LaTunaNostra
He Made the Difference
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- 14,985
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Dear Coach Gibbs,
You have never been one of my favorite coaches. I always thought you lacked the dynamic personality, exceptional forward vision, or overall Lombardi level leadership of the true greats, but certainly in your former incarnation you were amongst the most accomplished of your contemporaries and a deserving Hall of Famer.
So it bothered me to witness your pinched, strained face on the sidellines yesterday. Had you been more animated - expressed frustration, or chagrin, or even clear disgust - it would have been understandable - and less troubling. But you wore the look of a man for whom reality has completely dawned. Of a coach who knew with his head the changes in the NFL over the last 12 years have been considerable, but had just felt with his heart they may be insurmountable.
You wore the same look of a fan who spent the day remoting back and forth from game to game yesterday - six of them - 12 whole teams - viewing the stalled drives, silly miscues, unfathomable play calling, and general level of mediocrity that is today's NFL, and reached the same conclusion:
The salary cap saved football, but has ruined the game.
The NFL will not fall victim to the haves and have-nots dilemma of MLB. Will not just remain a viable entity, but will thrive. Meanwhile parity will continue to be a euphemism for futilty, and those with memories long enough to encompass dynasties will yearn for just one team, just one game, just one series that hints of greatness. But like you, we must bear the consequences of free agency, of an over expanded league, of tv revenues trumping spontaneity, of technology uber alles, and of the "cap" - which will not allow the old formula team building that brought you your former success.
Now it's play rookies before they become too expensive to pay. Hang if they've learned the systems - you've got to get them, on the field. . It's the Belichick niche role mode - a pack of players which can do one thing right over a corps who can do everything well (that's both more cost effective and more time efficient).
It's a win now mentality born of the realization that time, tide, and the owner's ficklness is born of "retooling" supplanting rebuilding, and no one who wants to stay employed questioning it.
It's a league of watered down quality, players ironically far beyond the physical capacity of days of old, yet no team is able to rise to a sustained level approaching greatness. It's league of overly complicated schemes and the accompanying penalties, of surprising no one as much as yourself , of herky jerky, disjointed drives, playing for the next contract, and the reality that very very very few will retire with the team that drafted them - even if they're Emmitt Smith. It's a league of hired guns and transients, and retired refs paid as consultants to assess calls.
Compared with a generation ago, the product is garbage, but the younger Madden play station and fantasy football bred fan doesn't know that. Doesn't have the concentration level to appreciate a complete masterfully coached game, much less the history of a dynasty. Stats have been decontextualized, and the individual raised above the team. More players are household names and fewer worthy. And hovering above the decline is the magic cap number that will always encourage quick fixes, constant personnel shifts, and the mercenary approach from GMing on down.
There is no time for greatness any more, Coach Gibbs, no time to nurse and nurture it. No time to build, to learn , to prosper. The "future is now" in a way George Allen could never have imagined.
This is not your father's football. And that stinks.
But you, like us, are stuck with it.
Sincerely,
AN NFL FAN
You have never been one of my favorite coaches. I always thought you lacked the dynamic personality, exceptional forward vision, or overall Lombardi level leadership of the true greats, but certainly in your former incarnation you were amongst the most accomplished of your contemporaries and a deserving Hall of Famer.
So it bothered me to witness your pinched, strained face on the sidellines yesterday. Had you been more animated - expressed frustration, or chagrin, or even clear disgust - it would have been understandable - and less troubling. But you wore the look of a man for whom reality has completely dawned. Of a coach who knew with his head the changes in the NFL over the last 12 years have been considerable, but had just felt with his heart they may be insurmountable.
You wore the same look of a fan who spent the day remoting back and forth from game to game yesterday - six of them - 12 whole teams - viewing the stalled drives, silly miscues, unfathomable play calling, and general level of mediocrity that is today's NFL, and reached the same conclusion:
The salary cap saved football, but has ruined the game.
The NFL will not fall victim to the haves and have-nots dilemma of MLB. Will not just remain a viable entity, but will thrive. Meanwhile parity will continue to be a euphemism for futilty, and those with memories long enough to encompass dynasties will yearn for just one team, just one game, just one series that hints of greatness. But like you, we must bear the consequences of free agency, of an over expanded league, of tv revenues trumping spontaneity, of technology uber alles, and of the "cap" - which will not allow the old formula team building that brought you your former success.
Now it's play rookies before they become too expensive to pay. Hang if they've learned the systems - you've got to get them, on the field. . It's the Belichick niche role mode - a pack of players which can do one thing right over a corps who can do everything well (that's both more cost effective and more time efficient).
It's a win now mentality born of the realization that time, tide, and the owner's ficklness is born of "retooling" supplanting rebuilding, and no one who wants to stay employed questioning it.
It's a league of watered down quality, players ironically far beyond the physical capacity of days of old, yet no team is able to rise to a sustained level approaching greatness. It's league of overly complicated schemes and the accompanying penalties, of surprising no one as much as yourself , of herky jerky, disjointed drives, playing for the next contract, and the reality that very very very few will retire with the team that drafted them - even if they're Emmitt Smith. It's a league of hired guns and transients, and retired refs paid as consultants to assess calls.
Compared with a generation ago, the product is garbage, but the younger Madden play station and fantasy football bred fan doesn't know that. Doesn't have the concentration level to appreciate a complete masterfully coached game, much less the history of a dynasty. Stats have been decontextualized, and the individual raised above the team. More players are household names and fewer worthy. And hovering above the decline is the magic cap number that will always encourage quick fixes, constant personnel shifts, and the mercenary approach from GMing on down.
There is no time for greatness any more, Coach Gibbs, no time to nurse and nurture it. No time to build, to learn , to prosper. The "future is now" in a way George Allen could never have imagined.
This is not your father's football. And that stinks.
But you, like us, are stuck with it.
Sincerely,
AN NFL FAN
