Mailbag: All-Pro disputes
Posted: Friday January 08, 1999 02:18 PM
Got a question or comment for Dr. Z? Click
here.
Was there anyone out there who actually liked my All-Pro team?
OK, let's get into it, complaint by complaint, and please forgive me if I
don't identify each complainer by name, particularly if he deals with the
same player that others do. I don't want this to read like the telephone
directory.
One quick preamble. Someone, can't remember who, ripped me for brushing
off the second half of the season, noting that I probably went with the
names I'd logged in at the halfway point. Hey, Jack, how would you like to
take off your glasses and step outside? The team I picked comes from a
study of the 128 games I saw, in their entirety, through Week 15 of the
season -- which includes game-by-game charts on the 114 players who made my
final checklist. Not meaning to brag about what hot stuff I am, but I DO
take this thing seriously.
Nick of Chicago feels that my work-up formulas have
"zombified" the players and that I neglect the intangibles. I
tried to explain in my column just how many factors were considered, and
the intangibles were certainly part of it, but I guess he wasn't paying
attention to that section. I got ripped for counting tackles instead of
giving credit to the guy who blows up the play. That's exactly what I DON'T
do, as I feebly tried to explain, but once again, this guy's attention span
must have been worn out by then. Finally I got ripped for sloughing off
sacks as meaningless plays. Uh-uh, not meaningless at all -- it's just
that, in my system, I award the sack to the guy who creates it,
rather than the one who inherits it.
Are we all straight now? OK, I've calmed down and finished yelling at my
poor wife who was witness to my muttering and cursing as I read through
this pile of mail. Let's get to the real stuff.
Darrell Green. Many
folks were upset not only that I didn't pick him but that I didn't even
give him a call in my roster of finalists. OK, I'll tell it as it is: For
some reason, God knows what, we're only human and all that, I didn't do a
work-up on him. A mindless error. I've picked him many times in the past.
So just now I devoted 40 minutes to a Darrell Green game-by-game study. If
he had graded higher than the two corners I picked, Ty Law and Sam Madison, believe me,
I'd have done an amended All-Pro and he'd have replaced one of these guys.
I saw Darrell eight times this year. Some very good games, one or two
downers, such as the last Giants' affair, when Ike Hilliard beat him for
an 11-yard TD and a 46-yard underthrown stop-and-go. He ended on a very
high note, burying the Bucs' Bert Emanuel when he had
him one-on-one all over the field. I mean he really owned the guy.
Darrell ended up just a tick below the two people I picked, about even with
the Dolphins' Terrell
Buckley, another late work-up. My system is based on overall
consistency. One game might jump out at you and that's the one you
remember, but it doesn't define a season. My No.1 corner in the NFL was
the Raiders' Eric
Allen. He ran away with it. But he got hurt in the 10th game, and
that's my cutoff point. A player has to have 10 full games under his belt
to make my team. That's the deal on Deion Sanders as well,
which I hope answers the queries from people who can't understand why I
didn't pick either of these two gentlemen.
Lots of people are upset with my choice of Marshall Faulk as All-Pro
and Player of the Year. Emotion figured in here, the
"intangibles," as my buddy, Nick, would say. I reserve a special
place for people who absolutely kill themselves in lost causes, who never
quit (hate to sound so corny here). You could make a good case for half a
dozen other people, but none of them had as much reason to pack it in as
Faulk did.
Lots of heat, as well, for my choice of Randall Cunningham as the
All-Pro QB. For sure, he was helped by a great set of wideouts, but I think
it's unfair to accuse him of just putting the ball up for grabs and letting
them run under it. Some of the passes were deliberate underthrows. I think
he showed great touch on his mid-to-long-range efforts. Best of all, he
has turned into a reader of defenses, which he never was in his Philly
days.
Steve Young? Yes,
you're right, I should have included him in my list of those considered.
He wasn't my All-Pro, though, because I think he slipped this year. Not a
lot, but enough to give defenses the feel that if he's subjected to enough
heat he'll throw the pick, sooner or later. A very harsh evaluation for a
great player, but that's the way he seemed to me in the 11 games I saw him
play.
On the subject of Niners -- Pat B. of Fairfax, Va. , and Mike
of Omaha wondered how I could have left off Terrell Owens. Easy,
because he was a third wideout, not a starter. Adam of Melbourne,
Australia , calls Bryant Young the most
overrated defensive linemen in football. No chance, as long as Warren Sapp is still in
the league. Young, who gets double-teamed all game long, is the most
technically correct and one of the hardest-working DT's in the game.
Always around the ball.
The Jerry Rice
situation: I didn't include him because he is no longer a deep threat, or,
as the Packers game showed, even a mid-range threat. His decent gains comes
on slants, followed by broken tackles. He's still an effective
short-range, possession receiver, particularly on the quick slant.
