a weekly segment with Craig James, then of CBS during Wanny’s last year in Chicago. At some point James said, “Dave Wannstedt is a good football coach; he will turn this thing around.” So the interviewer asked him point blank, tell me one thing about Wanny that makes him a good coach. Give me one example of something he does as well or better than other great coaches?
James had no answer. He was just another national media guy who bought in to the Wanny façade.
I will not say Wanny was handed a Super Bowl team by Jimmy Johnson in Miami but he was definitely handed a playoff team. In his first two years, they made the playoffs twice and won once. In that one win Wanny ran journeyman running back Lamar Smith over 40 times. Smith was completely useless the next week when Miami lost. Sound familiar Pitt fans? Here’s a hint, Deion Lewis, Cincinnati, 2009.
In year three, Miami was 9 and 6 and needed to beat New England to make the playoffs. The Pats had nothing to play for. Miami had a huge lead in the game and ended up losing. Any chance Bill Belicheat made adjustments at the half, Wanny did not. That was the year he ran Ricky Williams in to the ground. The next year Miami started 1 and 8 and Wanny bailed.
See where this is headed Pitt fans?
Pitt hired Wanny because they fell for that same Wanny façade. They looked at his record in Miami and deemed it successful. In reality they should have looked at how the franchise regressed during his tenure. They figured they were getting a proven NFL head coach and a Pitt man. It looked like the perfect combination. Sadly it was a mirage.
I know many Pitt fans do not like Walt Harris but the reality is he was the most successful Pitt coach since Jackie Sherrill. I realize that’s not exactly launching the bar but it is what it is. They went to five straight bowl games and deserved or not, the Fiesta Bowl in his last year. Wanny took that Fiesta Bowl team and went 16-20 over the next three years. You know, while he was implementing his “system.”
And what is that system? Lining up in the I formation and running the tailback 40 times off right tackle? This in an era of unprecedented offensive creativity in college offenses. For heaven’s sake, even Penn State runs a spread offense from time to time. It’s no better on defense where Pitt lives in a vanilla 4-3 and rarely adapts (see UConn, Thursday night).
Does anybody find it interesting that Wanny is always pegged as a defensive genius from his time in Dallas and yet he has never had a signature great defense in 16 years as head coach?
Pitt has one signature win in the Wannstedt era. They knocked WVU out of the national title game in a season where Pitt was already guaranteed a losing record. I watched that game;. WVU lost it more than Pitt won it. Wanny has lost every other big game at Pitt since he took over. That includes his team blowing a 31-10 lead at home against Cincy last year when apparently Brian Kelly figured out how to deal with all Deion all the time at halftime.
In spite of all this, I initially hoped Wanny might succeed in college based solely on his recruiting ability. I hoped he could provide stability to the Pitt coaching job that has never before existed. There are plenty of guys who can not coach a lick in the NFL but succeed in college as great recruiters. Alas, even Wanny’s recruiting ability appears over blown.
Such coaches usually hire great assistants to help them. Wanny hired Matt Cavanaugh who later admitted he did not really understand college offenses. I’m not sure I understand that since I’m fairly sure Cavanaugh played college football. That being said, he was Wanny’s offensive coordinator in Chicago and I’m not sure he understood pro offenses either. In either case, he was a known commodity to Wannstedt. So much for hiring good assistants.
It’s amazing that in year six I still hear excuses for Wannstedt. Are you really willing to accept that in six years, the pinnacle of his success was beating North Carolina in some second rate December bowl game? After blowing two chances to win the Big Least? That’s the North Carolina game where Pitt got to first down on the 31 yard line with one minute left and ran up the middle three straight plays. I mean nothing says game winning strategy like, set the kicker up for a 47 yard field goal.
I’m assuming Pitt ends up 7-5 this year. If that’s the case, here is Wanny’s record in 16 years of coaching. Eight seasons of 500 or worse. Three seasons total with 10 wins. Two playoff wins. No championships at any level, not even a conference championship game. No Big Least championships or possibly one championship this year backed in to in the worst season by a conference in BCS history.
That’s a 16 year track record of futility folks. If you don’t want to buy my in depth analysis of Wanny’s weaknesses, just look at that. Wins and losses are the ultimate measuring stick in sports. You can’t hide from them, at least not over 16 years.
I’ve entertained the idea that Pitt could do worse than a coach who wins 8 to 10 games every year, recruits well, and remains loyal to the program. That assumes these things can actually happen. Pitt is on its way to a 7 win season in the worst conference in college football. That would be four of six seasons Wanny has not hit 8 wins.
Honestly, do you believe Pitt is better off today then they were in September 2005? Wanny was supposed to take the program to the next level. At the absolute best, it’s a break even.
One final thought; how much disrespect for Wanny’s defense did the UConn coach show Thursday night? Going for it on 4th and 1 from his own 25 yard line with two minutes left? And please explain to me why Pitt did not put ten in the box and sell out to stop the run when there was absolutely no way UConn was going to pass?
