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NFL News - Sports News | Archive November 1, 2009
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NFL capsules
By Toronto Globe and Mail
November 1, 2009
Rams 17, Lions 10
At Detroit, As expected of two teams that combined for one win entering Sunday, the St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions played an awful football game.
St. Louis, though, loved the outcome — for the first time all season.
Steven Jackson's 25-yard touchdown run with 1:38 left lifted the Rams to a 17-10 win over Detroit, snapping their 17-game losing streak.
The Rams (1-7) avoided matching their worst start in franchise history. They also ended talk about joining Detroit (1-6) as the only teams in NFL history to have an 0-16 season.
St. Louis' key score came on a trick play. It lined up to kick a field goal and had kicker Josh Brown throw a short pass to a wide-open Daniel Fells, whose 36-yard reception gave the Rams a 10-2 lead in the final minute of the first half.
Detroit scored its only points on offence early in the fourth quarter when top overall draft pick Matthew Stafford had a four-yard run and two-point conversion pass to tie the game.
St. Louis hadn't won since beating Dallas on Oct. 19, 2008.
Colts 18, 49ers 14
At Indianapolis, the Colts won their 16th straight regular-season game, the equivalent of an undefeated season, and Jim Caldwell became the first rookie coach since the NFL merger to open his career with seven consecutive wins.
Peyton Manning topped 300 yards and got credit for another Colts rally, but it was Joseph Addai who won it. The fourth-year running back threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne early in the final quarter to give the Colts their only lead.
The Colts (7-0) are the last unbeaten team in the AFC for the fourth time in five years.
San Francisco (3-4) has lost three straight despite a solid performance from Alex Smith, who made his first NFL start at quarterback in nearly two years. Smith was 19 of 32 for 198 yards with one TD and one interception.
Ravens 30, Broncos 7
At Baltimore, the Ravens handed Denver its first loss by using the same blueprint the Broncos employed to win their first six games.
Rookie Lardarius Webb returned the second-half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, and the Ravens ended a three-game losing streak with a surprisingly easy victory.
It was Denver's first loss under rookie head coach Josh McDaniels. The Broncos (6-1) came in with the NFL's top-ranked defence, a plus-7 turnover differential and one of the league's best kick returners in Eddie Royal. Denver had also outscored the opposition 76-10 after halftime.
The Ravens, however, dominated all those facets. Baltimore (4-3) limited Denver to 200 yards, scored off the game's lone turnover, won the special teams fight and pulled away after leading by only 6-0 at halftime.
Eagles 40, Giants 17
At Philadelphia, Donovan McNabb threw three touchdown passes and DeSean Jackson had another big TD catch for the Eagles. The game was just the appetizer in a marathon day in the NY-Philadelphia rivalry. The Yankees and Phillies were set for the first pitch of Game 4 of the World Series across the street only hours after the Eagles' rout ended.
The Eagles (5-2) remained undefeated in the division and host Dallas next week. Philly dominated without running back Brian Westbrook (concussion).
New York (5-3) has lost three straight games. Eli Manning continuously threw high over his receivers or was the victim of bad route running and threw two interceptions.
His absence caused coach Andy Reid to add a new wrinkle to the offence: a fullback. Rarely asked to carry the ball under Reid, Leonard Weaver was an integral part early and helped catch the scuffling Giants by surprise when he ran 41 yards up the middle for a touchdown.
LeSean McCoy, Westbrook's backup, joined in the fun on a 66-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that made it 40-17.
Cowboys 38, Seahawks 17
At Arlington, Texas, Miles Austin caught a touchdown pass for the third straight game and Patrick Crayton returned a punt for a score for the second consecutive week, sending Dallas into a share of first place in the NFC East.
Tony Romo went a third game in a row without an interception. Since a herky-jerky first month, the Cowboys (5-2) have found quite a groove, winning three straight.
Romo threw for 256 yards, with touchdowns to Austin, Sam Hurd and Roy Williams. Marion Barber added a TD run and Crayton broke open the game with an 82-yard punt return, one week after a game-breaking 73-yarder. DeMarcus Ware had a sack for the third straight game, this one coming a few days after cashing a $20 million signing bonus as part of a $78 million, six-year contract extension.
Seattle (2-5) was coming off its bye and had cornerback Marcus Trufant for the first time all year. The Seahawks led 3-0 and were within 14-10 late in the second quarter, but did little right after that. Trufant was flagged three times for pass interference and the injury-riddled offensive line allowed three more sacks of Matt Hasselbeck.
Dolphins 30, Jets 25
At East Rutherford, N.J., Ted Ginn Jr. had two long kickoff returns for touchdowns in the third quarter. Miami (3-4) swept the two regular-season games after the teams met for the second time in 20 days, capping a week filled with trash talk from both sides in a reignited AFC East rivalry. The bad feelings were evident even before the game, when the Jets' Kerry Rhodes and a few Dolphins players got into a shoving match during warmups.
