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Tim Layden
SI.COM
The NFL offseason is young. In fact, with the Pro Bowl Sunday in Hawaii, the NFL offseason hasn't technically even started. But -- call me a heartless skeptic, so close to Valentine's Day -- I'm already worried about some of the hookups (new and old) around the league.
Here are four pairings that have the Beatrix Kiddo-Tommy Plympton vibe from Kill Bill, Vol. 2, and if you don't know how that one turned out, rent it. These could end just as badly.
1. Rex Grossman and the Bears' fans -- Whether Lovie Smith's unwavering support of Grossman, um, wavers between now and the end of free agency is only one of several issues facing the Bears. Lance Briggs and Ron Rivera, anyone? But the Grossman matter is not going away. It's too good for blogs. Too good for columnists. Too good for talk radio.
It's pretty well established that Smith is not a knee-jerk guy. If he was, he would have started Brian Griese in November. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner has spent two years tailoring an offense to Grossman's skill set. (I know what you're thinking: What's Grossman skill set? Fumbling, throwing interceptions and smirking?). They stuck with Grossman because they believed in his talents: His ability to throw the deep ball, his arm strength on the vertical seam routes that characterize Turner's modified West Coast system, and in his courage, which they saw in two years of tough rehab from injuries.
From their perspective, there are questions to ask. On the interception that killed the Bears in the Super Bowl, Turner got Bernard Berrian isolated on a linebacker and Grossman read it. Then he threw a pop-up. Was it the wet ball? Was it the pressure? From the longer view, they have to decide if there's more upside to Grossman or if they've seen his best. Clearly, before the Super Bowl, his teammates thought there was more in the tank. "He's like a rookie,'' said Muhsin Muhammad.
But that is not the only important perspective. Chicago will be merciless to Grossman. He will be ridiculed in the media and in cyberspace. Grossman jokes will proliferate. His every snap will be dissected. Is he tough enough to thrive -- not just survive -- in this environment? I'm not sure anybody
2. Marty Schottenheimer and the Chargers -- Raise your hand if you thought A.J. Smith would bring back Schottenheimer after yet another playoff flameout. It's well known that Smith and Schottenheimer scarcely acknowledge each other. Turns out it's worse than that. Last November, when I was in San Diego to report a story on Chargers' first-year starting quarterback (and first-rate, good guy) Philip Rivers, I sat down with Smith. We were talking about how Drew Brees got hurt last year in the 16th game of the season, with the Chargers out of playoff contention.
Smith says, "Now, as to why our starting quarterback was playing in that game in the first place, you'd have to ask our coach about that.'' (Here, the word ''coach'' is spoken like "cockroach.'')
At which point, I'm thinking, Man, it just got cold in here.
You get the idea. But the Chargers lose to the Patriots, ignominiously, and Smith brings Schottenheimer back. It has gotten worse since that playoff loss. Both of Schottenheimer's coordinators have left to become head coaches -- OC Cam Cameron to Miami and DC Wade Phillips to Dallas. Two other assistants have left to become coordinators -- Rob Chudzinski on the offense in Cleveland and Greg Manusky on defense in San Francisco.
This could be construed as a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that Chargers had one hell of a staff. The bad news is they're all gone. And Schottenheimer leans as heavily on his assistants as any coach in the league.
Players love Schottenheimer. When I was with Brees in January in New Orleans, he talked about briefly having considered staying in San Diego for 10 percent of his value. In large part, out of loyalty to Marty. But Schottenheimer hasn't won a playoff game since 1993 and only five of 17 overall. He has never taken a team to the Super Bowl. This was the year. It seems unlikely that next year, with a reconstructed staff and an anxious fan base, will be better come January.
3. Brett Favre and the Packers -- To the good: Favre and the Packers were both better in 2006 than in 2005. The team went 8-8 (a major improvement from 4-12) and briefly sniffed the playoffs in the mediocre NFC. Favre threw only 18 interceptions, 11 fewer than in the previous years.
To the not-so-good: Favre also threw for only 18 touchdowns, matching the lowest total of his career for a full season, and his 72.7 passer rating ranked 25th in the league, sandwiched between Grossman and Charlie Frye.
