Jack’s Blog

In the April 28, 2008 addition of Sports Illustrated - yeah, five years ago - there was an article about the NFL draft.  Not surprising, since it was the same time of year as the one held a few days ago.  The article was about the 1998 draft, the one with Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf, and with the #5 pick (Curtis Enis, who retired from the league two years later) and the #92 pick (Hines Ward, who became the Super Bowl XL MVP).  A couple of the people quoted in the piece were New Orleans coach Sean Payton and former Green Bay Packers general manager, and current San Diego Chargers consultant, Ron Wolf.

Their discussion was, naturally, about the “science” of drafting football players.  Their comments, however, rang just as true as if they were discussing the NBA draft.  Payton’s comment was, “You get excited about a guy because of his tools and projecting his ability, but so much of this is looking beneath the surface.”  As the NBA playoffs continue, it’s impossible not to look at the “nobodies” who slipped through the draft cracks and the high profile picks which have yet to live up to pre-draft hype.  Everybody knows the Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan gigantic  mistake and Greg Oden before Kevin Durant humongous error.  Another interesting example would be the 2009 draft in which the Minnesota Timberwolves were in the market for a guard (several as it turned out).  They took Ricky Rubio, Spain’s version of “Pistol” Pete Maravich, with the fifth pick.  They also had the sixth pick and, because most thought Rubio would be difficult to sign, they decided to go with an additional point guard.  Their choice was Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn - whose career mostly has been in the NBA, although last season he played for the Melbourne Tigers in Australia.

What Payton meant can clearly be seen in that selection.  Not only did Minnesota select Flynn over the next pick, Stephen Curry, whom the T-Wolves are constantly being reminded went to Golden State but they also passed on #10 Brandon Jennings, #17 Jrue Holiday, #18 Ty Lawson (they actually did draft Lawson but it was only to trade him to Denver for a future first round pick) and #19 Jeff Teague.  It’s more than a stretch to say that guys picked in the first round “slipped through the cracks” but it does show how the draft is such a crap shoot for a team when its name comes to make its draft selection.

Other classics?  How about the Clippers, a year after they wisely (OK, that year, a three-year-old would have) picked Blake Griffin at #1, they felt they needed to get a small forward with the ability to get his own shot.  They chose Al-Farouq Aminu with the eighth pick.  The Jazz took Gordon Hayward next, just before the Pacers who grabbed (and has never let go of) Paul George.  Why would the Clippers pass on Paul George for Al-Farouq Aminu?

For the answer, listen to the eerie crossover similarity between football and basketball, as told by Ron Wolf:

The fascinating thing about pro football is, no matter how long you’re in it, you can’t predict how guys are going to handle the pressure, the limelight, the money.”

New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees has solidified his spot as one of the great QBs in the game today.  Yet many forget that Brees was with the San Diego Chargers in 2005 when the Bolts decided to go with Phillip Rivers because Brees had a shoulder problem.  The Saints snatched him quickly because they thought he fit the city and the city fit him.  Mainly, though, they took him because of his skills.

His coach was Sean Payton and the two bonded almost immediately.  Brees more than paid off New Orleans faith in him with the XLIV Super Bowl victory in 2010.  But there’s more.  Brees is currently tied with Johnny Unitas at 47 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass.  To get the record outright means a great deal to Brees.  For one, Unitas has become the standards for great QBs.  In addition to that, or maybe more than that, the game’s against the San Diego Chargers, the team that let him go.  They were, in essence, saying, “We don’t believe you still have it.”

That’s why it is so important that commissioner Roger Goodell allow suspended coach Sean Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant head coach Joe Vitt (the guys who believed in him) to be at the game on Sunday.  Someone was asked if it was really important that the three of them be there to see him break the record.  The answer was:

“It’s just as important they be there if he doesn’t get it.”

Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.  One obvious reason is their skill.  Another, and possibly a greater, reason they are in an elite class is the amount of information they process and time they put in before the game.  They possess uncanny knowledge of the opposing defense and its schemes that can only come from a week long dedication of intense study.

It was always known how much video work Manning did and what a true professional he was.  Part of his work ethic includes spending quality time with his offensive linemen (and expensive gifts he’d purchase for them) and the extra practice he demands from his receivers.  Undoubtedly, this is why the Colts persevered during a season in which he lost his favorite targets for all or part of the campaign.

Brees, too, puts in an extraordinary amount of time preparing for each game.  It took last year’s run to the championship for the nation to understand that a great deal of the Saints’ victory was due to his work ethic.

In addition, both Manning and Brees are quality human beings.  In a world where seemingly everything a celebrity does is instantly public knowledge, neither of the QBs has been implicated in any kind of scandal.  On the contrary, the camp the Mannings (dad, Archie, and brothers, Cooper and Eli) run for aspiring quarterbacks has been lauded for its quality instruction.  The donations of money and, more importantly, time that Brees has provided for the ravaged New Orleans area has had as much of a positive impact as FEMA.