And, just like the last time these teams met, the game came down to the wire.
Facing a fourth-and-13 following a sack by Randy Starks with just over a minute remaining, Mark Sanchez scrambled before firing an incomplete pass over an outstretched Dustin Keller in the end zone to seal the loss for the Jets (4-4).
Ginn became the first player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same quarter since Green Bay's Travis Williams in 1967. Ginn had returns of 100 and 101 yards. Ginn had been replaced by wide receiver Brian Hartline in the starting lineup.
Texans 31, Bills 10
At Orchard Park, N.Y., Ryan Moats, taking over after starter Steve Slaton lost yet another fumble, scored three touchdowns on consecutive fourth-quarter drives to help the Texans (5-3) win their third straight game for their best start in franchise history. Matt Schaub bounced back from two first-half interceptions to lead six scoring drives on seven possessions.
Moats finished with a career-high 23 carries for 126 yards in place of Slaton, who lost a fumble on the Texans' third possession when Paul Posluszny punched the ball out of his hand following a seven-yard reception. Slaton has fumbled seven times this season and lost five.
The Bills (3-5) were undone by an offence that managed 204 yards and nine first downs, with only three coming in the second half.
Buffalo squandered another opportunistic performance by its defence, which forced three turnovers, including two interceptions by rookie safety Jairus Byrd. The second-round pick out of Oregon became the first player since San Francisco's Dave Baker in 1960 to have two or more interceptions in three straight games.
Bears 30, Browns 6
At Chicago, Jay Cutler threw for 225 yards, Matt Forte ran for two touchdowns and the Bears (4-3) easily beat the bumbling Browns (1-7).
Derek Anderson had another miserable day and was lifted for Brady Quinn, the man he replaced in Week 3, with about 3 minutes left in the game. Anderson completed just 6 of 17 passes for 76 yards and got intercepted twice.
That certainly didn't help a rating that was already a league-low 40.6 entering this game. And now, the Browns appear to be back in a familiar spot: deciding on a starting quarterback.
The Bears paid tribute to Walter Payton at halftime on the 10th anniversary of his death, then delivered a performance that was far from sweet. But it was effective enough.
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Favre rematch may be worthy of personal top 10
By Michael Silver
October 30, 2009
As the man in the middle of the most melodramatic matchup we have seen in many NFL regular seasons, Brett Favre could have gone one of two ways when assessing his return to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers this Sunday.
Option No. 1 for Favre, now the main man for the rival Minnesota Vikings: Give in to the hype and go over the top in his pregame interviews, revealing the many emotions he’ll experience upon re-entering the stadium where he made so many memories.
Option No. 2: Lie like crazy.
Favre chose the latter, going so far as to describe Sunday’s showcase game between the 6-1 Vikes and 4-2 Packers as “one of 16.” That’s technically accurate, in the same way that, to George W. Bush and Al Gore, Florida’s electoral votes in the 2000 election were “25 of 538.”
Fortunately, as someone who’s flying in to enjoy the festivities, I don’t have to downplay the drama. No matter how the game plays out, seeing Favre take the field in Titletown – his town – as a member of the hated Vikings will be one of the most surreal sights I’ve witnessed in more than two decades of covering the NFL.
I also have this very strong feeling that Favre, successor Aaron Rodgers(notes) and the rest of the principals will put on a show worthy of the immense buildup. For three hours, millions of us can put aside the growing concern over brain trauma, the looming lockout and other less cheery subjects and enjoy an escapist thrill.
However it shakes out, I know that as the opening kickoff soars through the Wisconsin sky, I’ll be reminded more forcefully than usual that my job most certainly does not suck.
Often, I experience those magical moments in January and February, when careers are defined and championships are won.
Sometimes, the experiences that stick with me longest come before the playoffs begin. Of the hundreds of NFL games I’ve seen in person, 10 stand out as the most memorable, either because of what went down on the field, what took place in the immediate aftermath or what it all ended up meaning.
This list is based on a highly scientific formula: I went on a bike ride and thought about which games resonated, and then I wrote them down. And because these games are, by definition, the ones that are most memorable to me, it’s pointless to argue that certain ones should have been omitted or included, though I know some of you will do so anyway.
And by Monday morning, when I finally put my head on the hotel pillow after the obligatory all-night writing session (but I do love my job, really), I’ll have a much better idea of whether this Vikings-Packers matchup was “one of 10.”
