Fourth and Long: Failure to Communicate
Back in 2007 and 2008, I wrote a weekly online pro football column dubbed “Fourth and Long” for the late Football for Breakfast website. One hopes the gentle reader will enjoy this blast from 9/26/07…
I am not African-American.
Nor am I familiar with the unspoken racism that Donovan McNabb has experienced over a lifetime.
The looks. The cold shoulders. The lack of respect. All because of the color of his skin.
So when Donovan McNabb says that he lives under additional pressures that white quarterbacks don’t experience, I’m going to have to take his word for it.
But I did grow up in Philadelphia so it is with some level of familiarity that I state: Donovan is missing the point on the criticism that he is currently receiving. At least the criticism he is receiving in the City of Brotherly Love.
Philadelphia fans boo. That’s what we do. When we don’t like something, we boo. And when you’ve gone 9-12 in your last 21 starts, you’re going to get booed when you don’t play well.
For the record, other cities boo their teams, too. In the past few weeks, I have heard booing in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, St. Louis and New Orleans to name but a few. So let’s remember that Philadelphia isn’t the only place that boos its teams.
We have simply honed to an artform.
That’s not to say that Philadelphia fans don’t cheer.
We do.
We’ve cheered Donovan McNabb. A lot.
We’ve also cheered Bill Bergey. Wilbert Montgomery. The Broad Street Bullies. Joe Frazier. Tug McGraw. And, believe it or not, Pete Rose.
Why? Because they gave it their all on the field. Every game. Every down.
You don’t have to win. But you need to be courageous.
That’s why Rocky is the the ultimate Philly sports story. Allen Iverson leading the outgunned Sixers to the NBA Finals and winning the first game? That was courageous. And that is what Philadelphians love.
Rollie Massimino and Villanova knocking off Georgetown? That is Philadelphia.
What McNabb fails to understand is Philly fans believe he has let us down.
Three consecutive NFC Championship losses.
The first year against the Rams was okay. That was a heroic loss. But the losses to the Buccaneers and Panthers were games we were favored to win.
Losing in the Super Bowl wasn’t as bad as how we lost. Remember the fourth quarter? All the precious time ticking away as McNabb vomited on the field from nerves.
I hate to say this, but McNabb lacks the heart of a champion.
Yeah, we threw snowballs at Santa Claus. Yeah, we cheered Michael Irvin’s career-ending injury. And as was once famously written, we would have booed Christ when he dropped the cross.
It’s not that we have to win every game or every championship (though one would be nice). But we want our athletes to be heroes.
And good or bad, McNabb is not a hero.
‘Larry King’ Ramblings
Brett Favre is officially an ageless wonder. He’s playing better now than he has in years and has won seven games in a row dating back to last year. October 7 against the Bears is shaping up to be a critical test.
The Chargers have now lost as many games this year as they did last year and have not looked good in the process. Anyone think AJ Smith’s ego may have gotten in the way? Smith should have either fired Marty Schottenheimer immediately after the loss to the Patriots last year or kept him for the 2007 season. Smith’s petty firing in February resulted in a first-rate team hiring a second-rate coach whose record has fallen to 59-84-1 even after taking over the 14-2 Chargers. Norv Turner couldn’t win before and it’s becoming clear that he can’t win now. It was widely proclaimed that Norv was given ownsership of a Ferrari, but it seems he’s misplaced the keys.
All that said, the schedule does shift into the Chargers’ favor. With the Chiefs, Broncos and Raiders next, don’t be surprised to see the Chargers at 4-2 going into the bye week. And if they aren’t, the Chargers won’t be making it to the playoffs.
I have to admit that I am a big fan of Kurt Warner. The whole bagging groceries to Super Bowl MVP story still works for me. So I was thrilled to see Kurt mounting a comeback against the Ravens. I have nothing against Matt Leinart, but wouldn’t it be nice to see Kurt Warner lead the Cardinal to the playoffs?
I really hate these last second timeouts that result in teams kicking a game-winning field goals twice. But there is karmic balance when the Raiders, who lost to the Broncos on that ploy, benefitted against the Browns with the same call. But a note to teams this week when kicking a last-second field goal, have you thought about snapping the ball a little earlier?
The ‘Heidi’ Chronicles
I still haven’t figured out which NFL highlight show to watch. For years, everyone watched ‘NFL Primetime’ on ESPN. But CBS cuts to ’60 Minutes’ as soon as the late game is over, FOX shows abbreviated highlights until 8pm and ESPN airs a generic SportsCenter from 7 to 8. I guess we are supposed to watch ‘Football Night in America’ but I always forget to switch over until 8pm when they are finished with most of the highlights and are engaging in that fake comraderie and sincerity between Costas and the other talking heads.
Of course, it’s all NFL Network’s fault. They have the best highlight show on TV but it starts AFTER the Sunday night game when most of the country is in bed.
The Joe Pisarcik Award
I’ve decided to expand the reach of this award beyond simple bad reporting and include all flavors of NFL talking heads so we can reward Phil Simms and Jim Nance for slurping up to the Chargers during the Chargers-Packers game on CBS. The duo went out of their way to complement Norv Turner, AJ Smith and the team after nearly every play. Even as it became apparent that the Chargers were going to lose to the Packers and fall to 1-2, Phil Simms gushed about Norv Turner’s decision to kick a field goal with 20 seconds left to make it a 7 point game. I really wish announcers would comment on performances in the game and not base their opinions on press clippings.