It's important to say that Favre should be allowed to dictate when he stops wearing the Packers' uniform. Not many athletes earn that right, but he has. That said, the Packers are a young team. This is part of the reason that Favre is excited about coming back for another year (although he sure didn't look that way in his teary, on-field, postgame interview after Game 16).
But the young team-old quarterback dynamic is fraught with potential problems. The dream scenario is that Favre has one more great season in his once-in-a-generation right arm and his big Mississippi heart. He grows the Pack's youngsters, carries them into the playoffs and, this being the NFC, anything can happen. Then he rides off.
But how likely is this? Remember, 18 picks and 18 touchdowns last year. And a 72.7 rating. Favre was a mediocre quarterback in '06, but legend elevated him above that station because he was half-expected to stumble on his face and limp off before Halloween. By exceeding those low expectations he expanded his own myth.
So the disaster scenario is that the Packers' young players get better and Favre gets worse. He struggles and continues the downward career slide that Favre forestalled longer than most athletes. That's not pretty.
4. Tom Coughlin and the Giants -- Is it possible to overstate the extent to which Coughlin was dead and buried in December, as the Giants slogged through their spectacular collapse, losing seven of their last nine games after a promising 6-2 start? New York is no place to fail and Coughlin was pilloried. Beat writers were compiling their lists of candidates to replace him by Thanksgiving.
What's more, his every game became an exercise in unintentional self-parody. He was a disciplinarian whose team was sensationally undisciplined. He demanded loyalty and yet his locker room had more leaks than the Nixon White House. It was comical. Or pathetic. Or both. And then he was brought back, with a new general manager.
Success and failure are always more extreme when the personality of the coach is larger than life. Bob Knight. Bill Parcells. Coughlin is a control freak with a scant resume. Imagine you are a Giants' player sitting in the first team meeting of training camp, your feet planted firmly on the floor, wearing no hat, eyes ahead. The message will be so familiar and so evocative of failure that there will have to be widespread eye-rolling.
The deathwatch begins with the very first loss and that makes for one long season.
SI.COM
The NFL offseason is young. In fact, with the Pro Bowl Sunday in Hawaii, the NFL offseason hasn't technically even started. But -- call me a heartless skeptic, so close to Valentine's Day -- I'm already worried about some of the hookups (new and old) around the league.
Here are four pairings that have the Beatrix Kiddo-Tommy Plympton vibe from Kill Bill, Vol. 2, and if you don't know how that one turned out, rent it. These could end just as badly.
1. Rex Grossman and the Bears' fans -- Whether Lovie Smith's unwavering support of Grossman, um, wavers between now and the end of free agency is only one of several issues facing the Bears. Lance Briggs and Ron Rivera, anyone? But the Grossman matter is not going away. It's too good for blogs. Too good for columnists. Too good for talk radio.
It's pretty well established that Smith is not a knee-jerk guy. If he was, he would have started Brian Griese in November. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner has spent two years tailoring an offense to Grossman's skill set. (I know what you're thinking: What's Grossman skill set? Fumbling, throwing interceptions and smirking?). They stuck with Grossman because they believed in his talents: His ability to throw the deep ball, his arm strength on the vertical seam routes that characterize Turner's modified West Coast system, and in his courage, which they saw in two years of tough rehab from injuries.
From their perspective, there are questions to ask. On the interception that killed the Bears in the Super Bowl, Turner got Bernard Berrian isolated on a linebacker and Grossman read it. Then he threw a pop-up. Was it the wet ball? Was it the pressure? From the longer view, they have to decide if there's more upside to Grossman or if they've seen his best. Clearly, before the Super Bowl, his teammates thought there was more in the tank. "He's like a rookie,'' said Muhsin Muhammad.