Simple answer, that’s Wanny football. Unchanged and without adaptation since 1992. If Pitt is smart, they will adapt next year…with a new coach.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A Simple Tribute to the Great Joe Paterno
When I arrived at Penn State in 1991, Joe Paterno was 65 years old and entering his 26th year as head coach. Even for the truly elite college coaches, that’s a career.
I remember feeling fortunate that Joe was still on the sidelines when I graduated 4 years later. I truly thought he might retire before I left.
That was 16 years ago.
I wonder how many Big 10 coaches have recruited players away from Penn State in those 16 years by telling them, “The old man will leave before you do.” I’m sure that many have and still do today. So think about this, JoePa is the only Big Ten head coach today who held the same title when I left Penn State.
There are certain accomplishments in sports that defy rationale explanation. I can say without hesitance that 400 wins in college football is one of them. It’s an accomplishment beyond comprehension. And it needs to be celebrated as such.
We can argue forever whether Joe has stuck around too long. Personally, I believe he has and said so last year. Alas, that’s an argument for another day. Today is a day to recognize and celebrate one of the truly great men in the history of sports.
As a Penn State alumnus, I feel a personal connection to Paterno. That makes me one of about half a million people who can say that same thing. As silly as it seems, Joe Paterno is Penn State.
I only met him once, a meeting that lasted about five seconds. I was walking south on campus on game day, Joe was walking north to the stadium. Think about that in and of itself. The legendary head coach was walking through the center of campus on game day just like every other student. I can’t imagine bumping in to Rich Rodriguez like that at Michigan.
Joe saw me, made eye contact and said “hello.” I said “good luck today coach.” He said “thank you.” It was a silly nothing moment; one that young freshmen will never forget.
When you see Joe Paterno on campus, you don’t feel like you met a legend. He’s just a nice guy from State College who happens to have coached the football team for 45 years. I’m not naïve enough to think that Joe does not have plenty of power; or that he does not use it to his advantage from time to time. So do most of the tenured professors
Again, this man has coached 45 years at Penn State won 400 games. I take great pride in my ability to express myself through words; yet I find my words are wholly inadequate to express the magnitude of this accomplishment.
I have actually read comments where people suggest he’s won that many games only because he hung around so long. Let’s consider the absurdity of that premise.
First, if it was so easy to last 45 years in coaching…at one school…there would be more than one man in the history of Division 1 football who has done it. Most coaches are happy to last five to ten years. In my lifetime, Pitt has never had a coach reach ten years on the job. If they don’t win enough they get fired. If they win too much they run to greener pastures or retire. We celebrate the likes of Nick Saban; even as he has bailed on three other programs.
Second, even if you argue that Joe has unparalleled job security, he earned it by averaging over 9 wins per season, for 45 years! That includes four undefeated seasons, two national champions (officially) and not a single losing season until the late 80s. And remember, this was not Bill Guthrie taking over a legendary North Carolina program from Dean Smith. Penn State was pretty much irrelevant in college football before JoePa arrived.
You could say that Joe built the Penn State program. I would say that Joe is the Penn State program.
I ate in the same dining hall as many of the football players. Everyone knew who they were. You could not miss Kyle Brady or Ki-Jana Carter on campus. They never acted like football stars; they acted like regular Penn State students. That’s what Joe demands of them. His players graduate at rates amongst the highest in division 1 football and for the most part comport themselves as good citizens. In comparison to the cesspool that often is major college football, the Nittany Lions are angels.
Again, I’m not naïve enough to pretend there have been no off the field issues. Joe can set and enforce rules but he can not force 95 college men to act perfectly all the time. No coach can, just as no parent can. That’s life.
And I’m sure that from time to time, Joe has allowed a star player more latitude than a back-up or regular student would get. I say that even though I remember Bobby Engram being suspended for his entire freshmen season and Curtis Enis and Joe Jeruvicious being suspended from a bowl game.
Joe Paterno is not perfect, as a person or coach. And we don’t ask him to be.
Still, how does Joe compare to Urban Meyer, whose players continually end up on the police blotter and then right back on the field. How does he compare to Tom Osborne who sold out all of his principles and beliefs to win a national championship, a championship that he stole from Paterno? How does he compare to Rodriguez or Pete Carroll?
This is a man who has never sold out his core principles, a man who never made football more than what it is. Yes I’m frustrated by what I consider the relative mediocrity of the program the last decade. And yet I’ll take that in a second over selling out Penn State principles to try and win another national championship.
Think again about those astonishing 400 wins. Now add 6 national championships. Joe has two but he could just as easily have six. This is a man who has presided over four undefeated teams that were denied a national title in college football’s mythical sham of a championship system. And people wonder why I hate the BCS so much?
