So Donovan told it like it is, and people who don’t wanna be self-reflective can’t hear him. What else is new?
Here’s what I know: being an NFL fan in general, but an Eagles fan above all, particularly with the Eagles being my home team, I know what the deal is in Philly. It’s a given that Philly is a tough sports town, although some incidents, like the snowball assault of Santa Claus are a tad overblown. (I mean, yeah, it happened, but it wasn’t like the Santa in question was your regular, jolly, ho-ho-hoein Kris Kringle. If you look into the incident a little more, there’s some other stuff goin on. He wasn’t Black, either.)
Anyway, situations like this help to illustrate the fact that we are not as far along racially as we think we are. That is, there has been a great deal of progress, and we should be happy about that. However, the fact remains that the only racists in the world aren’t members of organizations that tout hateful beliefs. Naw, in some people, it lurks beneath the veneer of acceptance, waiting for just the right challenge to be exposed. Such is the case, I think, with many fans. As in, some of the people arguing against what Donovan is saying are inadvertently proving his point. It’s like when some Muslims were threatening to assassinate people for saying they are violent.
The funny thing is, the HBO show wasn’t about Black quarterbacks, per se. It was about where Donovan grew up. If people took the whole thing in context, it might have been easier for them to understand. But I’m fairly convinced that in most matters, not just issues of race, the last thing people want is for their thinking to be challenged. People like their categories neat and clean. White racists are in the kkk.
I think it’s kinda unfortunate that this interview didn’t air while Donovan was in the middle of an MVP-type stretch like he was last year, though. With the 0-2 start, it looks very current, when the interview was done last summer. And as far as the start goes, I got 2 words for you: Andy Reid. For the life of me, I cannot understand what this dude is doing. Last year, when the Eagles were winning with Garcia, the run-pass ratio was manageable. It was very close to even. The other night? Donovan passed over 40 times, with Westbrook only getting, i think, 17 carries. We already KNOW what works. We knew it last year. The rest of the League BEEN knew it. Andy Reid, though? I don’t know what the deal is. He seems to think Donovan is a Madden player or something. Not to mention that they keep calling plays that don’t make sense for the personnel they have. As in, they’ll have 3-5 and throw a 3-yard pass. Now I realize that the plays are designed for the receiver to get the ball and then make the extra yardage on their own, but they never get those receivers. They had one for ONE year. When they did? It was good night for the NFC. Avent, Brown / Pinkston Thrash, same difference. The Eagles’ X and Z are #3 receivers at best, and Reid refuses to run the rock. Wha’chu THINK gon’ happen? Sheesh.
So to summarize, yeah, being criticized goes along with being the QB. Everybody knows that. The criticism Donovan has gotten his whole career? Extra. But it’s not just about him. It’s about the whole system; it’s about how certified scrubs can get jobs as starting QBs before Black cats with winning records for their career get a call. Remember my premise: equality isn’t about excellence, it’s about mediocrity; it’s not about having the chance to succeed, it’s about having the chance to fail repeatedly. (And don’t fool yourself, the only way it’s possible to say that Donovan ‘failed’ is to say that he never won the Super Bowl. But in many ways, that’s a false measure of a player’s achievement; Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, but even most crackheads know better than to say that they’d take Dilfer over Donovan.) Never forget, an equal sign has a high bar AND a low bar.
Well, the Cowboys are running out of the gate looking as strong as they should. So far, they’ve put up a lot of points - but they haven’t been close to corralling anybody else, either. Explosive offense + implosive defense…who knows which way it can go? The question of the week is this: is the Dallas offense that good, or have they been playing bad teams? Well we know they’ve been playing bad teams - or at least, winless teams, but only time will tell what they’re gonna do against a solid squad.
I guess the same thing goes for one of my surrogate teams, the Steelers. (Of course, any team with a Black coach and/or QB is my surrogate team, so I have lots.) They’ve beaten up on a couple of wack teams, but there’s still some question as to what will happen when they play a real squad. One thing that’s different about PGH, though, they’ve already won with this formula, so it’s not like we’re seeing something different. Ben has played efficient football and they have won, so this is more showing last year as an aberration than him coming out and turning over a new leaf.
