From Nine to Five

It was an old-fashioned shootout. Just as you'd want on Monday Night Football, there was Number 9, young Tony Romo firing bullets to the infamous T.O. But there was Number 5 Donovan McNabb on the other side, looking like the quarterback of yesteryear, finding his new favorite target, one DeSean Jackson.

Two great quarterbacks, massive offensive lines, inventive defenses, funny commentators, this game had it all. It had Romo showing his best and worst, opening with a 70-yard bomb to Owens but also fumbling in the end zone to give the Eagles a free touchdown.

It had McNabb, skillfully carving up the Boys defense, dumping off to Westbrook, shooting bullets right, left and center. The Cowboys emerged victorious by a 41-37 count, but there were several lead changes and the result was in doubt until the final whistle.

Both qb's are mobile, accurate and enjoy playing the game. What more could you want from a football game? Two offenses moving the ball down the field against tenacious defenses, two offensive lines neutralizing pass rushes and enabling their teams to run the ball. Close at the half and close at the end.

The Cowboys emerged with the win, of course, after a couple of tough possessions by the Birds, one that ended with an overthrown lob to Westbrook and one with the old hook and ladder. The real end for the Eagles, though, was Demarcus Ware's sack of a scrambling McNabb on 3rd down.

In the final analysis, though, the Cowboys had too many weapons for the Birds. While McNabb had the indefatigable Westbrook and the mercurial DeSean, Romo had Owens and Crayton, Barber and Witten. But he also got a huge assist in the scoring department from Felix Jones, who exploded through a wedge for a touchdown on a kickoff return.

The game also had more than its share of zaniness. DeSean Jackson almost lost his TD for tossing the ball away as he was crossing the goal line. Romo also had an interception that was the result of his trying to make something from nothing. As good as Romo was for most of the game, he could have been the goat after making two critical errors, both resulting in Philadelphia scores.

All this impressive football coming from the NFC East must give the Giants pause. It looks like it will be another tough season. As well as the Giants have played thus far, they’ll have to play even better to get by either of these two juggernauts. The Redskins will be no pushover the next time either, judging by their impressive victory over the Saints on Sunday.

Our G-Men looked solid in their opener against the Redskins, but it was tough after one game to gain much perspective, especially since the Skins looked pathetic at times. Their new coach, Jim Zorn, looked as if he was coaching his first game. And, although the Giants wound up with a clear victory over the Rams on Sunday, it was really a pretty close game for three quarters.

Let’s face it….the Giants can look pretty pedestrian at times. I suppose you could call it workmanlike. With Brandon Jacobs pounding the ball, the Giants bread and butter, it’s almost like an old Ohio State offense, three yards and a cloud of dust.

If it weren’t for Eli’s finding Plaxico and Amani early and often, it’d be easy to fall asleep. And, with Strahan gone and Umenyiora hurt, the defense isn’t quite as impressive as it had been at year’s end. In fact, the Giants didn’t start looking really impressive until they inserted the fellows who got them so far last year, Ahmad Bradshaw and Steve Smith.

Not that I’m complaining, but the Giants haven’t looked as good as the Eagles and Cowboys have so far. Of course, that could change really easily, especially with that offensive line. And Justin Tuck. But I do think that calling the Giants three running backs “earth, wind and fire” is a bit premature (and stupid).

I’ve been trying to ignore the Jets this year but it’s been awfully tough, what with all the nonsense surrounding Mr. Favre. In truth, I find it impossible to root for them anymore. Mangini really doesn’t send me. Neither does Tannenbaum. And I hope everybody noticed Mr. Favre made no difference whatsoever against the Pats on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers, Mr. Favre’s replacement at Green Bay, has looked very good though. It’ll be a pleasure rooting for him and Green Bay this year, as much fun as rooting for the Bills and Miami in the AFC East. And, while I’m thrilled that the Pats soundly thrashed the boys in green on Sunday, it’ll be difficult to root for them going forward. After all, Belichick doesn’t really evoke much sympathy.

Aside from the Giants, who I picked to win every playoff game last year, and the Super Bowl, this football year, for me, will be all about guys like Kurt Warner, who is easy to root for, throwing dart after dart to Fitzgerald and Boldin for Arizona.

Then, of course, there are the new quarterbacks, not just Rodgers but also guys like Jerseyan Flacco for the Ravens, and B.C.’s own Matt Ryan, who impressed in his opener before somewhat of a relapse on Sunday when his running game abandoned him. And there’s Chad Henne in Miami playing for the Tuna, along with one of my favorite people in all the world, a fella named Chad Pennington.