The funny part is, I think the 1994 debacle bothers me more than it does Joe. I’m still bitter and angry about it to this day. I get the feeling Joe dealt with it and moved on. That may have been the greatest offense in college football history. They would have put up 50 on the Thug Huskers if given the chance. Sadly they never were.
Such is life I guess.
I’ve spent the last 16 years lamenting the national championship that was stolen from us my senior year. Joe Paterno has spent the last 16 years molding kids in to men. I wonder how many kids he’s effected; I wonder how many he’s been a father figure to. Honestly, the numbers are likely too staggering to contemplate.
Just like 400 wins.
Joe Paterno has spent his entire adult life at Penn State. He never left for more money, his dream job or the NFL. He has worked for far less money than most division 1 star coaches, and donated a great deal of it to the University. There are countless stories from regular students about some way Joe impacted their lives.
He does not brag about this; does not act holier than thou. He just lives his life the same way he has for nearly 60 years in Happy Valley.
He has two black marks against him; staying on a bit too long and playing some role in ending the Pitt and Penn State rivalry. If those are the two worst things we can say about this man in 45 years of coaching, that’s not too bad. It’s a lot better than, “reinstated a player who dragged his girlfriend down the steps by her hair.” Strictly hypothetical of course.
I know I’m biased here. I can’t help it. I’m a Nittany Lion through and through. I have no reservations in saying that Joe Paterno is one of the most remarkable human beings in the history of sports.
I’m not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes as I watched the man we affectionately call JoePa celebrate his 400th victory on Saturday. I’m guessing I was not alone in the Nittany Nation. It was an emotional day, the magnitude of which we may never fully appreciate.
I fervently believe that it is time for JoePa to retire. I know that its time for the program to move forward, that it needs an infusion of youth, vigor and new ideas. And yet even as I say that I can not imagine Penn State without him. Not just Penn State football, Penn State University. There are so few constants in this world. For 45 years, Joe Paterno on the Penn State sideline has been one of them.
I offer my heartfelt thanks and congratulations to Joseph Vincent Paterno on a remarkable accomplishment and a remarkable career. For the Glory….
I remember feeling fortunate that Joe was still on the sidelines when I graduated 4 years later. I truly thought he might retire before I left.
That was 16 years ago.
I wonder how many Big 10 coaches have recruited players away from Penn State in those 16 years by telling them, “The old man will leave before you do.” I’m sure that many have and still do today. So think about this, JoePa is the only Big Ten head coach today who held the same title when I left Penn State.
There are certain accomplishments in sports that defy rationale explanation. I can say without hesitance that 400 wins in college football is one of them. It’s an accomplishment beyond comprehension. And it needs to be celebrated as such.
We can argue forever whether Joe has stuck around too long. Personally, I believe he has and said so last year. Alas, that’s an argument for another day. Today is a day to recognize and celebrate one of the truly great men in the history of sports.
As a Penn State alumnus, I feel a personal connection to Paterno. That makes me one of about half a million people who can say that same thing. As silly as it seems, Joe Paterno is Penn State.
I only met him once, a meeting that lasted about five seconds. I was walking south on campus on game day, Joe was walking north to the stadium. Think about that in and of itself. The legendary head coach was walking through the center of campus on game day just like every other student. I can’t imagine bumping in to Rich Rodriguez like that at Michigan.
Joe saw me, made eye contact and said “hello.” I said “good luck today coach.” He said “thank you.” It was a silly nothing moment; one that young freshmen will never forget.
When you see Joe Paterno on campus, you don’t feel like you met a legend. He’s just a nice guy from State College who happens to have coached the football team for 45 years. I’m not naïve enough to think that Joe does not have plenty of power; or that he does not use it to his advantage from time to time. So do most of the tenured professors
Again, this man has coached 45 years at Penn State won 400 games. I take great pride in my ability to express myself through words; yet I find my words are wholly inadequate to express the magnitude of this accomplishment.
I have actually read comments where people suggest he’s won that many games only because he hung around so long. Let’s consider the absurdity of that premise.
First, if it was so easy to last 45 years in coaching…at one school…there would be more than one man in the history of Division 1 football who has done it. Most coaches are happy to last five to ten years. In my lifetime, Pitt has never had a coach reach ten years on the job. If they don’t win enough they get fired. If they win too much they run to greener pastures or retire. We celebrate the likes of Nick Saban; even as he has bailed on three other programs.
Second, even if you argue that Joe has unparalleled job security, he earned it by averaging over 9 wins per season, for 45 years! That includes four undefeated seasons, two national champions (officially) and not a single losing season until the late 80s. And remember, this was not Bill Guthrie taking over a legendary North Carolina program from Dean Smith. Penn State was pretty much irrelevant in college football before JoePa arrived.
You could say that Joe built the Penn State program. I would say that Joe is the Penn State program.