Here are the games, in chronological order:
1. Giants Stadium, Sept. 11, 1988, 49ers vs. Giants
Fresh out of Cal and coming off a summer internship at Newsday, I somehow talked the San Francisco Chronicle’s sports editor into letting me supplement his paper’s coverage with a sidebar – and man, did I feel lucky when all was said and done. This was the year that Bill Walsh was juggling future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, and Steve Young started the game before being relieved by Joe Montana for the second half. The Giants had brutalized the 49ers in this stadium in playoff games in ’85 and ’86, with Jim Burt’s massive hit knocking Montana unconscious and sending him to the hospital in the latter blowout en route to the Giants’ first Super Bowl triumph. On this day, the great Lawrence Taylor and his fellow defenders were all over the Niners again, and when Phil Simms threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Lionel Manuel to put New York up 17-13 with 1:21 remaining and raised his arms triumphantly to the heavens, it looked like Bill Parcells would be getting his customary Gatorade bath. Then, on third-and-10 from his own 22-yard line, Montana dropped back and floated one of those deceptively lethal passes of his toward the right sideline, where Jerry Rice was racing downfield. Rice read it perfectly; defensive backs Mark Collins and Kenny Hill did not, practically colliding as the unparalleled receiver snatched the ball out of the air near midfield and sprinted past his celebrating teammates for the winning score. The ’88 season would end with the 49ers as champions for the third time in eight years and Rice as the Super Bowl XXIII MVP. I’ll never forget how quiet the stadium was and how unfazed Montana seemed when he was interviewed after the game. Then he disappeared into the training room and I heard about 10 of his teammates give him an impromptu ovation.
2. Veterans Stadium, Sept. 24, 1989, 49ers vs. Eagles
As a first-year beat writer for a now-defunct Sacramento newspaper, I went on the road with the defending champs for the first three games of the season. The Niners had survived tests at Indianapolis and Tampa Bay, but this was the biggie – a clash with Buddy Ryan’s Eagles which, most experts felt, would represent a shift in the NFL’s balance of power. Sure enough, the Philly defense (Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Al Harris, Eric Allen, Andre Waters) manhandled Montana, sacking him six times in the first half and eight overall. First-year coach George Seifert was frazzled, and offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren decided his only choice was to spread out the Eagles with a one-back, four-receiver spread formation and take his chances. Trailing 21-10 early in the fourth quarter, Montana threw his second touchdown pass of the game, a 70-yarder to John Taylor. Yet when Philly’s Randall Cunningham answered with a short scoring toss to Jimmy Giles, he and the rest of the stadium engaged in a “This Is Our Time” celebration. In fact, it was Montana’s time once more: In the final 8:14, he threw three more TD passes, the last a 33-yard beauty to Rice off a third-and-short play-fake that clinched San Francisco’s 38-28 victory. To this day, I can still hear the strange sound of 66,042 people gasping as though they had been simultaneously kicked in the stomach. So much for a sea change: The 49ers went on to win their fourth Super Bowl; Ryan’s Eagles never did overtake them.
3. Arrowhead Stadium, Sept. 11, 1994, 49ers vs. Chiefs
I wrote about my memories of this game four weeks ago, before the first Vikings-Packers matchup, so I won’t spend much time on it here. As a columnist for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, I remember wondering – after Young had literally given everything he had (trust me, it was one hell of a visual) and failed – if he would ever be able to avoid drowning in Montana’s enormous wake. Four-and-a-half months later, I watched Young throw six touchdowns in a Super Bowl XXIX blowout of the Chargers with a Sports Illustrated credential affixed to one of my belt loops. That was memorable, too, though this day in Kansas City was far more dramatic.
4. Foxboro Stadium, Sept. 3, 1995, Browns vs. Patriots
This was my first season opener as an SI scribe, and when an unheralded rookie running back stretched over the goal line to give the Pats a 17-14 victory over the Browns, I couldn’t believe my good fortune. While Parcells had done his best to seal off all access to his players on the Friday before the game (guess whom he wanted me to write about instead?), I’d managed to have a long, illuminating conversation with a third-round draft pick from Pitt about his incredible past. (In the fourth grade, he had come home to find his grandmother murdered in her bed, with a knife stuck all the way through her body.) The young man was polite and intelligent, but I figured there was no way I could justify making him the story of this game between teams who had met in the playoffs the previous year. It had been a wild week: Before arriving in Massachusetts, I had enjoyed a bizarre couple of days in Cleveland, where the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was about to stage its gala opening. At the airport, I’d walked right past Bruce Springsteen; a few minutes later, Jackson Browne and Snoop Dogg walked off a flight from L.A. together. Then, at the Browns’ facility, I’d had my first-ever meeting with Cleveland coach Bill Belichick, known for his surliness with the media. We’d talked about rock n’ roll (he was buddies with Jon Bon Jovi) and within a few minutes we were like Mick and Keith. During practice, Cleveland’s beat writers were stunned as Belichick brought me into a restricted area and kept chatting with me during drills as though my pen and notebook didn’t exist. Then I had a long talk with owner Art Modell, who within months would move the team to Baltimore. I don’t remember all that much about the actual game, except that just before his winning touchdown the rookie running back had gone over 100 yards, and I had two excuses to write about him. And that’s how I ended up boarding the Curtis Martin bandwagon when there were no other riders.
