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Incentives bring out selfish play

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Posted: Thursday September 30, 1999 04:58 PM

I'm seeing more and more selfish play in the NFL, and I believe a growing portion of it is incentive-based.

How many times do we see fourth-down passes intercepted? You would think the secondary would realize that when you bat down a fourth-down pass, it comes back to the line of scrimmage. You don't have the risk of the fumble. But, no, for the glory of the interception and the incentive package in your contract, you potentially jeopardize your team winning the ball game. That means the player is A) a bonehead, or B) selfish, or possibly both.

If you are paid for sacks, and you are a defensive lineman, why even defend against the run? So they trap you, who cares? So they gash you inside on a trap play for a 20-yard gain when you should have been holding (your ground) and playing a "two technique," controlling both gaps? Instead, the lineman is trying a quick swim move to the outside to try to come up with the sack to enhance his stats for the next contract or to reach an incentive in his current deal.

That's one of the reasons you are seeing Deion Sanders come back this week. He gets a tremendous bonus ($1.5 million) if he plays in 70 percent of the defensive snaps and makes the Pro Bowl. I'm not saying that he's not ready or that he could have come back earlier -- but he's coming back now, and it's tied to the contract.

This is why I'm opposed to individual achievement incentives in contracts. General managers should structure contracts so that they emphasize team accomplishment and goals. Individual incentives enhance and promote the selfishness of many players in the league.

Giving Manning his due

I've got to eat a little crow when it comes to Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts' rapidly developing young quarterback. I was somewhat of a Peyton skeptic when he first came out of Tennessee. I didn't think he was that accurate on his throws, and I didn't think he could rifle it in.

But his performance against the Chargers last Sunday was up, up and away. A 407-yard passing day and two touchdowns against a defensive team like San Diego will get your attention.

I give a lot of credit to Tom Moore, the crusty old offensive coordinator who has taken this young man under his wing. It has become obvious he has a lot of talent to work with, and Manning has made a believer out of me.

You can make the case that Indianapolis should be 3-0 instead of 2-1. They had a legitimate chance of beating New England on the road. Then they go into San Diego, traveling to California after a tough loss, and Manning throws up 400 yards, a franchise record. That's amazing.

Think about it. All those great years that Johnny Unitas had (with the Baltimore Colts), and here comes this second-year guy who outdoes them all -- on the road. And they threw it around back then, too, and defenses were not as sophisticated. In terms of receivers, Unitas had the likes of Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Jimmy Orr, and John Mackey

It looks like the combination of Manning to Colts' receiver Marvin Harrison, who caught 13 passes against the Chargers, is one to reckon with.

 

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