I ate in the same dining hall as many of the football players. Everyone knew who they were. You could not miss Kyle Brady or Ki-Jana Carter on campus. They never acted like football stars; they acted like regular Penn State students. That’s what Joe demands of them. His players graduate at rates amongst the highest in division 1 football and for the most part comport themselves as good citizens. In comparison to the cesspool that often is major college football, the Nittany Lions are angels.
Again, I’m not naïve enough to pretend there have been no off the field issues. Joe can set and enforce rules but he can not force 95 college men to act perfectly all the time. No coach can, just as no parent can. That’s life.
And I’m sure that from time to time, Joe has allowed a star player more latitude than a back-up or regular student would get. I say that even though I remember Bobby Engram being suspended for his entire freshmen season and Curtis Enis and Joe Jeruvicious being suspended from a bowl game.
Joe Paterno is not perfect, as a person or coach. And we don’t ask him to be.
Still, how does Joe compare to Urban Meyer, whose players continually end up on the police blotter and then right back on the field. How does he compare to Tom Osborne who sold out all of his principles and beliefs to win a national championship, a championship that he stole from Paterno? How does he compare to Rodriguez or Pete Carroll?
This is a man who has never sold out his core principles, a man who never made football more than what it is. Yes I’m frustrated by what I consider the relative mediocrity of the program the last decade. And yet I’ll take that in a second over selling out Penn State principles to try and win another national championship.
Think again about those astonishing 400 wins. Now add 6 national championships. Joe has two but he could just as easily have six. This is a man who has presided over four undefeated teams that were denied a national title in college football’s mythical sham of a championship system. And people wonder why I hate the BCS so much?
The funny part is, I think the 1994 debacle bothers me more than it does Joe. I’m still bitter and angry about it to this day. I get the feeling Joe dealt with it and moved on. That may have been the greatest offense in college football history. They would have put up 50 on the Thug Huskers if given the chance. Sadly they never were.
Such is life I guess.
I’ve spent the last 16 years lamenting the national championship that was stolen from us my senior year. Joe Paterno has spent the last 16 years molding kids in to men. I wonder how many kids he’s effected; I wonder how many he’s been a father figure to. Honestly, the numbers are likely too staggering to contemplate.
Just like 400 wins.
Joe Paterno has spent his entire adult life at Penn State. He never left for more money, his dream job or the NFL. He has worked for far less money than most division 1 star coaches, and donated a great deal of it to the University. There are countless stories from regular students about some way Joe impacted their lives.
He does not brag about this; does not act holier than thou. He just lives his life the same way he has for nearly 60 years in Happy Valley.
He has two black marks against him; staying on a bit too long and playing some role in ending the Pitt and Penn State rivalry. If those are the two worst things we can say about this man in 45 years of coaching, that’s not too bad. It’s a lot better than, “reinstated a player who dragged his girlfriend down the steps by her hair.” Strictly hypothetical of course.
I know I’m biased here. I can’t help it. I’m a Nittany Lion through and through. I have no reservations in saying that Joe Paterno is one of the most remarkable human beings in the history of sports.
I’m not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes as I watched the man we affectionately call JoePa celebrate his 400th victory on Saturday. I’m guessing I was not alone in the Nittany Nation. It was an emotional day, the magnitude of which we may never fully appreciate.
I fervently believe that it is time for JoePa to retire. I know that its time for the program to move forward, that it needs an infusion of youth, vigor and new ideas. And yet even as I say that I can not imagine Penn State without him. Not just Penn State football, Penn State University. There are so few constants in this world. For 45 years, Joe Paterno on the Penn State sideline has been one of them.
I offer my heartfelt thanks and congratulations to Joseph Vincent Paterno on a remarkable accomplishment and a remarkable career. For the Glory….
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Good Rex, Bad Rex, and Really Bad Shanahan
Every once in awhile I see something in an NFL game that leaves me shaking my head in utter disbelief. It’s something that for the life of me I can not explain or comprehend on any level.
You would think after three decades of watching football I could say I’ve seen it all. Clearly that is not the case based on what occurred last Sunday in Detroit.
The Washington Redskins got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining, trailing the Lions by 6. When you think of great moments in NFL history, you often think of this scenario. Just two years ago, we watched Big Ben take the Steelers to victory in a comparable situation in the Super Bowl. Joe Montana, John Elway, and Dan Marino were famous for winning games on the final drive. It requires a mix of talent, composure and veteran savvy to win in these circumstances. This situation is the reason that a perennially losing team trades for a quarterback like Donovan McNabb.
So you’ll excuse me if I thought I had taken leave of my faculties when I saw Rex Grossman trotting on to the field for Washington. Fortunately, it was not me who had taken leave; it was Skins coach Mike Shanahan.
Let’s forget about the Grossman part for a moment and just consider this. What team would bench its starting QB in the final two minutes of a game down by one score?
We’re not talking about benching him at halftime or even after three quarters. We’re talking about pulling the plug with two minutes left, down by one score…AGAINST DETROIT. It’s akin to the Lakers getting the ball down by two with 20 seconds left and putting Kobe Bryant on the bench, for somebody who had not played the entire regular season…AGAINST THE CLIPPERS.
