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FOX NFL Sunday: Week 15 Roundtable
FOXSports.com, Updated 2 hours ago
WEEK 15: Tough week for Falcons
Every week, the experts of FOX NFL Sunday will candidly reveal their observations and make their opinions known as they prepare for their top-rated pregame telecast — seen each Sunday at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. We'll share with you some of the highlights and observations from Curt, Terry, Howie, Jimmy and Barry grabbed from their weekly conference call with insider John Czarnecki and pregame show producer Scott Ackerson.
This week, Czar probes FOX NFL Sunday on Bobby Petrino resigning in Atlanta, Jets-Pats and Keyshawn Johnson's war of words with Terrell Owens.
FOX NFL SUNDAY PANEL
CZAR: Has an NFL owner had a worse week than Falcons owner Arthur Blank? On Monday he learns his former quarterback is sentenced to 23 months and the next day Bobby Petrino quits on him?
Howie Long: "We need to put Arthur Blank's face on that famous picture of Y.A. Tittle on the ground with the blood rolling down his face."
Jimmy Johnson: "But I do believe everything is up from here for Blank and his team. As much as everyone with that team has criticized Petrino, and rightfully so, they are better off without him. It gives them a head start on getting their next head coach and they don't have to compete with anyone else. This gives them plenty of time. The players were never going to accept him. He didn't like it there and he didn't want to be there. And so really, Atlanta is better off without him. It's better that it happened now even though everyone is calling him a quitter."
HL: "All you heard out of there was that there was a rift between him and the general manager, Rich McKay, and that Petrino was going to draw a line in the sand after the season, but apparently he gave them a list of things he wanted and they were all addressed. I think he was hopeful that this list wouldn't be addressed. Some of his demands were deal breakers and he was hoping that Blank and McKay would resist that list and allow him to leave without ...
JJ: "Having to give the Falcons his buyout."
HL: "Yes. They met every demand and he shook the owner's hand five hours before the game Monday night against the Saints, saying he was going to remain the coach. McKay spoke to his agent on the field and was given assurances that Petrino was staying and everything was all good. Those players didn't dislike him; they hated him. I understand that you have to be tough on players, but you also have to be able to communicate with them. And he apparently was so unapproachable and so inaccessible to the players that he came across as if he had no interest in the players whatsoever."
JJ: "The bottom line is that he didn't want to be there so he didn't want to deal with them. He was out of there."
Barry Switzer: "I don't know Petrino, but your description of what he is like didn't give him a chance to win in pro football."
HL: "If you can't communicate with your marquee players, you have no chance. Now, the Michael Vick (situation) gave the whole organization some time to rebuild. It was a built-in excuse. I'm afraid that now Petrino leaving gives this organization an added excuse for mediocrity for a longer period of time. This gives them a five-, six-, seven-week jump on another coach, say, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Now, there is a coach who is innovative, but can also relate to the players very well. Garrett would be the polar opposite of Petrino."
Curt Menefee: "The problem of being the victim in all this, the Falcons are in a tough city from a sports-business standpoint. I grew up in Atlanta and went to high school there. But this is apathetic sports town, maybe one of the biggest ones in the country. And Michael Vick gave fans a reason to buy tickets and now there is no Vick. Now you're going through a third head coach in two years. All the sellouts that Blank had, they may not be there now for four or five seasons. They are going to have a young quarterback probably next season. I know that Blank loves Mike Singletary, but he may have to go for a bigger name."
Terry Bradshaw: "Well, then he might have to go for someone like Bill Cowher. But I don't think Cowher wants to coach next season. He sounds determined to sit out another season before returning."
HL: "Blank is a good public-relations guy. He's done a lot of good stuff for that franchise and their facilities are among the best in the league. Those suites that the players have for training camp — nobody has that right now. Overall, he's been a very good owner. And now he's been kicked in the teeth by both Vick and Petrino. All we need to know about Petrino is that he signed 25 years worth of contracts within an 18-month period with three different teams or colleges."
CZAR: Is there a better way for coaches to handle these negotiations with NFL teams?
JJ: "I don't know about that. As a coach or anyone, I think you get as much money as you can whenever you can get it. The NFL is a cut-throat business. Owners will also fire you in a heartbeat. Just look at Brian Billick in Baltimore. He won 13 games last year, but now they want to fire him. Get what you can get when you can get it, because it's going to run out pretty soon."
HL: "I agree with Jimmy because it is the same way with players. I know players who have a contract are holding out, hoping to get more money and they are ripped for doing it that way. But fans have to understand that most NFL contracts are one-way deals to benefit the teams. They can cut a player at any time and don't have to pay because so few deals are guaranteed like they are in baseball and basketball. The bottom line is that Petrino handled this so poorly."