Of course, the game of the day was the Battle of Ohio. The way it was shaping up, I kept waiting for the Browns to fool around and score 50 points in a loss. They made the play that counted, though. The Bengals clearly have no defense. Either that or the Browns were playing possum last week and this is the real squad right here.
So I have a fantasy squad. Not that I’ve been investing too much time into it. F’real-f’real, I don’t even know who I have. I haven’t been able to log into the account since I made it. But my friends keep me updated on my results. I know four of my players: Romo at QB, Willie Parker as my HB, Gates is my TE, and Steve Smith is one of my WRs, so I’m in pretty good shape. It’ll be nice to log in at some point, though.
Was Tyrone Willingham’s firing from Notre Dame racially motivated? As in, would he have gotten more of an opportunity to right the ship had he been born with less melanin and straighter hair? It’s tough to say. But unless Notre Dame closes out its schedule looking really, really good, that question is gonna linger in the air like a stale fart. While I think it’s a valid question, I don’t know if it’s exactly the right question. That is to say, the racial angle is certainly a possible explanation, but it may not be the best answer.
One thing I think is evading people is the fact that Notre Dame of 2007 is not the Notre Dame of 97, let alone the Notre Dame of 87. That ridiculous exclusive contract with NBC notwithstanding, most people don’t see Notre Dame as this singular football powerhouse any more, least of all the bluest of the blue-chip high school players. As far as the talent level goes, ND is still a strong recruiting draw, but they can’t stock up on all the talent like they used to. That means that a 9 or 10-win season is what they have to look at, for the most part. If they get a whole group of seniors together, they might be able to push into that 11 or 12-win bracket, but that’s gonna be quite rare going forward.
Now. When it comes to Charlie Weiss and Tyrone Willingham, I think there are a couple things to bear in mind: number one, while I don’t think the way ND handled the Willingham situation was right at all, it’s not entirely beyond the pale (no pun intended, of course). Most coaches would’ve gotten a longer chance to turn around their programs, but let’s not front: it’s not like Willingham was tearing up the NCAA and got canned outta the blue. He came in shining, but gradually began to descend towards mediocrity. In football, both college and professional, that can get you fired. Especially in the case of a fading program that’s like a one-time brickhouse who wears low-cut, midriff-baring tops, not realizing that the milk done spilled into the bread basket. She might think she still has it, but the rest of us know better. The administration (and boosters) at ND thought they were gonna be heading for a BCS Championship sometime soon. They didn’t think Ty was gonna get them there, so he got fired.
At the same time, the way they handled Weis was just as bad, only from the other side. I think they bought the hype of the Belichick coaching tree. Now personally, I’m not sure that Belichick is quite the coaching genius he’s made out to be. Oh, he’s definitely a good coach, but even given that we grade coaches by titles, I’m thinking that his rings may have a little more to do with a guy named Brady. More correctly stated, a championship season really lies at the confluence of skill and good fortune. Probably a more of the former than the latter, but make no mistake, there’s certainly a healthy dose of ‘the-ball-bounced-the-right-way’ in any team’s title. Especially at the NFL level.
At any rate, Weis was coming off the glory of a Super Bowl win; who doesn’t look good with the gleam of a ring on their face? He won a few games and they swore they had the right one. Not to mention, ND was taking heat for having fired their previous coach prematurely. The correction? Let’s lock this one in. Nevermind that he’s never coached at the college level, which is significantly different than the NFL. Football is football, right?
So essentially, I think you have to take the Willingham and Weis situations individually. Yeah, one seems particularly slimy given what happened immediately following, but I think it’s a little too easy to make race the entire basis for the decision. However, given the sheisty way things were done, it’s a reasonable question to ask. And being real about it, yeah I’m still mad at Notre Dame behind that decision, and I hope they get their butts kicked, and I hope that Washington jumps out and becomes the national power Notre Dame thinks they still are.
