Mailbag: Running the gamut,
from Carroll to Zampese
Posted: Friday November 20, 1998 07:15 PM
Click here to send an email to Dr.
Z. Most serious query/observation first. Jeff in Grand Rapids,
Mich. offers a carefully thought out analysis of the Zampese
system, as applied to Dallas and now New England.
Ernie is old world, and so are his ideas. Sometimes they work, sometimes
they don't. Your opinions make a lot of sense, but there's a painful
undertone here that I will only whisper because it affects me on a personal
level (sometimes we get old, ssshhh). He is not as bad as you feel, nor as
wonderful as he was considered when all the applause greeted his hiring.
The bottom line is that despite the injuries and Bledsoe's inconsistency,
the Patriots' offense still ranks 12th in the NFL in yards gained and
points scored. Not great, but not disastrous.
As far as Pete Carroll being a "players' coach," that
designation always has made me uneasy. He was a terrific defensive
coordinator with the Jets, beloved by his players. When he got the head
coaching job in New York, I asked one of the veterans, wasn't he afraid
that people would take advantage of Carroll? "Won't happen," he
said. "The veterans won't let it happen." Well, they did and it
did happen and Carroll was fired. Much as I hate to say it, being a
"players' coach" just doesn't seem to work. At the assistant
coach level, yes, but I believe a head coach must have fear on his side,
the No. 1 example being Bill Parcells, labeled by people who don't know any
better, a "players' coach."
Nice letter from Tim in Manhattan, Kans. , whom I'd like better if
he didn't include Ph.D. after his name. Hey Tim, you know the definition
of a Phudnick? A nudnick with a Ph.D. My wife is hollering to me at
this point: "What the hell's wrong with you? The guy's trying to be
nice and you give him all this la-de-dah crap!" Sorry, Tim. Bad day
today. You're right about "running the ball." Just plain
"running" would sound kind of naked. Re: the Chiefs. What I saw
in August was a team just without enough offensive punch. I'm not an Andre Rison fan.
To Patrick in Baltimore : My problem is that I saw the Ravens on
their best days--Jets, Bengals, Steelers, etc., and they looked like
dynamite. Good offensive line play, functional running, decent enough
quarterbacking to get by with, well-integrated defense. Sounds like I'm
talking about a 7-3 team here, instead of a 3-7. I've caught snatches of
their games in the interim. Everyone seems to feel that the answer to
just about everything is drafting a name QB, but that doesn't always work.
The Redskins' pick of Heath
Shuler in 1994... is now laughed at but it was unanimously applauded at
the time. And how many knocks did you hear on Ryan Leaf, coming out last
year? I'm not ready to give up on Eric Zeier, but if the
coaches are in love with one of the current crop of QB's, I guess that's
the way to go in the draft.
To Andy in Boston : We're still analyzing the Patriots. Lots of
guys out on defense, to be sure, but the offense only generated 206 yards
on a Bills defense ranked 23rd, coming in. And your argument is, yes, but
the Hawk was flying in Buffalo that day, and no one can throw the ball
under those conditions, and my counter to that is...is...gimme time, I'll
think of one.
To Mohamed in Vancouver : The current Dolphins would have ranked
lower in 1991, but not a whole lot lower. Things go in cycles. Some
years there are half a dozen really good teams. This year all of them seem
to be flawed in some way--except for Denver.
To Rick in Bellevue, Neb. , who hates the Raiders: I ranked them
ahead of Dallas because they beat them. And that closes out the 7-3's, and
now we're into the 6-4's and I don't think they belong in that bunch. If
you don't like the rankings, why do you want to see them in the magazine,
huh? Huh? I know why, so more people can rip me, right? Isn't that
right? Admit it. (Linda, honey, get me a bourbon and soda, would you
please?)
To Howard in Oakland : Your comments about Arizona-Dallas are
nailing me where it hurts, and I'd like to switch places with you and be
the guy complaining to the writer who focused on one play instead of on the
overall pageant of the game. But here's the way it is, and I don't
give everyone this kind of inside info. I watch the following: 1
PM--Local game on Fox or CBS, which means Jets or Giants. One game on the
upstairs VCR, one on the downstairs. Same formula at 4:05 or 4:15 PM.
Then there's the Sunday nighter and the Monday nighter. If I'm at a game
live, the VCRs do their work without my help. Last weekend I had
Giants-Packers as the Fox late game, and I chose Bucs-Jaguars and
Seahawks-Raiders as my 4 o'clock tape games. Which excluded
Arizona-Dallas. Sorry, but I can't watch 'em all. As it is, I'm watching
football through Wednesday (it takes up to five hours to break down a taped
game, mainly because the announcers are so inaccurate). With four more
VCRs I'd get to see 'em all, and then I'd really be round the bend and
ready for Greystone.
To Jeremy in Kansas City : Crisis time for Marty Schottenheimer
. Will he pull his team together and make a playoff run (I think they
have the talent for it), or will it all slip away? It could go either way.
As far as your comments about Shannon Sharpe making nasty
remarks about Derrick
Thomas' dad, who was killed in the war, this comes as news to me. I
knew that something happened to set off Thomas, who is normally a fairly
calm player, and I mentioned it my Wednesday rankings, but I didn't know
exactly what. I just got off the phone with the Chiefs, and they say that
nothing has been written locally to this effect, and they've heard nothing
about it. But let's face it, something happened. If it turns out to be
true, then I think the NFL had better square the deal. Human emotion is
not in their equation, in their quest to achieve the status of deities, but
if Sharpe really used a player's dead father as trash talk incentive, then
1) he deserves a fine and suspension, and 2) he ought to consider himself
lucky that Thomas didn't take his head off.