And that’s before we get to the Grossman part.
About the only thing more baffling than the decision was the explanation offered by Shanahan after the game and then his offensive coordinator (and son) the next day. I’ve heard more coherent and logical explanations from U.S. Congressmen. They vaguely mentioned injuries and something about “cardiovascular fitness” but the one that really got me was this…we thought Rex gave us the better chance to win in that situation.
HUH ?
Look I lived the Grossman experience in Chicago for five years so I can make the following statement without any pause or concern. They have not yet invented a situation in football where Rex Grossman gives you a better chance to win.
At some point in his career, Grossman was a reasonably competent NFL QB, saddled with a Jay Cutler like penchant for throwing the ball to the wrong team. Bear fans pondered weekly whether they would get "Good Rex" or "Bad Rex." That ended right after Super Bowl XLI. Be it due to loss of confidence or the entire NFL simply figuring him out, "Bad Rex" took over and never left. Now, Grossman is one of those guys that exists somewhere between carrying a clipboard and the Canadian Football League.
Maybe if you spend a week devising the right game plan, Grossman can be your starter…for a game or two. The idea that he can drive a team to a game winning touchdown in the final two minutes is ridiculous. The idea that he could do if coming in to a game cold and having not played all season, is incomprehensible. I’m pretty sure that even Lovie Smith would not have done that, though admittedly I’m not positive.
I’ve heard numerous explanations for this over the past few days. The most interesting is that Shanahan is unhappy with McNabb and used this situation to call out his star QB. I have a better explanation, he’s lost his mind.
I give Shanahan credit for how he’s dealt with the Albert Haynesworth debacAL. And I get the Skins are really not that good. I’m also aware that there are mixed feelings about McNabb around the league. There are some who think he’s one of the great QBs of this era. Others think he’s a great athlete who stumbled in to the perfect system in Philly and can’t win the big game. As always, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
That being said, there is absolutely no plausible reason for Shanahan to do what he did on Sunday. What he ultimately did was cost his football team any chance to win the game. As it played out, Grossman did what he usually does. He did not feel the pass rush, took a hard hit and fumbled the game away. Maybe the exact same thing happens with McNabb behind center. We’ll never know.
Let’s get beyond the fact that Shanahan just called out and embarrassed his (supposed) franchise QB on national television. McNabb has demonstrated remarkably thick skin over the years so maybe he can handle this. How do you explain to a locker room full of warriors that you sold out any chance to win the game just to send McNabb a message? And that’s assuming that is really what happened here. It’s far worse to think that maybe they really believed Grossman gave them the best chance to win.
I would not bring Joe Montana off the bench cold with two minutes left in a game. It’s a completely unfair position to put any QB in. That being said, I could possibly understand if the Skins had a stud back-up or maybe if the situation were reversed and McNabb was coming in. The idea of bringing in Grossman, well coaches have been fired for a lot less.
Shanahan is a fascinating fellow. He is universally lauded for being a great coach and yet if you look at his pre and post John Elway resume its not very good. Yes he won two Super Bowls and you can not take that away from anybody. At the same time, Elway retired after the 1998 season. Since that time, Shanahan has coached ten years. In that decade, he made the AFC Championship team once where his team got blasted by the Steelers. And as my old buddy Porky Pig used to lament, that’s all folks.
Many of Shanahan’s teams missed the playoffs. At least two others served as launching pads for Peyton Manning’s most impressive playoff showings. In short, this guy has done nothing in his last ten years accept repeatedly cut 1,000 yard running backs and introduce the football world to Jay Cutler (coaches have been fired for less than that as well).
I was shocked at the indignation that took place when Shanahan was fired in Denver. How many other coaches would survive more than ten years where they did not even sniff a Super Bowl? Unless you’re Barry Trotz, constantly missing or losing in the first round of the playoffs gets you canned.
Even with that, I’m not suggesting Shanahan was a terrible coach, just a tad overrated. Again, the man did win two Super Bowls. I had absolutely no issue with him, until last Sunday. After that, I’m not sure the man is any more qualified to coach in our nation’s capital than Steve Spurrier or Jim Zorn.
Week after week I listen to angry Steeler fans bash Mike Tomlin. I continue to be astounded by this. Not because Tomlin is a perfect coach, he certainly is not. I’m astounded because on the whole, Tomlin has done what was expected in the Burgh. He’s posted a 39-20 record and won a Super Bowl in his first 3 ½ seasons, all before the age of 40. That’s pretty impressive.
And yet I’m told he’s not as good a coach as a guy like Jeff Fisher, who has somehow lasted 15 years in spite making just one Super Bowl, and losing (what is it with Nashville coaches) and now taking on the locker room disaster that is Randy Moss. And I’m pretty sure that most neutral footballs fans would call Shanahan a better coach than Tomlin.
