Tebowmania storms Manhattan

Today the New York Jets will announce their new backup quarterback.  Yes, a NFL team is hosting a press conference to show the No 2 guy behind the center hold up his new Jets jersey.  A big show for a quarterback who is supposedly going to take about 20 snaps per game seems a bit much.   It is.  However, the quarterback is Tim Tebow, so it is necessary.

Tebow is not your average QB and he certainly will not be treated like a backup.  This is not because of his arrogance or his skill.  It is because of his fans.  Tebow has a strong following.  To say that they are zealous is an understatement.  Fans in Denver forced the club to make him the starting QB.  It is not uncommon for fans to express their desire for change, but Tebow’s fans purchased advertising to make their point.

 “Tebowing,” the act of getting on one knee and bowing your head, has spread around the nation.  Rex Ryan, the Jets head coach, has already experienced fans coming up to him and “tebowing” and Tebow has not been announced as a Jet yet.  A person with this type of appeal coming to the largest media market had to have a press conference.

The Jets will get some great publicity and jersey sales will increase, but I think that this was a horrible move for the Jets’ locker room.  For the past two years, I picked the Jets to go to the Super Bowl.  They came close in 2011, losing in the AFC championship game to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Last year they did not make the playoffs.  The problem was not talent.  The team lacked direction and trust in leadership.  Some publicly criticized their quarterback, Mark Sanchez, albeit anonymously, it shows the chaos in the locker room.

Tebow’s presence is going to make this worse.  Who is the real leader of the team?  When teammates and fans are bashing Sanchez what will happen?  Do player’s believe that Tebow was really brought to New York to be the backup?  Does Sanchez?

The Jets have said that they plan to use Tebow in their wildcat offense.  He can run and would be a threat to defenses in that type of offense.  I just don’t see two quarterbacks being co-starters working well for the Jets.  Especially, after the season they just had.  Tebow worked some miracles with the Broncos, so maybe he will do so with the Jets.  I like Tebow, but I am not a buying the Jets having a young, developing quarterback backup another young, developing quarterback.

Watch the press conference live online at noon ET on nfl.com

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Manning goes from young Colt to big Bronco

The wait is over.  Peyton Manning is packing his bags and going to the AFC West.  The four-time MVP will be the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.  

Manning is not just a great acquisition for Denver; he is a game changer.  However, Broncos fans should not reserve hotel rooms in the Big Easy for Super Bowl XLVII just yet.  The Broncos are a young team.  Manning has to go west and train a new offense to really block and stop bucking around.

The good thing for Denver is that Peyton is revered for his work ethic and skill.  His presence commands respect and he will not have any difficulty gaining trust in the locker room.  This is important because the offense is going to completely change from a run offense to a pass-first offense.  Plus, Manning’s play calling is unlike any other QB.  Listening and trusting is key.

I’m not really concerned with Peyton’s health.  Reports about his exams have been favorable.  It has been over a year since he played in a NFL game.  It will take him some time to get back to 100%, but he is a champion and ready to compete.  He is ready to get to work and will be in Denver next month for OTAs (organized team activities).  

One player does guarantee a Super Bowl, but a guy like Manning will surely improve Denver’s 8-8 record last season.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Peyton Manning goes team hunting

After 14 years with the same team, in the same city with the same fans, Peyton Manning is moving on.  Last week he and Colts owner Jim Irsay held an emotional press conference to announce that the 11-time pro bowl quarterback would no longer be the offensive leader of the Indianapolis Colts.  While it was a sad day in Indianapolis, it made a lot of other fans hopeful about the prospect of their team landing the quarterback.

I read that 12 teams were going after the future hall of famer, but not all of them were announced.  Over the weekend, Manning visited the Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals.   

The Broncos rolled out the red carpet for Manning.  They sent a charted plane for him and provided a tour of the facility with team leadership.  It is widely know that he is close to John Elway, vice president of football operations for the Broncos and John Fox the head coach. 

The Arizona Cardinals were not out-done by Denver.  They held meetings, tours of the facility and had their all-pro receiver, Larry Fitzgerald join them for half of the day.  Manning has a good relationship with Arizona’s head coach, Ken Wisenhunt.