5. Texas Stadium, Nov. 12, 1995, 49ers vs. Cowboys
I’d spent the week in Kansas City hanging out with Chiefs quarterback Steve Bono for an SI feature, and I was supposed to fly to San Diego to watch him face the Chargers. But I wanted to divert my route to Dallas, over the objections of my editor, who thought there was no point: Young was hurt, and with the 49ers (5-4) reeling and Elvis Grbac at quarterback, the Cowboys (8-1) were favored by 10. I had a weird feeling the 49ers could win, and fortunately I talked my editor into letting me go to the game – just in case. My belief that an upset was possible grew the day before the game when, after the 49ers’ walkthrough at an Arlington, Texas junior high school, I’d sauntered away with veteran defensive backs Tim McDonald and Eric Davis. As we headed for my rental car, director Oliver Stone, who was doing research for his film “Any Given Sunday” (and to whom I’d just been introduced), jokingly hissed, “Hey, Silver – getting the scoop?” A few minutes later, I was: At an Arlington Hooters, the two defensive backs laid out the brainy game plan that had been drawn up by first-year defensive coordinator Pete Carroll. The next day I saw a blowout, all right – the Niners led 31-7 at the half and won by 18. It turned out offensive coordinator Marc Trestman had an even shrewder game plan than Carroll’s: Thanks to formation shifts and motioned receivers, Rice was repeatedly singled up against linebackers. Sitting next to legendary SI writer Paul Zimmerman, I received a fascinating tutorial on how the Cowboys had been outsmarted on each of Rice’s big plays. Finally, late in the first half, Rice lined up in the slot, caught a short pass and raced upfield while being chased by veteran special-teams ace Bill Bates, perhaps the league’s slowest safety. “What happened there?” I asked Dr. Z. This time, he shook his head disgustedly and said, “I have no [expletive] idea.”
6. Arrowhead Stadium, Sept. 8, 1996, Raiders vs. Chiefs
Assigned to write a game story for SI, I’d run into a bit of a problem during the week when the Raiders, not for the first time, banned me from their training facility. So I went to Kansas City, and rather than doing the smart thing – blanketing the Chiefs’ locker room for as many potential story angles as possible – I jumped into Derrick Thomas’ Mercedes and went on a 36-hour joyride. The night before the game, I hung out at Thomas’ house with a crew that included rapper/actor Kid (from Kid N’ Play) watching Mike Tyson defend his heavyweight crown against Bruce Seldon and laughed my ass off. (Tragically, that was the night when Tupac Shakur, who’d attended the bout, was shot in Las Vegas.) Then it was Sunday, and I was a bit hung over and utterly unprepared for anything other than a story on DT. Midway through the third quarter, the great pass rusher had done nothing, and it even looked like the Raiders might win. I was in trouble. Then, in an instant, Thomas blindsided Oakland quarterback Billy Joe Hobert, and the ball popped loose, and K.C. cornerback James Hasty was going 80 yards the other way for a score – and I knew I had a hell of a story. Thomas later added a safety in the Chiefs’ 19-3 victory. After the game, I decided to start by interviewing some Raiders, but when I approached the locker-room doorway a team official whispered something to an armed police officer, and the cop blocked my path and said sternly, “Sir, I cannot allow you to enter.” I thought about doing the passive/nonviolent-resistance thing I’d seen protesters try while being arrested in Berkeley – for about two seconds. Instead, I went to the Chiefs’ locker room to get some more quotes from Thomas. The NFL later fined the Raiders $10,000 for having violated its media policy, and we all eventually moved on. Five days after the game, Shakur died in a Las Vegas hospital, and hip-hop has never been the same.
7. Mile High Stadium, Oct. 3, 1999, Jets vs. Broncos
Denver was coming off back-to-back championships, and I’d spent a ton of time with Mike Shanahan and his players over the previous few years – but this was destined to be an unpleasant visit. In the wake of John Elway’s retirement, the Broncos were 0-3, and in this case their best player, All-Pro halfback Terrell Davis, suffered the brutal knee injury that essentially killed his career. Many of the Broncos learned following their 21-13 defeat to the Jets that Davis’ injury was season-ending, and the players I knew best were shockingly candid with me in the locker room, admitting the obvious – “We’re finished” – in unambiguous terms. Afterward, a couple of players invited me to go get some dinner at The Chophouse, where it turned out nearly half the team had gathered. It was gallows humor to the max, with one player screaming “We’re done!” as he stuck a salad fork against his chest and another pointing at a metal vat of microbrewed beer and saying, “See that tank on the right? That’s exactly where I’m headed.” To say the resulting SI cover story and headline (“We’re Finished”; The Broncos’ Season Is Over; Just Ask Them) caused a, uh, snowstorm in Colorado would be a vast understatement. I did the best I could in terms of damage control, more successful with some principals (i.e. Shanahan) than others, and I’ve been waiting for the Broncos to get their championship mojo back for a decade. Perhaps, at last, it’s on the verge of happening.
