New Commissioner Roger Goodell has been making the rounds of NFL teams preaching what a privilege it is to play pro football. The idea is to instill a sense of responsibility, but apparently the message is being misinterpreted to mean pro football players have privileges not afforded the rest of the public.
Eight Cincinnati Bengals have been arrested in 2006, matching the Bengals’ number of victories. Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson must have confused the word “probation” with “permission.”
Players aren’t the only culprits. Vikings assistant coach Joe Woods was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving. Lions assistant coach Joe Cullen was arrested just before the season for driving naked through a fast-food pick-up window.
The league doesn’t like bad publicity. Bad behavior is part of every business, and it’s not the business of the NFL or most other industries to educate or rehabilitate people on civil conduct.
So make no mistake: It’s the publicity, not the people, that bothers the NFL most.
Likewise, it is not the job of the Bears or coach Lovie Smith to produce likable next-door neighbors. Maybe that’s true at the peewee or high school level, but not in the pros. It’s Smith’s job to win football games and the Bears’ job to make money. Period.
All the good things players, coaches and the Bears organization do for the greater community–and there are significant ventures–are ancillary to the primary mission of piling up victories and cash.
It is strictly the business of the law to keep players and coaches on the straight and narrow. That’s why the Bears routinely say they don’t normally discipline an offender until the NFL speaks, and it’s why the NFL doesn’t impose its guidelines until appeals and the legal system run their course.
The league is willing and able to move much more quickly to fine and discipline players for uniform violations, an image issue the league can completely control.
The harshest penalty the NFL can impose under its own code of conduct is a “lifetime ban,” which is subject to an appeal for reinstatement after one year. This is why the only true lifetime bans are for players like former Panthers receiver Rae Carruth, who’s still in prison for soliciting murder.
Because NFL owners hire their commissioner and approve the code of conduct, they have the final say in what kind of people they want to represent their teams. Over the years, it’s clear their tolerance level for rogues and thugs is on par with the average fan: As long as they can play, we will pay.
It is also a misconception that there are more “embarrassing” incidents these days than ever before. There are more publicized incidents because there is less tolerance for serious transgressions such as drunken driving and spousal abuse than ever before, which in its own way is very good publicity.
Good rookies
This is such an unusually good rookie class that it will be difficult for Bears return specialist Devin Hester to get rookie-of-the-year votes.
More Top Picks Deer Repellents
Titans quarterback Vince Young, Saints receiver Marques Colston and Jaguars running back-returner Maurice Jones-Drew are frontrunners on offense. That’s where Smith, the Bears’ coach, wants voters to consider Hester. There is no honor for special-teams rookie.
Because Hester is the only rookie so far to set a league (not just rookie) record with six returns for TDs, maybe a special-teams award should be considered. It could be called the “Hester Trophy.”
In other years, Smith’s plea to help Hester would have fared better. Last season, for example, Tampa Bay’s Cadillac Williams took an early lead by rushing for 148, 128 and 158 yards in his first three starts and coasted to the award.
Williams has had only five 100-yard games in his 24 starts since.
Shotgun pellets
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, on the shotgun formation:
“John [Elway] always liked the shotgun, felt he could go downfield a little more. You get a chance to get a pre-snap read on a blitz. That extra half-second is a big deal. The other side of it is in a shotgun, there are only a few runs you can use, so they have their ears back to get after the quarterback.
“No question that’s the biggest disadvantage; you’re declaring, basically, that it’s a passing situation. But there are a lot of things you can do out of it, so we like it in the right situation.”
When Shanahan was an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, he recalled that Joe Montana and Steve Young resisted the shotgun.
“I think they dropped the snaps on purpose in the shotgun so they wouldn’t have to do it because they liked the timing under center,” Shanahan said.
“They liked the five-step drop, they felt comfortable in that. You’re always weighing what you think is going to work and what will keep your quarterback from taking unnecessary hits. You don’t want to get your guy killed.”
Nice trade
The late John Butler wouldn’t have to explain his 2001 draft anymore. The former Chargers general manager traded his No. 1 overall pick to the Falcons for the fifth spot and later second- and third-round picks. He took running back LaDainian Tomlinson, giving up his shot at quarterback Michael Vick because he believed he could land Drew Brees with the first pick in the second round.
Brees is now in New Orleans, and it looks like his main competition for league MVP is Tomlinson. The two Texans have known each other since high school.
Said Brees: “We work out together some in the off-season. And we kind of talked about a scenario like this happening, and here we are. Throughout our time together in San Diego, we were always very competitive, pushing one another, both of us trying to be the best at what we were doing, obviously within the team concept. With me coming here and him being there, it was still one of those things where, `Hey, I’m going to be watching you, and I know you’re going to be watching me.’ We expected the best from each other.”
Said Tomlinson: “I’m proud of him. Until you understand the dedication that it has taken for Drew Brees to come back from a shoulder injury like that. . . . I can’t say enough about him. I think because I’ve known him for a long time. . . . You just felt something special about him. You knew he wasn’t the biggest guy, the strongest guy, but there was something about him. A natural leader. It’s great to see what he’s doing.”
What happens
If the Bears had signed free agent Antwaan Randle El from the Steelers, they wouldn’t have drafted Hester. In Washington, Randle El averaged 12.4 yards on 22 punt returns in the first half of the season. But he has managed just 24 yards on 10 returns in his last five games and acknowledged running horizontally too often in hopes of breaking a big one.
“They’ve been skying the ball a lot, so I’ve had to fair-catch or catch it with a guy in front of me,” he said. “I’ve had to take a lot more chances instead of catching it comfortably and working with it.”
Fear factor
What distinguishes Hester’s returns as much as the speed, vision and catlike cuts is his fearlessness. Brian Mitchell, the all-time kick-return leader, told Washington reporters: “One thing that makes you a good kickoff returner is being fearless because guys are running 65 yards full speed trying to take you out.”
———-