Peyton is back at his home in Florida.  He will continue training and weighing the options for his new team.  A visit to the Miami Dolphins has not been planned, but they are one of the teams who expressed interest in having the NFL’s biggest free agent join their locker room.  It is possible that Manning could “take his talents to South Beach.”

Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, did not attend either one of the visits.  It is clear that for Manning, the first step in the process is football.  When you are Peyton Manning, you know that the money will come. 

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Bounty-gate punishment should be bountiful for Gregg Williams and NFL players

Last week the NFL exposed a bonus performance system that Gregg Williams used while he was the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints that breaks the league’s rules.  In the system, players received cash for not only performance, but also bounty payments for injuring players. 

The NFL’s investigation which originally began in 2010 discovered that Saints players received $1,500 for a "knockout" hit and $1,000 for a "cart-off" hit, with payouts doubling or tripling during the team's three playoff appearances in 2009, 2010 and 2011.   Knockout hits refer to a player being knocked out cold.  As you can probably guess, a cart-off hit is an injury that leads the player to being taken out of the game.

This was the case for former Detroit Lions running back James Stewart.  Former Buffalo Bills safety, Coy Wire, ended Stewart’s career with a hit and was rewarded for it.   Stewart was just 31 and coming off of season in which he rushed for more than 1,000 yards when he stopped playing because of the injury.

Wire said, "I shattered James Stewart's shoulder, and he never played again. I was showered with praise for that. It's a shame that's how it was. Now I see how wrong that was."  Wire played for Williams from 2001 – 2003 when he was the Bills’ head coach.  He says that the environment was one of malicious intent.

Williams was summoned to the league’s headquarters in New York for a meeting today.  He will discuss the allegations with NFL security officials and general counsel, Jeff Pash.  He has already admitted that the bounty system existed in New Orleans and acknowledged that it was wrong.  The meeting will address whether he used a similar system at other teams he coached including the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins.  It is anticipated that Williams’ discipline will be severe and unprecedented.

I am disgusted by the bounty system.  I understand the physicality of the game and the competitive war mentality that these players have developed.  It has been engrained in them since they were little boys playing Pop Warner football.  A friend of mine shared that he remembers his little league team giving an award to the player who had the “hit of the week.”  What little boy would not want to receive that praise in front of his peers?  I get motivating players to perform at the best of their ability.  However, to coach or play this game with the cruel intention to injure another player and end his career is unconscionable.

Williams should not be the only person punished.  Players should be punished for their participation in funding these bounty payments.  They have damaged their counterpart’s careers and lives.  Their actions make a mockery of everything that the NFL and NFLPA are doing to increase safety, decrease injuries and protect THEM!

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith the executive director of the NFLPA need to send a strong message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in professional football.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

The future of the NFL shines while the past tries to comeback

Andrew Luck (Stanford QB) may be the favorite to be the first pick of this year’s NFL Draft, but Robert Griffin III (Baylor QB), known as RG3, stole the show at the combine over the weekend.  He did not participate in throwing drills, but he ran a very impressive 40-yard dash and showed his professionalism in his interviews.  His official time of 4.41 in the 40 is the fastest time for a quarterback since 2006 when Reggie McNeal ran a 4.35.  We will have to wait until his college pro day on March 21 to check out his arm.

While college players were showing off their talent in Indianapolis to in hopes to begin their NFL career, there was news around retired wide receiver Randy Moss making his comeback.

Moss retired after the 2010 season and did not play at all during the 2011 season.  Not surprisingly, he announced a few weeks ago that he missed playing and was ready to come back to the game.  At 35, he is one of the best receivers that the game has seen.  He is tied for second all-time in touchdowns (153), ranks fifth in yards (14,858) and his 10 seasons of at least 1,000 yards are second only to Jerry Rice's 14.  If it is true that he recently ran a 4.3 40-yard dash, he could definitely help some teams out this.

Rumor is that Jeff Fisher, the new head coach at St. Louis, has good things to say about the short time he spent working with Randy in 2010.  St. Louis is still rebuilding with their young quarterback, Sam Bradford.  A veteran like Moss could help out their offense.