Yeah, this year will be all about young quarterbacks, Cutler in Denver and Garrard in Jacksonville, and let’s not forget Trent Edwards in Buffalo, who lofted a beautiful pass to his new receiver, James Hardy, in the corner of the end zone. And Matt Cassell in New England hasn’t been too shabby either, has he?

But, unless you count Eli, the finest young QB of them all may be Number 9 in Big D. And the finest veteran might be wearing Number 5 in Philly, making Eagles fly.

All About the Leaders

t’s tough to think about sports with any degree of seriousness on September 11^th. I’m always taken back to my living room, watching a newscast with some morning coffee. They first said it appeared a private plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Then they discovered it wasn’t a private plane at all but a commercial airliner.

And, as I watch, already horrified, another jet crashes into the tower. Three people from my town were killed, including a good friend of my daughter. And there is no World Trade Center.

In the aftermath, our leader vowed to get the people responsible. Then he assigned the responsibility to a country he hated, and, what a coincidence, Cheney was a key figure in the mistaken notion that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction. So off we went to war for no reason, killing Iraqis and a lot of Americans too.

Seven years later, we have no clue as to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. We’re assured people are looking though. The economy is horrible, nobody can sell their house, and the dollar is doing its best impression of a peso. Oh, it’s pretty tough to get a job too. Maybe that’ll curtail the flow of illegal immigrants.

We have only two “legitimate” candidates for President. And, once again, the prospective Vice Presidents are far and away more impressive than the Presidential candidates. There’s something wrong with our picture.

Leaders determine a great deal in life, and in the sports world too. We of course have seen the Mets take on new life since Jerry Manuel took the reins. Willie Randolph was a great sportsman and a nice man. Some say our President shares those traits. Wasn’t he reading a story to a class of children during the attack on New York City? Wasn’t he addressing a nice group of Republicans when Katrina slammed into New Orleans?

How does this tie in with the world of sports, you may ask? Well, the only bridge I can construct is leadership. Bad leaders accumulate losses and good ones rack up the wins. And teams tend to take on the character of the leader. Our country seems arrogant and hurtful and even stupid to the world right now. We must hope….. no, pray, that either candidate will be better….. much better.

As much of an influence, though, as a good solid leader can have on a baseball game, and a baseball team, that influence pales in significance compared to that of the head coach in professional football, and major college football too, for that matter.

The days when a quarterback could call his own plays are gone, of course, almost beyond recall. (Not for me but for many of you, I’m sure). The head coach puts together the game plan and usually calls each play. But, beyond that enormous influence, he also determines the type of players a team will acquire and dictates their behavior on the field.

It’s the worst thing that ever happened to football. A team can have a great passing quarterback such as Kurt Warner, for example, and he’ll be forced to run the football until his team is almost hopelessly behind.

Conversely, there are countless stories of the great running quarterbacks, such as Michael Vick and Vince Young, who are shackled to the pocket by coaches more interested in their system than winning, or, too limited mentally to figure out that the system that worked with their previous team won’t necessarily work with the team they have now.

The best coaches adapt their styles to their personnel. That is why Bill Belichick can win with overpowering defense, or win with an overwhelming passing attack, or win with a hard-hitting running attack. He adapts his style to his personnel, unlike Mike Martz and the new genius in Arizona.

Another mark of good leaders is that they can adapt to changing styles of play and new ideas that work. That is why we are seeing a lot more emphasis already this year on rushing the passer. The Giants’ convincing win over the supposed team of the century was accomplished by maintaining a constant stream of pressure on Tom Brady. The better teams with the better coaches will copy that style this year. And already this young season, we’ve seen Tom Brady get hurt and Peyton Manning fail to beat the Bears.

It seems to me that this new philosophy will prove a very dangerous one indeed for the quarterback population. Vince Young is hurt too, and maybe mentally as well as physically, if Coach Fischer can be believed. Fantasy footballers especially will feel the pinch when the better quarterbacks go down. Will Romo be next?

But the better coaches will already have been thinking about adaptations. More screens and draws maybe, more quick releases; the running backs who can catch the ball should see an increase in their usefulness and productivity, as will the Wes Welkers of the world. Especially against teams with the big pass rush, those quick hitters will be the only way to survive.

We might see teams loading up on quarterbacks, or see them feature better backups or perhaps younger backups. We’ve certainly seen already an adaptation to the injury factor with the almost universal switch to dual running backs. We’ve already seen the better teams, and smarter teams, put a more pronounced emphasis on the offensive line, at least if their increasing salaries is any indication.

Whatever changes are incorporated into the game, though, it’ll be the head coaches with smarts and imagination who will carry the day, and the season, as Belichick has, and Parcells, and a few others, if perhaps to a lesser extent. In a way, Parcells’s style or system already incorporates the injury risk factor, calling not only for big linemen but also for big linebackers and even a big secondary.

