Posts Tagged ‘Minnesota Vikings’

Coaching, Parenting, and Lessons from the Saints’ Collapse

Friday, January 19th, 2018

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

MW

Nothing in sports is second-guessed and dissected more than coaching. Few other things in the lager society are second-guessed and dissected more than parenting. Without question, coaching is hugely influential on the development of a player. Likewise, parents are even more so in the development of their children. Another common thing between coaching and parenting is the degree to which both are prematurely judged by people who are not privy to all the factors that go into coaching or parenting. The last play of the Saints vs. Vikings playoff game made me think of this.

As you all likely know by now, the Vikings were down 24-23 with less than a minute remaining and in desperation mode. Vikings’ QB Case Keenum lofted a pass up for receiver Stephon Diggs, who leaped to catch the pass and then ran another 40 yards or so for a game winning TD. He was able to do this due to one of the worst defensive non-plays I have seen in my life, on any level of football. Saints DB Marcus Williams lowered his head and blindly missed him, completely allowing Diggs to run for history.

 

I was, as I imagine most of you were, speechless.

 

Then I noticed a few comments on social media questioning how he was coached? Still others theorized that he was afraid to get a penalty. I thought to myself, “What the hell are these people talking about?”. Youth football players are taught at 6 years old to see what they hit.

 

Sometimes a rock is just a rock.

 

This had absolutely nothing to do with inept coaching. The young man simply messed up. He has had a very solid rookie season with 4 interceptions and if he survives this mentally, he seems to have a bright NFL future. But there is no need to overanalyze this. It’s not throwing the ball into traffic on the goal line in the Super Bowl when you have Marshawn Lynch in the backfield. Now that was boneheaded coaching and we didn’t need to know any other factors to conclude that when the Patriots beat Seattle in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.

 

These two examples are extremes. Sunday with the Saints, coaching was clearly not the issue. With Seattle, coaching clearly was the issue. But most coaching decisions, like most parenting decisions, have a great deal more nuance and gray factors to consider, and only those involved or very close to the situation are privy to these factors.

 

One of the best examples was how the late former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan handled the substance abuse problem of a young talented receiver named Chris Carter. When the team cut Carter, everyone familiar with his talent wondered why take such a young dynamic weapon away from QB Randall Cunningham? To that Ryan would only say, “All he does is catch touchdown passes”. For years, Ryan took ridicule for that comment and the decision to let Carter go. The receiver would go on to resurrect his life and career in Minnesota, which eventually led to his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Carter would set the record straight years later, acknowledging that his release was all about how unreliable he had become, due to his substance abuse problem, and had nothing to do with his on-field performance. Had that come out, Ryan was afraid that Carter would be blackballed from the league. So, Ryan took the hits for years, never revealing the real reason until Carter was ready. He was actually trying to protect his player.

 

Go to any town hall meeting, hair salon, or barber shop, and listen closely for that inevitable moment when the discussion turns to today’s youth. That will start the clock toward the “it all starts in the home” declaration. The issue is not if the statement is largely true. It is! The issue is that it is often a simplistic cookie-cutter, broad-brush explanation for the behavior of youth by people who have little interaction with the very youth they castigate. Regardless of parenting, there will always be youth who decide to drink and drive with disastrous results. It does not mean parent modeling or condoning of such behavior was the root cause. Likewise, players will sometimes fail well below their professional standard. It doesn’t mean bad coaching is the root cause.

 

Whether it’s coaching or parenting, I don’t know why so many are so hell bent on making such conclusive public critiques while being so poorly informed about the individual situation. I do believe it often says more about the critic than it does about those being critiqued.

Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports

NFL Mash Ups: NFC North Personas

Sunday, September 7th, 2014

by WingFan

Wingfan

 

 

 

Teams have personality. Between the owner, the coach, the players, and the fans, a team develops certain behaviors. As we approach the official beginning of the NFL season, WingFan would like to welcome you to opening day of the NFL season by walking you through each NFC North team and our assessment of their persona. Let’s take a look at what each team brings to the table:

 Team:  Green Bay Packers

Persona:  Jack Nicholson 

Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan Jessup

Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan Jessup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You want an answer?   You want the truth?  The Green Bay Packers are the truth – but “you can’t handle the truth!”  The Green Bay Packers are one of the few teams, if not the only team, to have success over a multitude of decades dating back to the 1920’s.  Jack Nicholson is one of only two actors to be nominated for Academy Awards in every decade from the 1960’s to the 2000’s.  The Packers were founded in 1919, their team name is the oldest team name still in use by the NFL, and their 13 league championships (9 NFL and 4 Super Bowls) are the most in NFL history.  Nicholson has amassed 16 major acting awards including 3 Academy Awards, 6 Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.   In short, Colonel Nathan R. Jessup of the US Marine Corp isn’t as decorated as this pair of legends.