8. Trans World Dome, Oct. 10, 1999, 49ers vs. Rams
The very next week, as I coped with the fallout from the Broncos story, I was sent to St. Louis to chronicle the stunning emergence of an unknown quarterback who’d guided the Rams, a 3-13 doormat the previous year, to a 3-0 start. I told Rick Smith, the Rams’ director of public relations, that I wanted to fly in Friday and hit the town with Warner that night. “He doesn’t really hit the town,” Smith said. “On Fridays, he has dinner with his wife and kids and then they go to church.” Thankfully, the Warners let me into their still uncomplicated lives that night, three hours of which we spent at the St. Louis Family Church. On Sunday, he threw for five touchdowns (three in the first quarter!) in a 42-20 blowout of the 49ers, and I was a true believer. Four months later, Warner was an NFL and Super Bowl MVP after the Rams’ thrilling victory over the Titans, and Warner and I were in the process of landing a book deal. And, of course, he reminded us again last season that all things are possible.
9. Raymond James Stadium, Sept. 24, 2000, Jets vs. Buccaneers
Tampa Bay wideout Keyshawn Johnson, bless his loquacious soul, set up this matchup against the team that had drafted him No. 1 overall four years earlier by dissing former teammate Wayne Chrebet. When asked about the undersized but productive Jets wideout by reporters, Johnson said dismissively: “You’re trying to compare a flashlight to a star.” (If only Favre were so accommodating.) I immediately flew to Tampa, where SI colleague Josh Elliott and I hashed this out over drinks at Bucs defensive lineman Chidi Ahanotu’s restaurant with a crew that included Keyshawn and the equally outspoken Warren Sapp – a clash of big personalities not prone to socializing with one another. So there were a lot of ways I could go when it came time to write about this battle between 3-0 teams. When the Bucs went up 17-6 and held that advantage into the final two minutes, I figured I’d been stuck with a game that hadn’t lived up to its promotional potential. I was wrong – the Jets scored two touchdowns to secure a shocking 21-17 victory, the second one with 52 seconds left on an 18-yard halfback pass from Curtis Martin (yeah, him again), the first game-winning touchdown pass thrown by an NFL running back in more than three decades. The receiver who leaped up to catch it? Mr. Flashlight himself.
Problem: I’d never interviewed Chrebet. Problem solved: Elliott, my young sidekick, had been out with him earlier in the week and handed over his notes.
10. Heinz Field, Jan. 6, 2002, Browns vs. Steelers
Since coming to Pittsburgh to cover the 1994 AFC championship game at Three Rivers Stadium for SI, I’d always enjoyed my time in the Steel City – partly because Steelers coach Bill Cowher had always been very open and accommodating. But I’d seen Cowher when he was angry – at me – and it was a bit unnerving, which is why I started to get a bit jittery two days before the Steelers’ 2001 regular-season finale as I sat with quarterback Kordell Stewart at a Dave & Busters restaurant. Stewart was enjoying a surprising revival as the Steelers’ starter, and he spoke candidly about his past struggles and said some very critical things about his head coach.
Journalistically, it was awesome, but I was dreading the moment when I’d have to tell Cowher, whose team had secured the top seed in the AFC, that he’d be starting his playoff push by dealing with a public rip job from his quarterback. About an hour after Pittsburgh’s otherwise unremarkable 21-point thrashing of the rival Browns on a snowy afternoon, I was summoned to Cowher’s office at Heinz and told to close the door. I stammered for a few seconds before finally blurting out, “Bill – basically, your quarterback took some shots at you, and I’m here to get your side.” Cowher never got even the slightest bit irritated. He shrugged off some of Stewart’s criticisms and copped to others, essentially telling me, If that was a motivational ploy by me, I guess it worked, huh? After about 30 minutes he cut me off and said: “Michael, go write this story the way it needs to be written – you’ll get no complaints from me.” And, with his blessing, I remember doing just that and feeling incredibly loose in the process (not unlike the way Stewart had played all season). Three weeks later, I was back in Pittsburgh and even more fired up about the Steelers story I had brewing when it all ended so suddenly – Stewart struggled in the AFC championship game, Drew Bledsoe came off the bench to lead Belichick’s Patriots to an upset victory (before Tom Brady returned to guide New England to its shocking Super Bowl XXXVI victory over the Rams), and the next September, Tommy Maddox became Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback. Two years later, Ben Roethlisberger – another quarterback who would clash with Cowher – took over. One thing I can tell you with certainty: If, years from now, Big Ben comes back to face the Steelers at Heinz, it won’t be “one of 16.”