JJ: "If he would have taken an hour or two with a few of the top players before he left, he would have helped himself public-relations wise. He should have stood up in front of the team and explained himself."
TB: "I tell you, I have never seen so many interviews where the players were so upset. They really didn't like this guy and they definitely didn't like how he treated them walking out the door."
BS: "I still believe this is the best thing for Arkansas and Atlanta. Arkansas needed him for recruiting, which they are way behind in right now. It is going to be hard for them. No one is doing a darn thing at Arkansas right now."
TB: "But if you're a kid, why would you want to play for him? Can you believe him when he says he's going to be there for all four years?"
JJ: "If you were a quarterback that throws the ball, you weren't going to go to Arkansas before. Now, you will because of Petrino. He will get a lot of skilled players, too, like receivers because of his success at Louisville with the passing game."
CZAR: What are your thoughts about the Spygate Game — Jets at Patriots — and that the Jets taped the Patriots last season?
JJ: "I believe the Jets are playing semantics with the video and what they did."
HL: "I heard the Jets fired the guy who was kicked off the Foxborough field last year for videotaping. If there was nothing wrong with what they did, why did they fire the guy?"
JJ: "Don't you think teams videotape the opposing sidelines from their enclosed section in the stadium, whether it is from the end zone, midfield or wherever their video guys are?"
CM: "Isn't just the home team doing that?"
JJ: "No, both teams have certain areas where their videotape guys are filming the game."
HL: "The league needs to hire a great movie detective like Gene Hackman. I mean, this is Enemies of the State kind of stuff we're talking about. You can even Google the sidelines during a game. Seriously, if all these people are truly passionate about what Bill Belichick and the Patriots admitted to, well, then they need to expand their search of the entire league. But nobody wants to open that box."
JJ: "There is just so much jealousy involved over what Belichick and his team has accomplished, plus people don't like his attitude."
CZAR: Are you paying attention to the Keyshawn Johnson-Terrell Owens feud? And what do you make of it?
HL: "I think Keyshawn is right for the most part. T.O. is playing out of his mind and is having a great season there. But T.O. has to acknowledge what Bill Parcells did to build that team. I mean, Keyshawn pointed out that Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's team in Tampa, and we all know that Barry won with Jimmy's team in Dallas. You can't get away from those facts. Keyshawn simply wants T.O. to get off of Bill's back and to leave him alone."
JJ: "I tend to like T.O. more than I do Keyshawn. I do agree with what Keyshawn is saying. Parcells acquired a lot of the players that the Cowboys are winning with right now."
TB: "Doesn't T.O. simply want us all to give Wade Phillips some credit for their season? Doesn't he simply want everyone to give Wade some love because he believes Wade is treating him so well?"
HL: "That's not all that he is saying. He's constantly taking indirect shots at Parcells for how Bill treated him."
Czar: "I think T.O. was always upset that Parcells referred to Owens as 'the player' and never directly by name when he was in Dallas. Like saying that 'the player' didn't practice today when he was talking to the media. You know, Bill did that sarcastically when T.O. didn't practice for weeks in training camp while he was riding the sideline bike."
CM: "For T.O., it is much like asking him about an ex-wife. He never got along with Parcells and when he is asked, any chance he gets, he is going to rip his former coach. Parcells isn't totally innocent in all this, either. But when drawing sides in this dispute, people also tend to forget about T.O. Now that he is having this great year, he is being described as some innocent victim. He's being described as some team guy, and we all know this is revisionist history to a certain degree. We all know that he didn't practice last season and that he was a troublemaker. People are forgetting all that because Dallas is winning big and T.O. is a major part of that. Wade Phillips admitted to me that Parcells built a lot of what is working in Dallas. But the other thing is that Bill was unable to get this team over the playoff hump there. Just because T.O. doesn't like Parcells, that doesn't mean he shouldn't acknowledge what his former coach did in bringing in talent for this team."
FOXSports.com, Updated 2 hours ago
WEEK 15: Tough week for Falcons
Every week, the experts of FOX NFL Sunday will candidly reveal their observations and make their opinions known as they prepare for their top-rated pregame telecast — seen each Sunday at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. We'll share with you some of the highlights and observations from Curt, Terry, Howie, Jimmy and Barry grabbed from their weekly conference call with insider John Czarnecki and pregame show producer Scott Ackerson.
This week, Czar probes FOX NFL Sunday on Bobby Petrino resigning in Atlanta, Jets-Pats and Keyshawn Johnson's war of words with Terrell Owens.
FOX NFL SUNDAY PANEL
CZAR: Has an NFL owner had a worse week than Falcons owner Arthur Blank? On Monday he learns his former quarterback is sentenced to 23 months and the next day Bobby Petrino quits on him?
Howie Long: "We need to put Arthur Blank's face on that famous picture of Y.A. Tittle on the ground with the blood rolling down his face."