Yet, in spite of each man’s (weekly) Herculean effort, their respective teams have been bounced from this year’s NFL playoffs - for reasons neither could control.  In Brees’ case, it was an awful effort by the Saints’ defense and for Manning, it was a letdown by the Colts’ special teams, allowing Warren Cromartie to return the kickoff 47 yards after Indy’s Adam Vinateri nailed a clutch field goal with under a minute to play.

Granted, there were plays the quarterbacks could have made that would have swung the game in their favor but, as coaches continuously have reminded players through the years, it’s a team game and everyone is expected to perform to their max.

Independent of the mega-money that Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are paid, these guys remain two role models in a world where such types are vanishing.  As a parent of two boys, it’s refreshing to be able to talk to my sons about two wealthy, successful guys who earn their money and respect.

Paraphrasing Brooks Robinson:

“Whether you want to or not, you do serve as a role model.  People will always put more faith in (athletes) than anyone else.”

Post Super Bowl talk radio went in two directions: praise of the Saints and their “feel good” story or find anything and everything the hosts could to bitch about.

On the same station, I heard one show, talking about Drew Brees’ magnificent rise to the pinnacle of his profession, the guts of Sean Payton to make some calls that could have buried him had they gone wrong, i.e. by the percentages, the clutch kicking of Garrett Hartley and so many more, while on another show, later in the day, the hosts expounded on Peyton Manning (is he really that good?), Reggie Wayne (”as a Pro Bowler, you have to make that fourth down, late game TD catch rather than have ‘alligator arms’ “), why the rest of the country cared more about the Saints winning than the people of New Orleans (”after all, what was Katrina, five years ago?”) and the clincher - complaining about the people who complained about the Who. 

It was so transparent that these (non-)professionals think the way to get an audience is to zig when everyone’s zagging and vice versa.  To show how absurd they are, especially one guy who’s simply a wannabe (as opposed to the “never was” that he  currently is), the classic line regarding the Who (and how much of a fan of the group he claims to be) was that “their music is timeless.”  Wonder how he’d explain “Pin Ball Wizard?”

Prior to the Super Bowl, I heard one commentator make a valid point.  How many of the younger generation know what a pin ball machine is and what, exactly, it takes to become a wizard at it.  Maybe this guy has a soft spot for the blind.  After all, listening to this fool, one can understand his being empathetic to the handicapped.  When it comes to talent, he certainly is.

I won’t use his name.  He will remain anonymous, which is best for all concerned.  I’m still waiting for the audio books I ordered from Barnes & Noble so I can stop subjecting myself to this drivel.  They can’t get here soon enough.  Listening to this guy (which I do because the station he’s on is the same one that airs Tark’s show) reminds me of the line George Raveling told me his grandmother often said:

“There are more horses’ asses in the world than there are horses.”

Super Bowl Sunday might be the greatest party-causing event ever.  I can’t think of anyone I know who wasn’t at someone’s Super Bowl party yesterday.  And I’m fairly certain (nearly) everyone of them had an opinion about how the game was being played.

Hearing the “sofa coaches” opine after the Saints opened the second half with a surprise onside kick was a hoot - mainly because most people waited (and it was a fairly long wait) until it was officially determined which team had recovered the ball before rendering their verdict on whether Sean Payton was a gutsy genius or a bumbling fool (after all, wasn’t he the same guy who was villified for spurning a sure three points in the first half and unsuccessfully going for a touchdown)?  Once the referee’s signal, telling the teams - and the viewing world - the Saints had, indeed, recovered it, did we hear what a brilliant move it was.

I’m usually quick on the trigger when it comes to comments - mostly because I like to offer mine before the play rather than after it’s taken place.  Having been a coach for many, many years, I used to snicker at people who waited until after the play ended and it was obvious whether the call was a good one or not to pontificate. 

After yesterday’s blog, it’s apparent that logic doesn’t play a crucial role in predicting sporting events.  My feeling that Peyton Manning orchestrated each game, so in order for New Orleans to win, they had to get him out of the game, was proved untrue - beyond a shadow of a doubt - as he threw an unheard of “pick 6″ to more or less seal the contest.

This game also showed that, when a player who some people consider “the greatest of all time” is involved, his (or her) counterpart occasionally steps up, in an effort to say, “Don’t count me out of the conversation” or at least, “Hey, what about me?  While I may not be in the discussion, I’m involved in this particular game too.”

As far as the winning coach, Sean Payton, is concerned, Super Bowl XLIV reaffirmed my quote from blogs from 5/22/07 and 6/19/09:

“A good coaching move is one that works.”