The Lombardi Trophy

The Lombardi Trophy

While Col. Nathan Jessup was looking for A Few Good Men, Vince Lombardi, the legendary head coach of the 1960’s Packers team, actually found a few great men.  He led them to five championships in one decade including 3 NFL Championships (’61, ’62, ’65) and the very first two Super Bowls (1966 & 1967) ever.  The shiny silver Super Bowl trophy that everyone hoists in the air after they win is actually called “The Lombardi Trophy” in honor of the late great Vince Lombardi.  Jack Nicholson does not have a shiny trophy named in his honor, but he does have a pair of Lakers courtside season tickets that might be considered by some to be just as prestigious.

Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi

There’s so much about the Packers and Nicholson that can’t be overlooked.  The Packers have a “get it done” spirit and great leadership from legends like Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Willie Davis, Ray Nitschke, Brett Farve, Reggie White, and Aaron Rodgers.  The city shuts down on game day like the box office shuts down when Nicholson played the Joker in Batman.  Packers are actually the only team in American sports that is owned by its fans – it’s a public company with over 100,000 shareholders and managed by a Board of Directors.  No person can own more than 200,000 shares which ensures that the team can never be moved from the small city of Green Bay, Wisconsin.  In a league where all other teams represent cities whose average population is closer to one million, leaving a team in a city with 104,057 people might sound like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest but in reality, the Green Bay Packers are As Good As It Gets.

Team Name:  Chicago Bears

Persona:  Sean Connery

Sean Connery

Sean Connery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bring out the bagpipes, turn the river green, and grab your finest Scotch.  Sean Connery has been polled as the “Greatest Living Scot” and Chicago is a city with a great Scottish history.   While the Chicago Bears franchise is older than Sean Connery, their ages aren’t off by much – the Bears were established in 1920 and Connery was born in 1930.  Before diving further into the career of Connery and the success of the Chicago Bears, these two were paired together because they were originators in their field and kept their “sexy” through the years.  Americans have kind of minimized the idea of winning NFL Championships before the Super Bowl era, but the Chicago Bears won eight titles and then won a Super Bowl title in 1985 – that’s nearly a decade of championship performances.

Sean Connery as James Bond

Sean Connery as James Bond

Sean Connery’s signature role was as one of the first theatrical action heroes – James Bond (007).

Bond was an innovative character whose physical stature was no match for bad guys and whose intellect seemed to get him out of bad situations.  The 1940 Chicago Bears innovated the quarterback position by drafting a guy from Columbia University named Sid Luckman. He was athletic enough to cause defenses to overreact and made quick enough decisions to capitalize on the defenses’ mistakes.  Bond always kept a new invention up his sleeve for sticky situations, while the Bears invented the “T Formation”, which lined up three running backs in the back field, standing shoulder to shoulder.  These inventions were part of the reason 007 and the Chicago Bears became such exciting personas to follow.

The 1985 Bears

The 1985 Bears

In 1985, after the early years were long gone, the Bears invented a brand new dance called the Super Bowl Shuffle.  They won the big game and were led by arguably the greatest defense of all-time.  That defense was like a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with so many outstanding players: Richard Dent, William Perry and, of course, Mike Singletary.  After the Bond films were long gone for Sean Connery, he went on to lead one of the greatest careers in Hollywood history – The Untouchables, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Medicine Man, Rising Sun, and of course, The Hunt for Red October.  The Bears and Connery have aged well.  At the ripe age of 69, People Magazine named Connery “Sexiest Man of the Century.”  This year, the Bears are considered a sexy pick to make it to the Super Bowl.  The question is, will this year be the year they are named “Sexiest team in the NFL.”

Team:  Detroit Lions

Persona:  Chris Brown

Chris Brown

Chris Brown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The City of Motown deserves a talented performer and Chris Brown has all the talent in the world, but the reason these two were paired together has more to do with their attitude than their talent.  The Lions are a very talented team that run, pass, and catch with some of the best in the league.  Detroit is also one of the oldest franchises in the NFL, being founded in 1929, and having won four NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl era (’35, ’52, ’53, ’57).  Like many other teams in the NFL, they have never won a Super Bowl and seem desperate for attention just like a young up-and-coming performer.  To his credit, Chris Brown did earn himself a Grammy and three AMAs but you’d never know it by the way he carries himself – the Lions kind of act that same way about their league championships.

Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders

When you talk about talent, there are only two Detroit players that you need to know:  Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson.  These two players represent the kind of talent Chris Brown brings to the stage in “Kiss Kiss”, “Look at Me Now”, and “Forever”.  Barry Sanders is a retired Hall of Fame running back that redefined “fancy footwork” and became one of the greatest running backs to ever play the game.  His ability to change directions was like no other before him.  Some years, Barry would carry the team to the playoffs almost singlehandedly just as Chris can almost carry an entire performance with his dancing alone.  Chris can also make his voice soar as high as Calvin Johnson leaping for a pass in the end zone.  Calvin and Barry are two of the greatest talents the NFL will ever know, and they have both been trapped in Detroit lacking support like Diana Ross with no Supremes, Lionel Ritchie with no Commodores, and Gladys Knight with no Pips.