…but bearing that in mind, why does Charlie Frye have a job while Byron Leftwich does not? Leftwich > Frye. No. Leftwich >>>>>>>>>>>>> Frye.
In honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Philadelphia Eagles, the Inquirer is has named what it considers to be the 75 greatest Eagles. Reggie White came in at number 2. Now I ain’t gon’ front, I don’t know enough about the old-school cat they have in front of him to dispute it. But I do know that the Minister of Defense was probably the most appropriate appelative there could possibly have been for him. Cuz he was all minister and he was all defense. Donovan came in at number 9, four spots behind Brian Dawkins. The only gripe I have, and it could possibly be massaged away, is that Randall wasn’t in the top 10. Or the top 15, even. Randall came in at 18. That’s kinda low.
Run Pass - DMc is talkin Super Bowl again. Of course he is. What quarterback wouldn’t be talkin Super Bowl in training camp?
This is bigger than that, though. Let’s think back. Think wwwaaaaaaay back to last year. Eagles were coming off a 6-10 debacle. People thought he was on crack. Then the season unfolded. He’s puttin up MVP-type numbers. He goes down. Season’s over, right? Wrong. They finish 10-6 with the division title. (Yes, over the so-called mighty Cowboys, who… well, as Don Magic Juan might say, P up, H down, right?) So now. Listen up carefully. Those who think the Eagles have no shot at taking the division again, or even the conference…you might have a big surprise in store. Especially if (but not iff) the play calling is somewhere close to balanced.
As I mentioned in the last post, my high school team is about to start two-a-days, which means that football season is now in effect. Not in full effect yet; that doesn’t happen until the first pre-season game. But It’s time for the real sports season to begin. And if it’s football season, that means it’s time to start talkin about the Eagles in earnest.
So once again, I’m callin for the NFC East to break down like this:
Looking at that Bengals pick, particularly with a 12-4, I’m asking my own self if I’m high on crack, but something’s telling me this could be a breakout year for them. If they stay out of legal trouble, there might be some big doings down in Cinci. The Steelers pick is risky too. It all depends on how soon the players buy into Coach Tomlin’s system and how Roethlisberger responds to having a more open offense to run. Either way, I can see the division not being decided until the last week of the season.
The NFC East, on the other hand, belongs to the Eagles. I’m expecting the Brokebacks to finish stronger than they did last year, but I’m also not expecting the Birds to lose on another 60+ yard field goal. The new defensive schemes in Dallas are cause for concern, but I’ve got confidence. Especially if Andy Reid and Marty Mornigwheg actually learned something while Jeff Garcia was in there - namely, the running game can be effective for the Eagles too. If they can get to about a 53-47 balance with passing to running (and if Donovan and Westbrook stay healthy), it could be a pleasant fall. And winter. But the window is closing.
So according to Gary Sheffield, the decline in Black players in Major League Baseball is due to the fact that Latin players are “easier to control.”
“I called it years ago. What I called is that you’re going to see more black faces, but there ain’t no English going to be coming out. … [It's about] being able to tell [Latin players] what to do — being able to control them,” he told the magazine.
“Where I’m from, you can’t control us. You might get a guy to do it that way for a while because he wants to benefit, but in the end, he is going to go back to being who he is. And that’s a person that you’re going to talk to with respect, you’re going to talk to like a man.
“These are the things my race demands. So, if you’re equally good as this Latin player, guess who’s going to get sent home? I know a lot of players that are home now can outplay a lot of these guys.”
Okay, let’s think about this for a minute. My first response is, ‘whose side is he on?’ As a coach, if I have two players of equal ability and one player does what I tell him to do without giving me any attitude and the other player fives me flak about “respect” before he does what I tell him to do, why would put up with the second guy’s nonsense? Even if the second guy was marginally better, I still wouldn’t deal with it. Who needs prima donna nonsense when you’re trying to run a team?
