Don't look for the easy out
Posted: Monday October 12, 1998 05:06 PM
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The weekend started with a pleasant phone conversation with Otto
Graham, the man I consider the best quarterback of all-time even though
I never saw him play in person.
I got him in from doing yard work in Sarasota, and he sounded very happy to
get a break. Especially when I told him how great he was. "Fooled a
lot of people, didn't I?" he chuckled.
Not really. When you lead your team to the championship game of your sport
10 years in a row, no one is fooled about your greatness. Anyway, Graham is
76 now, and I asked him if he missed the game. He said he didn't, really.
He said he's glad he played in the era he played in, and coached in the era
he coached in.
"I am now convinced," Graham announced, "that you've got to
be crazy to play the game and stupid to coach it. It's so
win-or-else."
I bring up this wise old owl's comments for two reasons:
1. There is a feeling out there that firing the coach in a.)
Washington; b.) Philadelphia; c.) San Diego; d.) Chicago will actually move
those teams forward, make life better, and move those teams on the way to
playoffdom. Ridiculous. I agree that Norv Turner, Ray Rhodes, Kevin
Gilbride and Dave Wannstedt all will probably be gone by New
Year's Day. But now? It might mean one or two wins in each place, but from
the mania of fans in those towns, you'd think the change would turn all
their seasons around and be wild-card contenders. I don't know what logic
these people are using. Ryan Leaf would still be awful right now
regardless of whether Kevin Gilbride or June Jones is making up the
gameplan, and if Gilbride or Jones is whipping up the troops before the
game.
2. There's a feeling that incumbent quarterbacks for struggling
teams must be benched, or that incumbents shouldn't get their job back.
Glenn Foley and Danny Kanell in New York. Elvis Grbac
in Kansas City. Maybe even Brad Johnson in Minnesota. I can accept
Foley, even though Vinny Testaverde has been little more than a
caretaker in his two wins. I can't accept Kanell because he's been playing
behind the leakiest offensive line in the league. Rich Gannon over
Grbac in Kansas City? Because Gannon went 3-1 in Grbac's stead? Because he
beat San Diego, Seattle and Philadelphia? That's the craziest new thing in
football. When a backup quarterback wins a game, all of a sudden the media
and fans start saying: "You can't replace John Doe! He's won three out
of four?"
Enjoy the games, everybody. And stop thinking there's an easy solution to
badness.
Now for this week's awards:
Offensive Player of the Week: St. Louis QB Tony Banks. I can be a man
about this. A few weeks ago, I said Tony Banks would be the death of
coach Dick Vermeil. While I still think he will be, you've got to
hand it to Banks for completing 15 passes in a row against a decent Jets
defense, and for piloting a 20-point win. A 75 % passing day (18 of 24)
with no picks is a sign Banks is making better decisions than he ever has.
Defensive Player of the Week: Arizona LB Ronald McKinnon. No
one's ever heard of this guy, but he led a pretty good defense in tackles
last year and picked off Erik Kramer three times in the Cards' 20-7
win over Chicago. He also brought a blocked punt back 31 yards. As Oakland
coach Jon Gruden told me last week: "Watch out for the
Cardinals. They've got a bunch of great players on defense."
Special Teams Players of the Week: St. Louis K Jeff Wilkins. He
kicked a 53-yard field goal against the Jets in the Trans World Dome that,
I swear, hit three-quarters up the net behind the end zone. If Dick Vermeil
gives this guy a chance some day when a Rams drive stalls at the opposing
47 inside a dome, Wilkins will break Tom Dempsey's NFL record of a
63-yard field goal.
Coach of the Week: Buffalo's Wade Phillips. Phillips had the guts to
make Doug Flutie a backup quarterback in a league full of geniuses,
all of whom thought Flutie was too short to play competently.
Goat of the Week: Collective. It's Kansas City's defense. Try
showing up the next time you've got a big conference game, fellas.
Now for the Ten Things I Think I Think this week:
1. I think the Giants can't block, can't run and can't play special
teams. We all thought that would be good enough to win the NFC East. Guess
not. I also think New York corner Carlton Gray might want to cover
Atlanta's Terence Mathis one of these decades.
2. I think Americans are rooting for Panthers QB Steve
Beuerlein as intently this week as they were booing Chuck
Knoblauch last week.
3. I think we've all counted out 37-year-old Chris Doleman
eight or 10 times in the last couple of years, and then he beats a pretty
good offensive line in New Orleans Sunday for four sacks of 24-year-old
Danny Wuerffel.
4. I think, speaking of sacks, that someone should put out a
pass-rushing APB for Chiefs LB Derrick Thomas, who didn't get a
sniff of Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe on Sunday. First four quarters for
Thomas this year: six sacks. Last 20 quarters: one sack.
5. I think I want to see El Duque pitch Game 7.
6. I think Doug Flutie—after sprinting around right end
for a key 12-yard run for a first down in the the third quarter Sunday,
after going a stunning 23 of 28 to beat the Colts Sunday—ought to have
a good laugh at everyone in this country who said he couldn't do it.
7. I think Seahawks QB John Friesz did not leave last week's
game with Kansas City with a headache, as was reported on national TV. When
Seattle coach Dennis Erickson was asked why he pulled Friesz during
the game, he told a Seahawks official: "Coach's decision."
8. I think I've changed my mind and now think Kansas City should
trade a second-round choice to Philadelphia for running back Charlie
Garner. The trading deadline is Tuesday. Garner is the only
electrifying player to be had in this market. The Chiefs need an
electrifying something. Kansas City GM Carl Peterson told me again
Sunday evening that the Eagles are asking too much when they ask for a
second-round pick in exchange for a guy who'll be a free-agent in three
months. But this team's getting long in the tooth at some spots. Sometimes
you've got to roll the dice, especially when the running game puts up a
14-yard number, as it did Sunday.
9. I think the nicest view in the NFL, even on a misty day like
Sunday, is the October foliage looking northeast from the Foxboro Stadium
press box into the eastern Massachusetts trees.
10. I think the worst view in the NFL is the endless taillights I
see sitting in traffic, which I do on every visit to Foxboro, even two
hours after the game.
And for my top 10:
1. Denver (6-0)
2. Minnesota (5-0)
3. Green Bay (4-1)
4. San Francisco (4-1)
5. New England (4-1)
6. Jacksonville (4-0)*
Can I stop now? No? Grudgingly, I go on.
7. Kansas City (4-2)
8. Pittsburgh (3-2)
9. Miami (3-1)*
10. (tie) Atlanta (4-1); Tampa Bay (2-3)
*—Not including Monday night
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