On Bad Coaches and Players and Good Games

As I finally get to watch a college bowl game that I’ve heard of, the Cotton Bowl, my thoughts turn to some of the crazy happenings this week in sports.

Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan’s responses to questions regarding his job status, Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniel’s decision to bench Brandon Marshall for the finale and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s decision to take Nate Robinson off the bench against the Hawks, come immediately to mind.

First there is the remarkable story of Bill Sheridan, Giants defensive coordinator.

He benched Osi Umenyiora, arguably the best defensive player on the team. He never rushed the passer despite having the worst secondary in the league. His players never showed any heart despite having shown pretty unequivocally two years ago that they had huge heart when playing for Steve Spagnuolo. He’s big on losing the forest for the trees.

But Sheridan thinks he should be retained. He actually said the following earlier this week:
“One thing at least we will get credit for is we stuck to our plan of how we’re going to coach and how we’re going to teach and gameplan….We’ve done that every single week and, like they say, the proof will be in hindsight.”

Excuse me, Bill, but……this year’s Giants defense has performed worse than just about any Giants defense in the long and mostly illustrious history of that great franchise. They have allowed 49 touchdowns in 15 forgettable contests, 20 on the ground, 27 through the air and 2 special teams TD’s.

The best defensive team also resides in New York, or actually New Jersey, if you want to be technical. That would be the New York Jets. They actually have a meaningful game tomorrow. Anyway, they have allowed just 26 (vs. 49) touchdowns, 11 rushing (vs. 20), just 8 (vs. 27) through the air, and a comparatively bad 7 on special teams. Compare….8 receiving touchdowns to the Giants 27!

Sheridan is a man who tried to get himself situated in the booth rather than the sidelines for games. His responses the other day to questions as to his job status tell you why. They are suggestive as to his personality. He is an automaton.

Football is an emotional game. Maybe Sheridan would fit better at Toyota.
I’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief when he is gone.

I actually have mixed feelings on the Josh McDaniels/Brandon Marshall showdown number 2. On Marshall’s side is the fact that an injury is an injury. On the coach’s side is the fact that an MRI showed nothing wrong. Coach also is sitting Tony Scheffler, his tight end, who has grumbled about game plans. Good for him. They should take the measure of Kansas City without those two malcontents.

Then there’s the curious case of Nate Robinson, the nutcase Knicks guard with a lot of talent and…..well, that’s all. He scored 41 last night to beat the Hawks but the Knicks record without Robinson in the lineup was 9-6. Nate doesn’t defend, doesn’t listen to his coach… or anybody for that matter, and doesn’t seem to really care who wins the game.

I’m almost sorry Robinson impressed last night. The Knicks are better without him. Good for Mike D’Antoni for having the guts to sit him, and the guts to play him as a last resort. But Robinson won’t change. In the long run, he’ll be a detriment to winning. Bring him in when you need some scoring and then sit him along with his other clueless friend Mr. Curry.

I’ve pretty much had it with selfish players. And clueless coaches too.

In this same vein, in a new book by Bob McGinn, “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book”, there are some real gems, including stats from the games and other things you’d expect, but also some interviews and quotes from coaches and players in hindsight on the games. I highly recommend it.

For Giants fans, there are several tidbits of “inside the game” type material, such as Bill Belichick’s take on the game, details as to the defensive calls and big plays, and a re-hash of the big catch by Tyree and the double-move and fade by Plaxico for the game-winner.

There are also quotes from Spagnuolo, such as his recollection of the long Patriots drive that preceded the winning Giants drive…..”It was max-protection, they kept the tight end in. They were in a pressure situation needing to score and they executed their offense…..We should have pressured more.”

It’s also worth noting that Rex Ryan’s Dad Buddy coached the defensive line for the Jets in Super Bowl III, and that Don Maynard was hurt pretty badly, which was why George Sauer caught all the passes that day from Broadway Joe. I was also reminded that, after the AFL Kansas City Chiefs whipped the NFL’s Vikings the very next year, 1970, there was the merger.

Each one of those first four NFL-AFL games was truly more than a game. Ever since, each Super Bowl has pretty much just been another game.

Not that each game doesn’t have its own excitement though; tomorrow’s Jets game will certainly go a long way towards defining the Jets stature in New York, along with that of Rex Ryan and those defensive stars, Revis and Scott and Harris, and whether Ochocinco will make good on his web-site promises.

There’s the Cowboys-Eagles game too. Will McNabb and that wondrous group of wide-outs dictate against a Cowboys defense that sparkles, especially against the run. (When I was foaming at the mouth about the Eagles earlier, I hadn’t considered that the Boyz defense had only allowed 7 rushing touchdowns all year and just 19 through the air….the Eagles numbers are 10 and 25…quite a difference).

The Pats – Texans will also be a big one. The Texans have a decent shot at the playoffs still, and the 1 PM start guarantees they won’t know in advance how the Ravens and Broncos and Jets are doing.

The Steelers have about the same shot. Stay tuned.