To Big John in Baxley, Ga. , a Falcons fan, from Big Zim (6-1 1/2,
235, does that qualify?): "Cheeseheads." "Dirty birds."
Sorry, but I don't buy into that promotional crap. When you do, you're
just playing their sucker game and keeping the T-shirt salesmen in
business.
To Parker in Greenville, Tex. : Nobody said Jerry Jones
was crazy when he signed Deion to the $35 million contract. The comments I
heard were, 1) "Wow!" and 2) "How's he managing the
cap?" But crazy? No.
To Shawn in Harrisburg, Pa. : Every year I argue myself hoarse at
the Hall of Fame selectors' meeting, trying to get Lynn Swann
admitted. The opposition says not enough numbers. My argument--quality
over quantity. I'll argue again this January. Haven't won yet.
To Joe in Brownsville, Tex. : I guess the career TD record is
meaningful, but it just doesn't turn me on. Too many one-yard TD's
factored in. "False start--before the snap," oh yeah, that's a
good one. I can see why it drives you nuts. I love
"encroachment," for offside. At least they don't say
"encroachment into the neutral zone," as they used to. The
neutral zone in our house is the one room in which my wife and I don't
fight.
To Jim of Lincoln, Neb. : Your question about the inconsistent play
of the Steelers came at the wrong time. You know something? I'm getting a
little tired of all these "What's wrong with?" questions. How
about giving the other team a little credit? The Oilers beat the Steelers
fair and square by playing hard, courageous football. They were tougher,
particularly in short yardage. That's not a what's wrong, it's a what's
right.
To Andy from Austin : I'm more impressed with Kavika Pittman, whom I
used to think was a stiff, than Greg Ellis, based on
hustle and nose for the ball. But Ellis is still a rookie. Give him time.
D-line is pretty decent. Dave Campo coordinates a defense very
well. Leon Lett always
has been a puzzle to me. The only person who thinks he's the world's
greatest lineman is John Madden . I don't like his stamina. Is he
really in shape? How many plays off did Bob Lilly take?
To Scott in Mobile : Drafting Ricky Williams , assuming
he's available when the Redskins pick, is fortifying an already strong
position, which is what you can do when you're a solid playoff club, not a
struggler. Ditto a QB. If they see a franchise guy out there, then they've
got to go for him on the first pick, but I think Trent Green's a good
prospect. Frerotte? Well, under another coach maybe, but it looks like
Norv has lost him. What would I draft in the first round,
assuming the super blue QB isn't there? Defense on both picks.
To Mark in St. Paul : Sorry, but I disagree with you about John Randle. Greatest
interior line pass-rush moves in the game. Strictly chase and pursue vs.
the run. My high school coach would have had him running laps. But
you're not alone in disagreeing with me. Everyone else does, too.
To Ray in Cherry Point, N.C. (Is that as nice a place as the name
sounds?): To answer your questions:
1) Under the current ownership of Modell Sr. and Jr. the
Ravens will compete, yes, but win, no.
2) Who will win first, the new Browns or Ravens? Depends on who they play
in the first game.
3) How far away is Peyton
Manning from the next level? Maybe next year, maybe the year after, the
next level being about an 80-85 rating in the NFL's system. Loved his
closing drive vs. the Jets. Coming out of college, I thought he'd be
slower to come around. Seemed a bit klutzy. But he's got it, and he'll be
a fine one some day.
4) Ryan Leaf is not mature enough to be an NFL star. Or even a starter.
Might take him a couple of years to understand that.
To Patrick in Minneapolis : Every pothead knows how to grow grass
indoors, so why can't they do it in the domed stadiums? Beats me.
Artificial turf saves $$$ on the upkeep and that's why they have it. It's a
horror. Once I was messing around with my son, playing catch or
something, on artificial turf, and I fell down. It was like hitting the
pavement. I had the black and blue mark for a while. Every time the
Players Association has one of those contract negotiations, I say the same
thing to Gene Upshaw : Worker safety should be the No.1 concern of
any responsible union, and yet you always have elimination of artificial
turf as an early demand, and it's one of the first givebacks. And he
always tells me that the players want it that way, that they're more
interested in the money end of it. I wonder.
To Chris of Tampa : I was being a little far out on that NFL Films
show with Steve Sabol, when I called the Hearst run "top 350."
That's what being on TV does to you. It makes you say outrageous things.
I'd probably put it around 150th. It was important and dramatic, as
far as the situation was concerned, but as a work of art, not that many
great things happened on it.
To Brian in L.A. : Once, at the Montreal Olympics, I gave the East
German track coach a ride. He was surprisingly friendly, and outspoken.
Maybe because I wasn't taking down his words with pen and notebook.
We talked about anabolic steroids. He said, "The IAAF (International
Amateur Athletic Federation) will never catch up to our steroid labs in
Leipzig. Whatever tests they come up with, we have the masking agents to
stay ahead of them." I never forgot that. I think the same thing
exists in the NFL. The wealthier players can afford the fancier masking
devices, because I sincerely believe that the great majority of players are
still on steroids, no matter what the NFL says. This will sound stupid as
hell, but they've still got that look, that same look I noted in an early
Steelers locker room when I saw people built in a way I'd never seen
before. Put it this way, anybody who's 6'3", 290, with 10 percent
body fat, is on something because God simply did not design human beings
that way. Weight training can take you only so far. Steroids mean steroid
injuries, pulls, etc., that take longer to heal, and I think that's what
we're faced with now. Someday, maybe five years down the road, if you read
this as a shocking expose, kindly remember that old Z told you about it
first. Click here to send an email
to Dr. Z.
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