Ndamukong Suh stomping a defenseless opponent

Ndamukong Suh stomping a defenseless opponent

In the NFL, the team with the worst record in the previous year gets to have the first pick in the next year’s draft and the Lions have had 8 top ten picks (they finished the previous season with one of the ten worst records).  The tragedy of having talent is wasting it on top 10 picks like Charles Rodgers, Roy Williams, Mike Williams, and even Andre Ware.  What’s worse is that the Lions and Chris Brown just can’t seem to control themselves and stay out of trouble.  The Lions are habitually one of the most penalized teams in the NFL and Chris Brown can’t even make it through Good Morning America without letting a chair or two fly through the window.  Ndamukong Suh, the second overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and the Lions’ defensive leader, has been known for drawing penalties for his lack of control: hitting quarterbacks late, kicking players in the privates, and stomping on the heads of his opponents.  Most of us have the ability to look past one outburst by a celebrity (even if it’s Rihanna bad) but consistent outbursts of rage make us all wonder who, or what, raised you?   Yup, the Lions are just like Chris Brown, they think they are relevant but haven’t really done anything memorable yet.

Team: Minnesota Vikings

Persona: Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vikings are the team most likely to look at their opponent and say, “Go ahead, make my day”.  The Vikings of the late 1960s/early 1970s were led by a legendary defensive line called “The Purple People Eaters”.  This era was like the spaghetti western days of the NFL except there were fields of “frozen tundra” instead of the wild west ( – tumble weeds and all.  Tackling an opponent evolved a lot during this era, where hard hitting defenses treated game day like it was high noon and you were about  to see The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

In those days, the NFL was more beast than beauty and defensive players had nicknames that sounded like Dirty Harry – they were some of the biggest stars.  Alan Page, Hall of Fame Defensive End and leader of the People Eaters, became the first defensive player to be voted Most Valuable Player of the Year in league history.  It was during this era that the Vikings won an NFL Championship in 1969 (pre-Super Bowl era), while establishing an enduring definition of “tough guy,” and subsequently losing all four of their Super Bowl appearances.

Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson

Being a Vikings fan is like having a Million Dollar Baby – heart breaking at times.  Currently, the Vikings are cursed with a supremely talented running back named Adrian Peterson.  He’s the most popular guy from Minnesota since Prince and the guy is making miracles happen every season.  For instance, Peterson tore his ACL in 2011, he then comes back from surgery in 3 months (takes most guys a whole year) and goes on to nearly break the NFL Single Season Rushing Record, ending up with 2097 yards – just 8 yards short of Erik Dickerson’s 2105 yards.  Peterson’s been sitting next to an empty chair for 8 seasons wondering if a quarterback will ever fill the seat.  This year the Vikings brought in veteran quarterback Matt Cassel to compete with rookie draft pick Teddy Bridgewater for the role of starting quarterback. Maybe one of these two can start directing the offenses as good as Eastwood directs the cameras.

 

WingFan, for War Room Sports

HOF or FOH? (Chris Carter)

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Old Purple Hands

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011


First off I want to start by saying these are not the opinions of all of The War Room Generals but these are my personal thoughts.

With that being said Brett Favre aka “Old Purple Hands” is a bum! Anyone who listens to the War Room knows that I think he is the most overrated athlete in the history of sports. You may have the masses fooled but not me old head.

You are a walking interception and a sitting fumble. You have always been selfish and have put yourself before your team. The bottom line is You sir are a male Diva and eating a snickers won’t make you a man again.

Now you have acted like a fool off the field and many see you for what you are. Which is a disgrace. You have embarrassed your family, your fans, the city of Green Bay, and Minnesota. So now not are you only an overrated QB but you are a dirty old man who likes to send pictures of his man region to women who find you repulsive.

I also blame you for Jay Cutler! You made young QB’s think it was alright to make stupid passes in the name of being a “gunslinger”. FOH Old Purple Hands!!!

I’m just glad you are retiring. Well hopefully you are. We know how you do you diseased rhinoceros pizzle. You may wake up tomorrow and decide you are coming back and some idiot coach will give you a run. Hopefully when I go to the toy store with my nephew I will no longer have to see your action figure.

If you do decide to come back I hope you decide to change your cell phone plan and get rid of unlimited text messages!

I’m Nice!!!

Jimmy Williams

Brett Favre Needs To Fall Back!!

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

Has Randy Moss lost his mind?

Saturday, November 27th, 2010