But that is not the only important perspective. Chicago will be merciless to Grossman. He will be ridiculed in the media and in cyberspace. Grossman jokes will proliferate. His every snap will be dissected. Is he tough enough to thrive -- not just survive -- in this environment? I'm not sure anybody
2. Marty Schottenheimer and the Chargers -- Raise your hand if you thought A.J. Smith would bring back Schottenheimer after yet another playoff flameout. It's well known that Smith and Schottenheimer scarcely acknowledge each other. Turns out it's worse than that. Last November, when I was in San Diego to report a story on Chargers' first-year starting quarterback (and first-rate, good guy) Philip Rivers, I sat down with Smith. We were talking about how Drew Brees got hurt last year in the 16th game of the season, with the Chargers out of playoff contention.
Smith says, "Now, as to why our starting quarterback was playing in that game in the first place, you'd have to ask our coach about that.'' (Here, the word ''coach'' is spoken like "cockroach.'')
At which point, I'm thinking, Man, it just got cold in here.
You get the idea. But the Chargers lose to the Patriots, ignominiously, and Smith brings Schottenheimer back. It has gotten worse since that playoff loss. Both of Schottenheimer's coordinators have left to become head coaches -- OC Cam Cameron to Miami and DC Wade Phillips to Dallas. Two other assistants have left to become coordinators -- Rob Chudzinski on the offense in Cleveland and Greg Manusky on defense in San Francisco.
This could be construed as a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that Chargers had one hell of a staff. The bad news is they're all gone. And Schottenheimer leans as heavily on his assistants as any coach in the league.
Players love Schottenheimer. When I was with Brees in January in New Orleans, he talked about briefly having considered staying in San Diego for 10 percent of his value. In large part, out of loyalty to Marty. But Schottenheimer hasn't won a playoff game since 1993 and only five of 17 overall. He has never taken a team to the Super Bowl. This was the year. It seems unlikely that next year, with a reconstructed staff and an anxious fan base, will be better come January.
3. Brett Favre and the Packers -- To the good: Favre and the Packers were both better in 2006 than in 2005. The team went 8-8 (a major improvement from 4-12) and briefly sniffed the playoffs in the mediocre NFC. Favre threw only 18 interceptions, 11 fewer than in the previous years.
To the not-so-good: Favre also threw for only 18 touchdowns, matching the lowest total of his career for a full season, and his 72.7 passer rating ranked 25th in the league, sandwiched between Grossman and Charlie Frye.
It's important to say that Favre should be allowed to dictate when he stops wearing the Packers' uniform. Not many athletes earn that right, but he has. That said, the Packers are a young team. This is part of the reason that Favre is excited about coming back for another year (although he sure didn't look that way in his teary, on-field, postgame interview after Game 16).
But the young team-old quarterback dynamic is fraught with potential problems. The dream scenario is that Favre has one more great season in his once-in-a-generation right arm and his big Mississippi heart. He grows the Pack's youngsters, carries them into the playoffs and, this being the NFC, anything can happen. Then he rides off.
But how likely is this? Remember, 18 picks and 18 touchdowns last year. And a 72.7 rating. Favre was a mediocre quarterback in '06, but legend elevated him above that station because he was half-expected to stumble on his face and limp off before Halloween. By exceeding those low expectations he expanded his own myth.
So the disaster scenario is that the Packers' young players get better and Favre gets worse. He struggles and continues the downward career slide that Favre forestalled longer than most athletes. That's not pretty.
4. Tom Coughlin and the Giants -- Is it possible to overstate the extent to which Coughlin was dead and buried in December, as the Giants slogged through their spectacular collapse, losing seven of their last nine games after a promising 6-2 start? New York is no place to fail and Coughlin was pilloried. Beat writers were compiling their lists of candidates to replace him by Thanksgiving.
What's more, his every game became an exercise in unintentional self-parody. He was a disciplinarian whose team was sensationally undisciplined. He demanded loyalty and yet his locker room had more leaks than the Nixon White House. It was comical. Or pathetic. Or both. And then he was brought back, with a new general manager.
Success and failure are always more extreme when the personality of the coach is larger than life. Bob Knight. Bill Parcells. Coughlin is a control freak with a scant resume. Imagine you are a Giants' player sitting in the first team meeting of training camp, your feet planted firmly on the floor, wearing no hat, eyes ahead. The message will be so familiar and so evocative of failure that there will have to be widespread eye-rolling.
The deathwatch begins with the very first loss and that makes for one long season.