Finally, to Dave of San Francisco , who accuses me of an
anti-Niners bias, as if that was the reason I failed to select a single
member of the 49ers' offense -- to this guy, this bird (no, no, Linda, I'm
not shouting at you ... relax), I say the following: You ever hear of
Johnny Strike and Frankie the Magician and Visco Grgich and Bruno Banducci
and Norm "Big Chief" Standlee? You know why they called him The
Big Chief? Because when he was a Stanford student he lived above the
firehouse, that's why. Did you sit in Kezar, freezing, agonizing, as
Johnny U. completed still another one of those turn-outs to Ray Berry
against Abe Woodson? Did you cry real tears when the Niners blew the
playoff game to Detroit in '57 and Dallas in '70? Well, I did. That was my
team, man. Anti-Niners bias! Where do you guys dream up your stuff?
To the Packers fans out there, to Alex of Jacksonville and
Kevin in New Berlin and, again, Nick of Chicago and Adam
of Port Edwards, Wis. , you know who you are, all of you who are upset
because I neglected Reggie
White and LeRoy
Butler, I say the following: Butler was a finalist, along with five
other strong safeties. I had him even with the Vikings' Robert Griffith (how come
so few Roberts in the NFL are called Bob, and Williams aren't called Bill
anymore? This might be something for an investigative study), and slightly
behind Rodney Harrison,
whom I chose. The reason? Harrison was a bit more active, which sounds
lame, I know, but kind of describes it. Big Reg is another matter. Sacks,
yes, but overall contribution over the course of a game, no. Got lots of
relief. Just didn't make as many plays as the other guys did. His place in
history? Well, my all-time DEs are Deacon Jones and the Broncos' Richie
"Tombstone" Jackson, but they were head-slappers, and I don't
know how they'd have fared after that move was outlawed. Reg will displace
one of them, I'm just not sure which one. You always hate to see your old
friends fade away.
More All-Pros. The Sanders gang. Deion, Barry and Frank. The Cardinals'
Frank caught a lot of balls, but his teammate, Rob Moore, was more feared
as a downfield threat. Deion, as I mentioned earlier, didn't have enough
games to qualify. Barry is terrific, but can you honestly pick him over
Davis or Anderson or Faulk, based on overall contribution? (I hate that
term. Sounds like the March of Dimes or something. So why do I keep using
it?)
Greg of Richmond wonders about O.J.McDuffie. Lots of catches for
low average-yards-per. I've also seen him drop too many.
Paul of Puyallup (sounds like the beginning of a sight gag), Wash.
, pushes for Shawn
Springs. Didn't I mention him? I should have. I did a work-up on him
and he finished around eighth among my corners. A good, aggressive player
with occasional lapses.
Gene of Boston goes for Isaac Bruce. I mean are
you kidding, or what? If pulled hamstrings were touchdowns he'd be in the
Hall of Fame. But I did have him as my No. 1 a few years ago.
Now we come to the Randy
Moss situation. Some people feel that Fred Taylor was slighted
when I made Moss my Rookie of the Year. Sorry, Fred had a significant
impact, but Moss turned that offense into a monster. And once again I must
go through the old mea culpa bit because I had him as a dog going into the
draft. Thank you, James of Toronto , and Mr. Cheer or Die of
Plymouth, Minn. , who is so vicious that he's ashamed to use his right
name, if he has one, and all you others out there who simply will not
excuse one tiny, little mistake from one who freely admits same and does
not try to cover it, or others, with a lot of blah-blah. I was wrong, see.
I thought the bump-corners in the NFL would remove his game. I still
would like to see what happens if Aeneas Williams plays a
tight press against him in the playoff Sunday. You want to hear some of my
other mistakes? I said, on national TV no less, that Dan Marino would never make
it in the NFL because he pushes the ball. I said that the Bucs would be in
the Super Bowl this year. I said "I do" 33 years ago when they
paired me with a lady doctor. Had enough?
Brian of Phoenix , which is where Linda is from (no, she's not the
lady doctor), is in Aeneas Williams's and Jamir Miller's corner.
Aeneas was oh-so-close on my team. I've picked him many times in the past.
Time to give other people a chance. But he's still a great player.
Miller? Wow, did he come on late! If he goes at that pace next season,
he'll be my No. 1. Here's an interesting thing about the Cardinals: Did
you notice how they really picked up the pace, defensively, after Eric Swann departed?
Just checked with the booth. We're still live? OK, I'll keep it going.
Neal of Long Island thinks that Fred Taylor did more than Barry Sanders did. Neal,
baby, pay attention. I never picked Barry.
Scott of Berkeley "but living in Prague" (don't they
call them the Twin Cities?) wants Garrison Hearst included.
Best player on the field vs. the Packers, no question. Heroic performance.
Just couldn't see him above the twosome I selected.
Jimmy Hitchcock, from Zach of Reading, Pa. Took a lot of chances
that paid off. A big year for sure. Not as consistent, I believe, as the
pair I picked.
Reggie Tongue, from Scott of Overland Park, Kans. A fine player,
coming up to the line to stuff running plays. Not as good in coverage as a
few others.