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Peterson’s compassion constantly on display
By Jason Cole
October 30, 2009
In the aftermath of the Minnesota Vikings’ first loss of the season, Adrian Peterson begged for sympathy.
Not for himself, mind you. Instead, for his backup, Chester Taylor(, the intended receiver on the comeback-killing interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday that dropped the Vikings to 6-1 as they head into Sunday’s clash with the 4-2 Green Bay Packers. Taylor is a guy, in Peterson’s mind, who had done everything the right way.
In particular, Taylor has been the sage advisor to Peterson, a veteran who took the budding star under his wing rather than resent Peterson’s presence. Taylor helped Peterson understand the ins and outs of playing running back in the NFL, from handling failure and success to the importance of blocking in pass protection.
Thus, in the hours after Taylor let a pass from quarterback Brett Favre( deflect off his hands for an interception in the Vikings’ 27-17 loss, Peterson sent a text message to Minnesota running backs coach Eric Bienemy.
“He wrote me and said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t come down hard on Chester because my soul hurts for losing that game and I know how Chester must feel,’ ” Bienemy said, recalling the message.
“We’re talking about a superstar athlete who cares so much, not just about his job and how hard he works, but about his teammates. He puts them ahead of himself. As a coach, when you have a guy like that, you realize how blessed and fortunate you are because he makes everything you’re trying to teach that much easier to do.”
That same message comes across clearly in Peterson’s recent DVD, “All Day with Adrian Peterson.” For a guy who is the best running back in the NFL and the No. 1 player in fantasy football, Peterson hasn’t let his ego reach that lofty pedestal.
As Peterson recently went through a series of phone calls to promote his DVD, his answers were never short of impolite. He never lost focus on who he was talking to or what he was being asked. He was intent on pleasing his audience, no matter how small, and completely professional.
That’s consistent with the message that plays out in the 45-minute video, a montage of scenes primarily from Peterson’s first two years in the NFL. Spliced in are a collection of highlights from his youth football days, high school and college. While the eye-catching scenes are the highlight-reel runs featuring his unusual combination of size and speed, the intriguing part is watching Peterson when he does nothing more than listen and learn to the likes of Bienemy.
“It’s all about doing whatever you can to get everything you can out of yourself,” Peterson said. “God blessed me with a lot of talent, so I can accomplish a lot and I have that confidence to pull it out of myself. Everyone has that ability and it’s up to you to do whatever you can to pull it out of yourself, to have the faith to work at whatever you’re doing.
“We get our faith tested all the time and it’s about whether you’re going to be resilient enough in whatever that situation is to make it work.”
Peterson is second in the NFL this season with 687 rushing yards and is tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with eight. More important, the Vikings had scored at least 27 points in every game until Sunday’s defeat and are third in scoring at 29.4 points a game.
All of that while working in a new quarterback for the third consecutive season. Sure, it makes it easier that this time it’s a future Hall of Famer in Favre, but that’s still a lot of change at the most difficult position to play in the game, if not all of sports.
“The great part about it is that Brett makes it so easy. He’s always cracking jokes or we’re cracking on him,” said Peterson, whose locker is next to Favre’s. “Oh yeah, we’re always on him about his age. He’s got a little rocking chair in front of his locker, so we get on him. But he’s one of the funniest guys I’ve ever played with. He makes everybody comfortable.”
Still, what the Vikings have done since Favre arrived on Aug. 18 is relatively remarkable in that it has been nearly seamless in a sport that is fraught with complications. Aside from just playing, there’s navigating the locker room and all the egos that collide along the way.
That is if you allow the egos to collide. For Peterson, that hasn’t been an issue, even from the time he was drafted as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. As the video shows over time, Peterson has never let his confidence get in the way of the greater purpose. As a rookie, Peterson was once questioned by Bienemy about being late for practice.
The answer was reasonable: Peterson had to wait to get taped by the training staff. Still, Bienemy lectured Peterson on not making excuses, on taking care of small details beforehand, or going over practice routines before practice.
“The thing Adrian and I have is trust,” said Bienemy, who recruited the tailback when Bienemy was UCLA’s running backs coach. “That’s been developed over a lot of years of me sitting in his house when he was a kid, talking to his family, really learning to understand the young man. … He knows that when I tell him I’m his No. 1 fan, that I want him to succeed, I mean it. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to criticize him. He trusts that whatever I say or do, it’s to make him better.”