Sports emulates life and it’ll be a different type of season. Leadership will determine the winners, and the losers too

Of Real Men and Weakness

Shawn Merriman had some big trouble with his knees. ACL, MCL, whatever….it was serious. Merriman had been feeling pain in his knees since 2006. Yet the man still wanted to play. He was panned far and wide for his decision, by players, coaches, former coaches, TV analysts, doctors….the whole gamut of people and professions who’d have anything to say on the matter. I say “Good for you, Shawn”. At least you tried to keep playing.

Billy Wagner, upon being questioned as to how his son Will felt about his Dad not playing ball anymore, broke down a bit, trying to hold back the tears for not being able to provide that same cool Dad he had always been, at least not for a while.

Jerry Manuel confronted Jose Reyes in his coaching debut, he changes ineffective pitchers, he threatens established players with “rest”, he plays the guys who produce while giving everybody every opportunity that he can to do just that.

Carlos Delgado refused another curtain call for another two homer day, saying it’s not the right time, this after smacking about a bazillion home runs since the middle of July, not to mention the singles and doubles he’s had with the game on the line.

Carlos Beltran worried about his knee but still played on in centerfield. David Wright worked with his batting coach when his production fell off and went 2 for 4. Ryan Church shook off his concussion and his slow start after his return by smacking a home run.

LaDainian Tomlinson had the nerve in last year’s playoffs to sit when he knew his knee would not allow him to be an effective player in the biggest game of the year, this despite knowing the heat he’d take for sitting.

Jake Delhomme came back from his injury to throw a dart for a TD pass with zero seconds on the clock. Willie Parker came back from his injury to wipe out the Texans in his first game back. Larry Fitzgerald practiced his blocking to make way for his running backs.

Okay…enough. But these are real men. They try as hard as they can. They try to get better. They have the courage to take the big hit. They have the humility to turn down any unseemly adulation. They use their brains to the fullest. They maximize their resources. They motivate. They have human feelings. They also have human failings but overcome them.

What they don’t do is whine. What they don’t do is say, “look at me, please look at me some more, let every camera be focused on me”. They either don’t brag or, in very few cases, they back up a brag. They play hurt if they think they can be effective, or they sit if they know they can’t produce, damn the consequences. They have the confidence through practice to produce when the game is on the line.

Then there are the weaknesses in men and organizations, only too easy to pick out.

Chad Johnson is a perfect example, a borderline lunatic…. I don’t really care that he changed his name, but the reason was bad. Muhammad Ali had his reason. Anthony Dorsett had a reason too, even if it was specious reasoning. Any reason other than focusing all eyes on himself would have suited me. And yes, I know the team ignored his contract demands.

Then there are group weaknesses, specifically team weaknesses, that persist year after year. It’s frustrating as a fan of football to watch the Detroit Lions fail year after year to do anything to improve their situation, and not just the Lions, but also the Oakland Raiders, the Houston Texans, and those Chad-full Cincinnati Bengals.

It has to be assumed that for these teams that consistently fail, there is a group lack of character, and it is easy to infer from this that the weakness is right at the top of the organization.

In the Lions’ case, it’s the Ford family, stubbornly refusing to change an obviously blundering joke of a General Manager, who for years drafted only wide receivers, then changed coaches on both sides of the ball. Never though has he thought to pick up any offensive linemen.

Then of course there is Al Davis, who drafts skill players year after year and has a penchant for glitz, more glitz and cornerbacks. Lately they’ve drafted the best quarterback and then the best halfback in the draft. But Al’s team has been an embarrassment for a few years now. This team couldn’t block the Rutgers Newark boys choir. (I don’t know that there is one. If there is, there may be some tough singers on it).

They say the game has passed Al by. I’d have to agree. Gene Upshaw’s death reminded me that the Raiduhs used to have a GREAT offensive line. Former long-time Raider coach and current TV personality John Madden has consistently expounded on the significance of the offensive line in books and on the air. C’mon Al, take a hint.

Then there are the Houston Texans. They made a veritable basket case out of David Carr. Only now as the Giants backup QB are we able to see what Carr could have been if he hadn’t developed the happiest feet since Fred Astaire. A number of prognosticators actually like their chances this year. But after their frightfully inept performance against the Steelers, it’s hard to see them contending for anything. Ever.

All may not be lost though. I mean, look at the Chicago Cubs. They haven’t won the pennant since 1945! But now, led by sweet Lou Piniella, they’ve got some real men of their own. Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and others almost too numerous to mention. All that and pitching too.

I think we’ll all be seeing the Chicago real men meet the Mets real men in October. These are two teams that shucked the obstacles standing in their way. If they can just get there, they’ll both be ready to go.