Honorable mention goes to the Eagles’ throwback uniforms. Not because of bad reporting or atrocious commentating. But because they are the ugliest uniforms. Ever.
Playoffs?!? Don’t Talk About Playoffs?!?
With apologies to Jim Mora, it’s never too early to talk playoffs…
AFC Playoff Seeds
1) Indianapolis Colts (3-0): They may not win pretty, but they do win in what is turning out to be a very tough division.
2) New England Patriots (3-0): They win pretty. And they may be better than the Colts. But only a loss will knock a defending champion from the top spot. So mark November 4 on your calendars when the Patriots visit the Colts.
3) Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0): The Tomlin era continues undefeated and may continue that way until the December showdown with the Patriots.
4) Denver Broncos (2-1): Broncos need to fix their problems quickly with consecutive games coming up against the Colts, Chargers, Steelers and Packers.
5) Tennessee Titans (2-1): Vince Young is a winner, pure and simple.
6) Houston Texans (2-1): Tough loss to the Colts. Kubiak is making a believer out of me. Look for them to go 4-1.
NFC Playoff Seeds
1) Dallas Cowboys (3-0): Romo and the offensive look really good. But as John Madden notes, the defense is the key to a championship. They should be 5-0 when they face the Patriots on October 14.
2) Green Bay Packers (3-0): Three wins over playoff teams from last year. And Brett Favre is looking better than he has in years. Chicago comes to town October 7.
3) Seattle Seahawks (2-1): Nice comeback against the Bengals.
4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1): Have the Bucs turned it around? NFC South lead is up for grabs Sunday at Carolina.
5) Washington Redskins (2-1): ‘Skins have a bye week to contemplate heartbreaking loss to the Giants.
6) Carolina Panthers (2-1): Panthers need to step it up Sunday against the Bucs.
The John Madden Wayback Machine
Baseball is rife with magical statistics such as the HR record, batting average, hits, RBIs, ERAs and pitching wins. In light of Brett Favre record achievements, it’s time to identify the records that really matter in football. What should be the NFL’s equivalent of the Triple Crown?
Clearly the undefeated season is the holy grail. The 17-0 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only ones to ever do that. And despite a brutal schedule, the New England Patriots should challenge that record this year.
But that is a team record. What about individual records? At the end of the day, it comes down to passing, rushing and receiving. The passer rating is ridiculous, so I suggest we keep it simple and focus on the following top 10 sacred yardage and touchdown records:
Individual Season Records:
-Passing Yards: Dan Marino with 5,084 yards, Dolphins, 1984.
-Passing TDs: Peyton Manning with 49 TDs, Colts, 2004.
-Rushing Yards: Eric Dickerson with 2,105 yards, LA Rams, 1984.
-Receiving Yards: Jerry Rice with 1,848 yards, 1995.
-Rushing/Receiving TDs: LaDainian Thomlinson with 31 TDs, Chargers, 2006.
Career Records:
-Passing Yards: Dan Marino with 61,361 yards.
-Passing TDs: Dan Marino and Brett Favre with 420 TDs.
-Rushing Yards: Emmitt Smith with 18,355 yards.
-Receiving Yards: Jerry Rice with 22,895 yards.
-Rushing/Receiving TDs: Jerry Rice with 207 TDs.
And lest we forget, the longest field goal is still 63 yards as held by Tom Dempsey (Saints, 1970) and Jason Elam (Broncos, 1998).
In future weeks, I will look at the history of each of these records in more detail, but make sure to peruse NFL.com’s Record & Fact Book.
The Battle for Brian Brohm (or Darren McFadden or Whoever the #1 Pick Will Be)
Winless teams in the running to ‘earn’ the top pick in the 2008 draft…
#1 – St. Louis Rams (0-3): These guys are dreadful. And the next game is at Dallas.
#2 – Buffalo Bills (0-3): A really tough season is getting worse. Time to see if QB Trent Edwards can spark this team.
#3 – Miami Dolphins (0-3): If they don’t beat the Raiders at home Sunday, this season is going to get a whole lot longer.
#4 – Atlanta Falcons (0-3): The Falcons surprisingly didn’t suck against the Panthers, but the next two are against the Texans and Titans.
#5 – New Orleans Saints (0-3): Looked like they were going to turn it around against the Titans. Good time to have a bye week.
This Website Stinks!
I’ve taken a look at a lot of football websites and blogs since launching Football for Breakfast in July, and I’ve come to the realization that there are a lot of hateful things that I don’t want to be a part of this site.
–No Rumormonger: Reporting legitimate rumors is one thing, but spreading spurious mudslinging is something else. And when these lies prove to be lies, the purveyors shouldn’t blame their sources. We all have the ability to act responsibly.
-No ‘Gotcha!’: We will not play ‘gotcha’ with the media. Everyone makes simple mistakes. That’s life. But gleefully noting every verbal stumble, miscue or bad day is childish.
-No Mocking: We will not mock people. There is a difference between be critical of decisions or performances on and off the field and hatefully mocking individuals for their appearances or habits. So no nicknames or critiques of physical maladies and speech patterns. There are enough bad decisions and poor performances that we don’t need to stoop to grade school name-calling and teasing.