So I ask you this, do you think Tomlin would have pulled Big Ben if the Steelers got the ball down one score with two minutes left…for Byron Leftwich. Keep in mind that Leftwich, along with being just as mediocre as Grossman, has not played all season. The answer is obvious, of course he would not. And if he did, I can’t even fathom the backlash he would face from the Steeler Nation.
Again, I’m not trying to evaluate McNabb or what’s going on in Washington. Maybe the Skins really don’t think he’s the good. That’s their call. I’ll just say this; regardless of what anybody thinks of Donovan McNabb, he’s a heck of a lot better than Grossman. Maybe Shanahan thought there was little chance of winning with McNabb. Whatever it was, it was 100% greater than his chance of winning with Rex; good, bad, or indifferent.
You would think after three decades of watching football I could say I’ve seen it all. Clearly that is not the case based on what occurred last Sunday in Detroit.
The Washington Redskins got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining, trailing the Lions by 6. When you think of great moments in NFL history, you often think of this scenario. Just two years ago, we watched Big Ben take the Steelers to victory in a comparable situation in the Super Bowl. Joe Montana, John Elway, and Dan Marino were famous for winning games on the final drive. It requires a mix of talent, composure and veteran savvy to win in these circumstances. This situation is the reason that a perennially losing team trades for a quarterback like Donovan McNabb.
So you’ll excuse me if I thought I had taken leave of my faculties when I saw Rex Grossman trotting on to the field for Washington. Fortunately, it was not me who had taken leave; it was Skins coach Mike Shanahan.
Let’s forget about the Grossman part for a moment and just consider this. What team would bench its starting QB in the final two minutes of a game down by one score?
We’re not talking about benching him at halftime or even after three quarters. We’re talking about pulling the plug with two minutes left, down by one score…AGAINST DETROIT. It’s akin to the Lakers getting the ball down by two with 20 seconds left and putting Kobe Bryant on the bench, for somebody who had not played the entire regular season…AGAINST THE CLIPPERS.
And that’s before we get to the Grossman part.
About the only thing more baffling than the decision was the explanation offered by Shanahan after the game and then his offensive coordinator (and son) the next day. I’ve heard more coherent and logical explanations from U.S. Congressmen. They vaguely mentioned injuries and something about “cardiovascular fitness” but the one that really got me was this…we thought Rex gave us the better chance to win in that situation.
HUH ?
Look I lived the Grossman experience in Chicago for five years so I can make the following statement without any pause or concern. They have not yet invented a situation in football where Rex Grossman gives you a better chance to win.
At some point in his career, Grossman was a reasonably competent NFL QB, saddled with a Jay Cutler like penchant for throwing the ball to the wrong team. Bear fans pondered weekly whether they would get "Good Rex" or "Bad Rex." That ended right after Super Bowl XLI. Be it due to loss of confidence or the entire NFL simply figuring him out, "Bad Rex" took over and never left. Now, Grossman is one of those guys that exists somewhere between carrying a clipboard and the Canadian Football League.
Maybe if you spend a week devising the right game plan, Grossman can be your starter…for a game or two. The idea that he can drive a team to a game winning touchdown in the final two minutes is ridiculous. The idea that he could do if coming in to a game cold and having not played all season, is incomprehensible. I’m pretty sure that even Lovie Smith would not have done that, though admittedly I’m not positive.
I’ve heard numerous explanations for this over the past few days. The most interesting is that Shanahan is unhappy with McNabb and used this situation to call out his star QB. I have a better explanation, he’s lost his mind.
I give Shanahan credit for how he’s dealt with the Albert Haynesworth debacAL. And I get the Skins are really not that good. I’m also aware that there are mixed feelings about McNabb around the league. There are some who think he’s one of the great QBs of this era. Others think he’s a great athlete who stumbled in to the perfect system in Philly and can’t win the big game. As always, the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
That being said, there is absolutely no plausible reason for Shanahan to do what he did on Sunday. What he ultimately did was cost his football team any chance to win the game. As it played out, Grossman did what he usually does. He did not feel the pass rush, took a hard hit and fumbled the game away. Maybe the exact same thing happens with McNabb behind center. We’ll never know.
Let’s get beyond the fact that Shanahan just called out and embarrassed his (supposed) franchise QB on national television. McNabb has demonstrated remarkably thick skin over the years so maybe he can handle this. How do you explain to a locker room full of warriors that you sold out any chance to win the game just to send McNabb a message? And that’s assuming that is really what happened here. It’s far worse to think that maybe they really believed Grossman gave them the best chance to win.
I would not bring Joe Montana off the bench cold with two minutes left in a game. It’s a completely unfair position to put any QB in. That being said, I could possibly understand if the Skins had a stud back-up or maybe if the situation were reversed and McNabb was coming in. The idea of bringing in Grossman, well coaches have been fired for a lot less.