As Bienemy talked, Peterson simply listened. He never questioned, never shook his head in frustration, never looked away as if he resented the lesson. By Peterson’s second year in the league, he was regularly going over the practice routine and even talking about how much he looked forward to the work.
“Too bad this practice ain’t in pads,” Peterson said at one point.
“It’s all about being a professional and knowing how you have to do your business,” said Peterson, who had some amusing lessons along the way. One such time was when he ran out with the entire team rather than stay back to be introduced with the offense before the game. Taylor came up to him and asked, “What are you doing out here?”
Peterson ran back as the introductions were going on, a humorous moment for a rookie. His reaction after the fact is even better.
“That’s all part of the fun of it, stuff like that,” said Peterson, not taking himself too seriously. “We’re all out here having fun, but it’s still about being professional, learning your job and doing everything you can to get to that ultimate goal of the Super Bowl.
“Yeah, I’ve got some goals, liking getting 2,000 yards [in a season], but [the Super Bowl], that’s the No. 1 goal. That’s what it’s all about.”
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Johnson, others have worn out welcome
By Charles Robinson
October 29, 2009
In two weeks, running back Larry Johnson(notes) will come off suspension, and the franchise will be faced with yet another pivotal decision: how to handle a wayward star who has seemingly worn out his welcome with the coaching staff and front office. A league source familiar with the situation said Thursday morning that despite speculation to the contrary, the Chiefs haven’t decided to cut Johnson in the immediate future. However, his standing with the team beyond this season seems almost sure to have been sealed.
While much of the controversy has surrounded Johnson’s recent homophobic slurs on Twitter (as well as his criticism of head coach Todd Haley), it can’t be the only thing for which the franchise is worried. Johnson also went on a rant about his “cake” – slang for money – and at one point made disparaging remarks about a fan earning “5 dolla[rs]” an hour. Considering the Chiefs are supported largely by a fan base that has long been comprised of a modest and hard-working middle class, it’s not something that is sitting well with the franchise.
Of course, the simplest reaction would be to cut Johnson, who was already on a “one chance” basis with the new regime, and who has been largely ineffective on game day. But it’s really not that simple. First, Haley and general manager Scott Pioli haven’t been around long enough to know what kind of impact would be felt in the locker room by cutting Johnson. The new regime is still working on establishing trust with some of the team’s other veterans, and casting off Johnson without getting the pulse of other players could stunt that process. Second, the coaching staff and front office don’t want to send a signal that players can simply push their way off the roster by blasting Haley or making inappropriate comments.
Indeed, the best option on the table, and the one that seems likeliest, is Johnson being sent to football purgatory for the remainder of 2009, and then released in the offseason. As we’ve seen in recent months, Haley hasn’t been shy about altering the team’s depth chart since taking over in the offseason. So it stands to reason that Johnson is likely to be dropped to the bottom of the depth chart at his position, and left to languish as an expensive example to the rest of the locker room that bad behavior and insubordination will have embarrassing consequences.
There was already ample thought given to cutting or attempting to trade Johnson in the offseason when Pioli and Haley took over, according to a league source. And when that didn’t happen, the staff sent Johnson a clear message: the slate was being cleaned and he was being given one shot. That opportunity essentially ended when Johnson went on his Twitter rant.
Eventually, his employment with the Chiefs will end, too. That probably would have happened no matter what, with Johnson due $6 million in base salary and a roster bonus, and then a few additional bonuses tied to games played and workouts. Even before the latest fiasco, his production on the field – even if blunted by a poor offensive line – wasn’t living up to his salary.
In truth, the latest problems only cemented a decision that was already in the works. Johnson’s welcome in Kansas City was wearing thin long ago. The latest events only sped up the inevitable.
Here are a few more NFL players who, for various reasons, could be moving on this offseason …
Shawne Merriman(notes), LB, San Diego Chargers
He hasn’t registered a sack, or been entirely healthy, since the 2007 season. He wants a long-term deal that management hasn’t, and likely will never be, inclined to give him. And in what might be an indication of his tenuous standing in other corners of the NFL, a league source said the Chargers got exactly one phone call about Merriman’s trade availability before the deadline (hard to believe that but there is no evidence to the contrary). And did we mention that Merriman’s eventual replacement, Larry English, is already on the roster?
English’s two sacks the past three games might be the first sign of Merriman’s demise with the Chargers this offseason. With so many other players who need long-term deals, he’s simply not a priority. And the friction between Merriman and general manager A.J. Smith, over Smith’s criticism of the defense, isn’t going to help matters. There’s just no denying that Merriman has looked like the odd man out in this franchise for a long time. And even if he’s hit with the franchise tag (or a tender offer, depending on what happens with the collective bargaining negotiations), signs point to a faceoff this coming offseason. Like Drew Brees and Michael Turner before him, a change of scenery might not be the worst thing for him in 2010.