Moss is not under contract, so he does not have to wait until the new league to begin visiting teams.  He has expressed a strong affection for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, so we’ll see if New England invites him back.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Road to the NFL Draft starts this week

Football isn’t over.  The 2011 playing season is behind us, but it is now time to focus on building for the next season.  We have the NFL Scouting Combine, college pro days and free agency all before we even get to the NFL’s big spring event – NFL Draft.  Hello… 2012! 

Now the NFL league year does not officially start until March 12 the day that the new salary cap is set, but front offices are already having conversations about their 2012 rosters and who should be on them.  NFL personnel will head to Indianapolis this week for the annual combine at Lucas Oil Stadium from February 22 – 28.

Only 300 players will be at the combine.  I describe the weeklong process as an intense, invitation-only interview for the best college football players to get a job in the NFL.  Over 600 NFL personnel will analyze prospective NFL players as they participate in physical and psychological exams, interviews, tests and drills.  The athletes work hard to show all of the coaches, general managers and scouts from all 32 NFL teams that they are tough enough mentally and physically to handle a job in the NFL. 

Here are the physical drills that players will participate in.

1. 40-yard Dash – Known as “the 40,” this is the most popular event at the Combine.  Players are timed running 40 yards.  Like track sprinting events, this drill is all about speed. 

2. Bench Press – This test is for strength and endurance.  Players bench 225 pounds as many reps as they can.  This will show who really spent time in the weight room in college.

3. Vertical Jump – Players stand straight up and stretch their hand to the sky.  The measurement of this point is the reach.  The player then jumps to hit a flag.  He must jump without running or rocking.  The difference between the reach and the flag is the measurement for “the vertical.”  This will show scouts the strength of the lower body.

4. Broad Jump – This is like a long jump without running.  Players stand and jump frontward as far as they can.  This is not only about the distance. The key is landing and not falling.  Scouts are looking for good balance.

5. 3 Cone Drill – Players run around 3 cones in an L shape and back.  This is to test an athlete's ability to change directions at a high speed.

6. 5-10-5 – The actual name is the Shuttle Run.  Basically the player has to run 5 yards to his right and touch the yard line, run 10 yards to his left and touch the yard line, then run a final 5 yards to the right to finish.

A few players to watch at the combine are Andrew Luck (Stanford, QB), Robert Griffin III (Baylor, QB and 2011 Heisman winner), Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State, receiver) and Matt Kalil (Southern California, left offensive tackle). 

When someone brings up a wide receiver or running back entering the draft, ask them how they think that player will do in “the 40” at the combine.  Otherwise, you can start the conversation by asking, “Who do you think will have the fastest 40 this year?”  Now if the talk about is about linemen, switch it up and ask about the bench press.  

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

African-Americans in professional football

With more than 75% of NFL rosters being filled with African-Americans, it is hard to imagine professional football without them.  However, this was not always the case.  The NFL did not draft its first African-American player until the Chicago Bears in the 13th round of the 1949 draft selected George Taliaferro, a halfback from Indiana University.  He elected to sign with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).  He played with the Dons 1949; New York Yanks 1950-51; Dallas Texans 1952; Baltimore Colts 1953-54; and Philadelphia Eagles 1955.

A couple of months ago, I saw Third and Long.  It is an interesting documentary on the journey and triumphs of African-Americans in professional football.  It explored how the Great Depression and World War II impacted African-Americans in professional football.  I was shocked to learn that African-Americans played professional football during the 20’s and 30’s but were dismissed and barred from 1933 – 1946.

The documentary also highlighted the contributions of African-Americans and how they changed the sport.  As a marketing professional, my favorite story was of David “Deacon” Jones coining the term “sack.”  He was a starting defensive end and revolutionized the position.  Jones explained that he started using the term sack because he knew that journalists would not write a headline that read, “Jones tackles a quarterback.”  I agree, sack is much more impactful.  The new terminology affected salary negotiations for defensive players and became a recorded statistic.

Learn more about African-American pioneers in professional football and check out the NFL’s photo gallery of Firsts by African-Americans in the NFL Modern Era.

Ciao!
Heels & Helmets®