Shanahan is a fascinating fellow. He is universally lauded for being a great coach and yet if you look at his pre and post John Elway resume its not very good. Yes he won two Super Bowls and you can not take that away from anybody. At the same time, Elway retired after the 1998 season. Since that time, Shanahan has coached ten years. In that decade, he made the AFC Championship team once where his team got blasted by the Steelers. And as my old buddy Porky Pig used to lament, that’s all folks.
Many of Shanahan’s teams missed the playoffs. At least two others served as launching pads for Peyton Manning’s most impressive playoff showings. In short, this guy has done nothing in his last ten years accept repeatedly cut 1,000 yard running backs and introduce the football world to Jay Cutler (coaches have been fired for less than that as well).
I was shocked at the indignation that took place when Shanahan was fired in Denver. How many other coaches would survive more than ten years where they did not even sniff a Super Bowl? Unless you’re Barry Trotz, constantly missing or losing in the first round of the playoffs gets you canned.
Even with that, I’m not suggesting Shanahan was a terrible coach, just a tad overrated. Again, the man did win two Super Bowls. I had absolutely no issue with him, until last Sunday. After that, I’m not sure the man is any more qualified to coach in our nation’s capital than Steve Spurrier or Jim Zorn.
Week after week I listen to angry Steeler fans bash Mike Tomlin. I continue to be astounded by this. Not because Tomlin is a perfect coach, he certainly is not. I’m astounded because on the whole, Tomlin has done what was expected in the Burgh. He’s posted a 39-20 record and won a Super Bowl in his first 3 ½ seasons, all before the age of 40. That’s pretty impressive.
And yet I’m told he’s not as good a coach as a guy like Jeff Fisher, who has somehow lasted 15 years in spite making just one Super Bowl, and losing (what is it with Nashville coaches) and now taking on the locker room disaster that is Randy Moss. And I’m pretty sure that most neutral footballs fans would call Shanahan a better coach than Tomlin.
So I ask you this, do you think Tomlin would have pulled Big Ben if the Steelers got the ball down one score with two minutes left…for Byron Leftwich. Keep in mind that Leftwich, along with being just as mediocre as Grossman, has not played all season. The answer is obvious, of course he would not. And if he did, I can’t even fathom the backlash he would face from the Steeler Nation.
Again, I’m not trying to evaluate McNabb or what’s going on in Washington. Maybe the Skins really don’t think he’s the good. That’s their call. I’ll just say this; regardless of what anybody thinks of Donovan McNabb, he’s a heck of a lot better than Grossman. Maybe Shanahan thought there was little chance of winning with McNabb. Whatever it was, it was 100% greater than his chance of winning with Rex; good, bad, or indifferent.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Coaches Coach, Players Play, Fans Complain
Sometimes I wonder who has the tougher job, Barack Obama or Bruce Arians. Yes Obama has to deal with the daily challenges of being leader of the free world. Is that any harder than dealing with the angry Steeler Nation that blames Arians for every play that does not result in a Steeler touchdown?
Okay, that might be a bit over the top but I think the point has been made. I have to go all the way to the White House to find a high ranking executive getting more criticism than Arians. Thankfully there are no midterm elections for NFL assistant coaches.
As I often do, let me clarify a few points here before I go any further.
First, this blog is not and will not be Arians’ personal advocate. My position on him remains that he is neither the best nor the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL. I would not put him in the top ten or the bottom ten. He’s somewhere in that middle 22 of guys that were good enough to earn these rare positions but are effectively interchangeable.
Second, I’m not suggesting Arians is alone in this plight. Quite the contrary. I’m not sure there is a worse job in sports than being an offensive coordinator in the NFL. That includes being a head coach in the NFL (a subject for another blog), although just barely. Take a read through blogs in Chicago, Green Bay, Miami, and Dallas if you don’t believe me. Their OC’s take the same beat down. The only difference of course is that the Steelers tend to win more than those teams.
There are three reasons that plays fail in the NFL; the offense does not execute, the defense flat out stops it, or it was a bad call. I will not attempt to assign arbitrary percentages to this but I’m guessing choice number three is the least frequent reason; and the number one choice of most fans. It’s just so easy to look at any play that fails and say a different call would have worked better.
Keep this in mind. If it were so easy to move the ball in the NFL, they would not give you three plays to go just ten yards. It’s the NFL, not the Arena league.
Here is a question that Bob Smizik often poses in his blog. Why is it that when Dick Lebeau’s Steeler defense smoothers an offense, fans call it great defense, but whenever the Steeler offense scores less than 24 points its because Arians is an idiot?
I don’t agree with every call Arians’ makes. In fact, I disagree with a lot of them. That being said, I try to look at it logically. First, I don’t think I would agree with every call that any offensive coordinator would make. And second, much as I would like to believe otherwise, I doubt I would do any better.