But then, the bigger problem is that some folks actually think it’s a problem that Black folks aren’t playing baseball in the same numbers that we once did. For the record, even if what Sheffield says is true, I think that the NFL and the NBA have a lot more to do with the decline of Black players in MLB than managers’ unwillingness to put up with Black players’ attitudes.
I watched the Mayweather-De La Hoya fight last night with some friends. It was alright. Nothing spectacular, although I was struck and struck hard by how hard it was to listen to Larry Merchant try to talk. It was maddening. He used words like Mayweather threw punches - one at a time.
Throughout the fight, as the crowd cheered and the commentators spoke glowingly about De La Hoya’s meaningless flurries of activity, I kept thinking that we were about to get another Hagler-Leonard. If it hadn’t been for Tyson and his one-hitter-quitter power, I would’ve sworn off boxing after that fight. Hagler-Leonard was the first fight I remember watching where the decision was granted based on the politics of boxing rather than what went on in the ring. Now granted, Hagler could’ve fought a better fight - a much better fight - but that decision was outright theft. With that in mind, I was worried last night. But justice prevailed, so I wasn’t too mad.
Now, one of my friends was all in Mayweather’s corner, so after the fight, he was trying to defend him, talkin about some, “You can’t expect somebody with that kind of hand speed to have knockout power.” My response to him was this: “Ray Charles Leonard would like a word with you, sir.”
I guess we can pencil New England into the Super Bowl. I wasn’t too worried about Donte Stallworth going up there. He gave the Eagles passing game and added dimension, which I liked a lot, but he was also injury-prone. I still think that he and Donovan could’ve been a good combination, but not when one or both of them was on the bench. So when Stallworth left, I was a little disappointed, but not terribly. But now, things have changed. They got Randy Moss. Tom Brady and Randy Moss? I think Randy will find himself interested in football again. And when he does, look out below.
For once in my life, the I wasn’t mad when the Eagles lost a close game. I didn’t throw anything at the TV, I didn’t get into a bad mood, I didn’t snarl and cuss, none of that. I was actually kinda happy. Satisfied, even. There are a couple of reasons for this.
First of all, when Donovan went down, I was pretty sure that the season was over. That first game against the Colts seemed to prove that. For the Eagles to be playing in the divisional round of the playoffs was far more than I would have asked. Shoot…they went 6-1 against the NFC East, regaining their crown. Once they actually made the playoffs, I was good. When they beat the Giants in the Wild Card, I was satisfied. I didn’t want them to get blown out by the Saints, but I really wasn’t expecting them to win. They represented. The players did, at least. I wasn’t quite as enthused about some of Andy Reid’s coaching strategies.Â
So looking forward to next year, I think it’s high time they got some linebackers in there. Not that Trotter’s completely washed up, but the run defense is still a weakness. The secondary’s not as tight as it could be either. As long as Dawkins is back there, it’s gonna be pretty good, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a big, physical DB to compete with those big, physical WRs. Also, as long as I’m wishin’, if we could get a big bruising back to complement Westbrook, it would really be nice. I like Westbrook because he can turn just about any play into a touchdown, but it would be nice to get somebody in there who could consistently convert those 3rd-and-2 situations.
I guess it goes without saying that I hope the playcalling stays the same as it has been for these last few weeks. Even though they got stuck in the middle for a while there, I still think that when Donovan comes back (provided Stallworth comes back too), the offense will be good enough to hang 24 points or more on anybody. Or just to be a little more conservative, I think the offense will stay within that 21-27 range every week. The question is whether the defense will be strong enough to make that last.Â
Once again, this will probably be one of the only times I’ve said this in my life, but I’m not at all mad with this playoff loss. They acquitted themselves well and it definitely makes me look forward to next year.
But…punting on 4th and 15 with 2 timeouts? Was he on crack? Hadn’t they just converted? Haven’t the Eagles converted more desperate 3rd downs? At least give ‘em the chance. And he talmbout he thought the defense was gonna stop ‘em? Stop who? Deuce? Was he not watching the same game? But such is life. It was fun while it lasted.
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