Ted Ginn, WR, Miami Dolphins
Ginn has been demoted twice by the Dolphins, first when he was taken off special teams duty season, and now Wednesday, when the team appeared to begin reducing his role in the base offense. Of late, he has appeared to lack confidence and focus, dropping balls in addition to his already maddening style of finesse play.
Six games into his third season, Ginn has never truly shown a consistent ability to be a No. 1 receiver, which was expected to be his role when he was selected No. 9 overall in the 2007 NFL draft. While he’s got a strider’s speed, he doesn’t have the explosion of a player like the Philadelphia Eagles’ DeSean Jackson. He doesn’t get off the line well against contact, he isn’t good at creating yards after the catch, and he hasn’t really become polished from a technical standpoint. In a way, he’s becoming reminiscent of Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Troy Williamson, who despite his athletic skill, just never became dependable or technically sound.
Ginn probably needs to be in an offense where he’s the No. 3 or No. 4 option, where he’s facing a nickel cornerback and doesn’t have the pressure to constantly excel. That’s not what you want to be saying about a high first-round draft pick, but that’s the reality. One thing is for sure: his experience in Miami got off to a rough start, and he doesn’t look like he’s ever recovered mentally.
Brady Quinn(notes), QB, Cleveland Browns
His house being put up for sale supposedly means nothing, but the unwillingness of Cleveland’s coaching staff to play him over Derek Anderson is telling. Coach Eric Mangini has already stuck with Anderson through the worst possible performances, so unless something drastically changes, Quinn is almost certain to be elsewhere in 2010. Not that his contract will be an issue. The team is well on the way to insuring he won’t see valuable salary escalators that would kick in should he play 70 percent of the team’s snaps.
Indeed, the quarterback issues throughout the rest of the league will almost certainly make Quinn a semi-valuable commodity going into the offseason. Multiple teams will be looking for long-term alternatives at starter, and Quinn almost certainly will ask for the chance to seek out potential trade destinations. And unless Mangini and the Browns actually want him as the starter in 2010 and are merely trying to thwart a jump in salary, he’s likely to be granted a chance to shop himself.
Tommie Harris(notes), DT, Chicago Bears
It’s saying something that Harris is considered by some in Chicago’s organization to be the fourth-best defensive player, behind the linebacker trio of Lance Briggs, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Brian Urlacher. He has seen a decline as a consistently dominant player since hurting his left knee early in the 2007 season, which came only months before the Bears gave him a four-year $40 million extension.
While still remarkably young for his experience level (he just turned 26 in April), Harris hasn’t recorded a sack in his last nine games, and continues to look like a shade of the player he was in 2006. Even three of his five sacks last season came against the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams’ hapless offensive lines. And while his contract extension was front-loaded, his $3.735 million salary next season isn’t exactly dust in the wind. However, the issue is larger than just money. It’s starting to become a question of working through pain and Harris’ penchant for missing practice time. Since 2007, occasional missed time turned into a once-a-week absence. Then came a weeklong shutdown leading into the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, for which Harris was scratched but later suggested he was healthy enough to play.
And while coach Lovie Smith allowed Harris to save face by suggesting he sat him because he wants Harris fully healthy, the coaching staff is losing patience with his practice issues. If he continues to struggle on the field and continually misses practice time, not only does he become a wasted paycheck, but it sets a bad precedent. And in the larger picture he’s not nearly as valuable as some assume. Two defensive tackle-needy NFC teams said before the trade deadline that Harris had little value because of his chronically sore left knee. It’s simply not an insignificant problem for a 300-pound defensive tackle whose game is predicated on explosiveness. Even at 26, that’s a lot of issues to deal with on an annual basis.
Clinton Portis(notes), RB, Washington Redskins
The inevitable changes with the coaching staff could have plenty to do with Portis’ situation, but he clearly has never meshed all that well with the current regime. Moreover, he’s struggling behind an offensive line that isn’t opening holes, and he has been minimized on third downs, with Ladell Betts taking more of a role in the passing game. The larger issue is starting to become Portis’ age. He turns 29 before the start of next season, and isn’t an explosive, big-play running back at this stage of his career. Depending on what the next coaching staff wants, he still represents a solidly tradable commodity for other teams that may only be a piece or two away from a sustained playoff run. And with a large chunk of his $7.19 million salary guaranteed next season, Portis will be entering the bloated back end of a deal the team likely won’t want to pay starting in 2011. He knows that, which makes this offseason the last, best striking time for a trade and new contract that will provide him additional guaranteed money through his last few prime years.
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