Keep in mind that the Steelers biggest problem offensively is not Arians, it’s a mediocre offensive line. That’s been the problem for the last three years. Football games are won in the trenches and the Steelers are just not good enough in that area. The problem is that it’s hard for fans to see that. Anyone can tell that Arizona’s offense went in the tank after Kurt Warner started his dancing career. Offensive line play is far more subtle, and just as critical.
But I digress.
The age old question in football is what is more important, play calling or execution. Both are important. That being said if you accept the notion that the Steelers’ play calling is at least competent by NFL standards, and I believe it is, then you have to take a look at the players on the field. That’s ultimately what determines the success or failure of an offense no matter how much the arm chair QB nation thinks otherwise.
Let’s take a look at Sunday night’s loss to New Orleans. The Steelers lost and scored less than 24 points so Arian’s is being annihilated by a large contingent of the fan base. Here’s my take on the situation.
1) Failure to score on first and down from the 1 yard line
This is abysmal. The idea that an NFL team can not move the football ½ yard in three plays is unacceptable. In case you have not noticed, this has been going on for three years. I remain amazed that the Steelers won the Super Bowl a few years back in spite of being completely inept in short yardage offense. Say goodbye to four points right there.
This problem is directly attributable to the offensive line. Keep in mind that five plus running backs have struggled in short yardage behind this line. Last year Arians tried to compensate by throwing more in these situations. He got blasted for it by fans, media, and Art Rooney Jr. This year they’ve gone back to trying to run. And again he’s being blasted.
I personally would like to see the Steelers consider a play action pass or QB sneak on at least one play. That being said, there is no guarantee those plays would have succeeded. What is guaranteed is that whatever way the Steelers offense failed in that situation, Arians would get most of the blame. Keep in mind that the Saints also failed in goal line and they did pass on several plays.
2) Jeff Reed Misses a FG
In other news, Tuesday was a bad day for democrats, Jordan Staal is having a rough year and Cookie Monster likes..oh you get it.
Look, I don’t expect Reed to make every kick and 51 yards is a long attempt. In a vacuum, I could handle one miss. The problem is that Reed has been missing from all over the place this year. And this was in a dome.
Mike Tomlin has been criticized a lot this year for trying long kicks with Reed right before half time. The argument is that if (or when) he misses those kicks it puts the defense in a bad position. That’s a loser’s lament. Reed is supposed to be one of the best kickers in football. Not withstanding his warped perspective on his measly $2 Million contract, Reed is paid to make those kicks. It’s not Tomlin’s fault he continues to fail. My guess is that Tomlin is at the end of his rope with Reed which means he may very well start bailing on him beyond 45 yards.
3) Emmanuel Sanders Converts to Defensive Back
I realize the Steelers defensive backs have been shaky the last two years. Maybe Sanders figures he has a better shot to play there than at WR. I’m not sure William Gay has made a defensive play all year as good as the one Sanders made on Heinz Ward on 4th and 4.
Tomlin is taking a lot of abuse for going for it in that situation. Not from me. It’s good aggressive coaching. It’s a coach who believes in his defense and his quarterback and is taking a calculated risk. If you want a coach who never takes chances or always goes by the book, I assure you Dave Wannstedt will be available in a few years.
Is Tomlin at fault for the decision? Is Arians at fault for the call? Or is Sanders at fault for stepping in front of a well thrown ball that Ward probably would have taken for a touchdown? I say the latter and there goes another 3 to 7 points.
4) Heath Miller fumbles
I’m not bagging on Miller who is one of the Steelers most reliable players. That being said, ball security is paramount when you are driving late in the game. I said the same thing about Ben’s fumble in Miami, you just can’t let that happen there. I’m guessing Heath agrees with me since he James Harrisoned himself in the cranium after the play. Notwithstanding all my Reed criticism above, that’s at least 3 and maybe 7 points lost, at a very key time in the game.
If the Steelers execute those four situations above, they likely pick up somewhere between 13 and 21 points...and win the game. All of those plays were there to be made, as were many others the offense failed to execute.
I’m not blindly absolving the Arians and the coaches; they play their part in any loss. Successful teams win because of a combination of three factors; 1) The organization brings in the right personnel 2) The coaches put players in a position to succeed and 3) The players execute properly. Bad teams usually lose for the same three reasons. And while I admit that any one phase if bad enough can destroy the other two, I just don’t see it on a team that’s gone 39 and 20 and won a Super Bowl with this coaching staff.
If you really hate Arian’s, ask yourself who would be better. Bear fans hailed Mike Martz as a genius when he arrived. Instead his offense has proved a poor fit for a team with a bad offensive line and a head case QB. No matter how much Steeler fans don’t want to believe it, Arians’ offense works to the talent of the players we have. Alan Faneca is gone and Jerome Bettis retired.
To repeat, I neither love nor hate Arians. In the long run, I don’t care if he stays or goes. All I know is this, I would not want to be his replacement.
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