Tom of Chicago is pro-Bears, anti-Ravens, All-Pro-wise. Mike Wells and Jim Flanigan were honest
pluggers without the talent of the guys I picked. How could the
"miserable Ravens" put three players on my team? Dunno. It
happens sometimes. I grade people, select the ones who grade highest. I
don't go back and look at the overall list and say, "Gee, I can't pick
three Ravens," and then move in someone I don't like as well.
Ryan of New York is loyal to two terrific Jets, Victor Green and Wayne Chrebet. Chrebet,
along with Keyshawn, was in my wideout shootout. He finished about seventh
among the top 10. Did a lot, but so did other people. For many years
Green had led my list of top safeties, playing the force. I mean, an
unbelievable tackling machine. Not quite as good a cover guy as a few
others -- also, he's protected in the zone a lot. If you're looking for an
unsung hero on this year's Jets, though, try Ray Mickens, whom I simply
had to have on my team, so I created a new position for him, nickel-back.
I haven't talked to Bill Belichick about him yet, but I'll bet you he has
him graded highest of all his DB's.
Paul of Denver awards a guard spot to the Steelers' Brendon Stai.
Solid banger, better drive-blocker than pass-blocker. Kind of like Will Shields of the
Chiefs, but Stai had a better year.
John of Chicago thinks that Chris Chandler is the
All-Pro QB based on the Wall Street Journal's favorite stat, yards
per pass. It's not yards per pass, John, it's yards per completion. Big
difference. The NFL's grading system is keyed to yards per attempt, which
I think is wrong, since it gives double weight to completion percentage.
I've been keeping yards per completion stats for years because it's a
better indicator of who the dinkers are, as opposed to the down-the-field
throwers. Chandler's number was an outasight 16.6, way ahead of the
competition. Yes, a case could be made for him. I just think that
Cunningham's contribution (there's that word again) was more significant.
John L'Heureux of Hampton, Va. , and I mention the full name
because it's so intriguing (Means "John the Happy," does it not?
Man, I coulda gone places with a name like that), opts for Mike Alstott and Zach Thomas. Alstott
didn't look like he was in shape for the first part of the season. Thomas,
as I mentioned, was my No.1 MLB in coverage, but not overall.
Freddy K. of San Diego questions my system because I left Darren Woodson off. If my
system was as injured this year as Woodson was, I'd be looking for a new
system.
Bruce Matthews, says Tim of Houston (hey, Tim, they don't play
there anymore, you dig?). Nope, a fine guard but he didn't quite have the
year that my pair did.
Here we go again, a serious rip for leaving John Randle off, and this
one comes from Brian of Duluth . He has a novel argument, though,
namely that Bryant Young got serious help from Chris Doleman and Roy Barker, whereas Randle
was going it alone. Well, first of all there's Jerry Ball to absorb the
double-team vs. the run (Randle gets no such distinction because he waltzes
himself out of running plays), and there's Alexander and Fisk and Colinet
and Williams and Clemons and now Kailee Wong to come flying
in from the other wing. No help? Hey, it's a mob scene there.
Jeff of Indianapolis wants Peyton Manning as Rookie
of the Year. Uh-uh, too many picks. I'll give you a shocking stat. The
AP has been choosing a rookie of the year since 1957, when Jim Brown won
it. There have been 42 players selected. Guess how many were
quarterbacks. Go on, take a wild guess. A hint: make it low, I mean
rill low. Five you say? Lower. Three? Keep going. The answer is
zero. Zip. Nada. You could look it up.
Finally, whew, the non-All-Pro queries, and I actually found a couple.
Andrew of Columbia, Mo. : What's wrong with the Chiefs?
Undisciplined. All those penalties. Were their heads really into it? No
focus at the QB position, which isn't exactly news. When will this
organization ever go with a home-grown product? Skill people aren't really
all that skilled. Worst of all, every few games there's a new
flavor-of-the-month athlete. Now it's Bam Morris. Used to be Donnell Bennett. Andre Rison looked like his
mind was elsewhere. They never signed their best D-lineman, Dan Williams, and they
couldn't find one guy up front to rally 'round. Many, many organizational
mistakes, but it could be a one-year aberration, when everything went
wrong, since this club has been pretty solid.
Jerry of Chantilly, Va. , says that the old-time offenses were
worse because they faced crummy defenses. Yeah, pass defenses that mugged
receivers all the way down the field, and D-linemen who head-slapped their
way into the quarterback, and less liberal holding rules to help the
O-linemen. You judge a team by how it played in its particular era, not
how it would line up now, and that's why I consider the '50 and '51 Rams a
great unit. The best offense ever? I'd say San Diego with Muncie and Fouts
and Jefferson and Joiner and Winslow. You also denigrate the past by saying
that film clips of the great runners showed them running through some very
inferior tackling. Twenty years from now, what will a Barry Sanders film
clip reveal?
Got a question or comment for Dr. Z? Click
here.
|