Jimmy Johnson: "But I do believe everything is up from here for Blank and his team. As much as everyone with that team has criticized Petrino, and rightfully so, they are better off without him. It gives them a head start on getting their next head coach and they don't have to compete with anyone else. This gives them plenty of time. The players were never going to accept him. He didn't like it there and he didn't want to be there. And so really, Atlanta is better off without him. It's better that it happened now even though everyone is calling him a quitter."
HL: "All you heard out of there was that there was a rift between him and the general manager, Rich McKay, and that Petrino was going to draw a line in the sand after the season, but apparently he gave them a list of things he wanted and they were all addressed. I think he was hopeful that this list wouldn't be addressed. Some of his demands were deal breakers and he was hoping that Blank and McKay would resist that list and allow him to leave without ...
JJ: "Having to give the Falcons his buyout."
HL: "Yes. They met every demand and he shook the owner's hand five hours before the game Monday night against the Saints, saying he was going to remain the coach. McKay spoke to his agent on the field and was given assurances that Petrino was staying and everything was all good. Those players didn't dislike him; they hated him. I understand that you have to be tough on players, but you also have to be able to communicate with them. And he apparently was so unapproachable and so inaccessible to the players that he came across as if he had no interest in the players whatsoever."
JJ: "The bottom line is that he didn't want to be there so he didn't want to deal with them. He was out of there."
Barry Switzer: "I don't know Petrino, but your description of what he is like didn't give him a chance to win in pro football."
HL: "If you can't communicate with your marquee players, you have no chance. Now, the Michael Vick (situation) gave the whole organization some time to rebuild. It was a built-in excuse. I'm afraid that now Petrino leaving gives this organization an added excuse for mediocrity for a longer period of time. This gives them a five-, six-, seven-week jump on another coach, say, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Now, there is a coach who is innovative, but can also relate to the players very well. Garrett would be the polar opposite of Petrino."
Curt Menefee: "The problem of being the victim in all this, the Falcons are in a tough city from a sports-business standpoint. I grew up in Atlanta and went to high school there. But this is apathetic sports town, maybe one of the biggest ones in the country. And Michael Vick gave fans a reason to buy tickets and now there is no Vick. Now you're going through a third head coach in two years. All the sellouts that Blank had, they may not be there now for four or five seasons. They are going to have a young quarterback probably next season. I know that Blank loves Mike Singletary, but he may have to go for a bigger name."
Terry Bradshaw: "Well, then he might have to go for someone like Bill Cowher. But I don't think Cowher wants to coach next season. He sounds determined to sit out another season before returning."
HL: "Blank is a good public-relations guy. He's done a lot of good stuff for that franchise and their facilities are among the best in the league. Those suites that the players have for training camp — nobody has that right now. Overall, he's been a very good owner. And now he's been kicked in the teeth by both Vick and Petrino. All we need to know about Petrino is that he signed 25 years worth of contracts within an 18-month period with three different teams or colleges."
CZAR: Is there a better way for coaches to handle these negotiations with NFL teams?
JJ: "I don't know about that. As a coach or anyone, I think you get as much money as you can whenever you can get it. The NFL is a cut-throat business. Owners will also fire you in a heartbeat. Just look at Brian Billick in Baltimore. He won 13 games last year, but now they want to fire him. Get what you can get when you can get it, because it's going to run out pretty soon."
HL: "I agree with Jimmy because it is the same way with players. I know players who have a contract are holding out, hoping to get more money and they are ripped for doing it that way. But fans have to understand that most NFL contracts are one-way deals to benefit the teams. They can cut a player at any time and don't have to pay because so few deals are guaranteed like they are in baseball and basketball. The bottom line is that Petrino handled this so poorly."
JJ: "If he would have taken an hour or two with a few of the top players before he left, he would have helped himself public-relations wise. He should have stood up in front of the team and explained himself."
TB: "I tell you, I have never seen so many interviews where the players were so upset. They really didn't like this guy and they definitely didn't like how he treated them walking out the door."
BS: "I still believe this is the best thing for Arkansas and Atlanta. Arkansas needed him for recruiting, which they are way behind in right now. It is going to be hard for them. No one is doing a darn thing at Arkansas right now."
TB: "But if you're a kid, why would you want to play for him? Can you believe him when he says he's going to be there for all four years?"
JJ: "If you were a quarterback that throws the ball, you weren't going to go to Arkansas before. Now, you will because of Petrino. He will get a lot of skilled players, too, like receivers because of his success at Louisville with the passing game."
CZAR: What are your thoughts about the Spygate Game — Jets at Patriots — and that the Jets taped the Patriots last season?
JJ: "I believe the Jets are playing semantics with the video and what they did."
HL: "I heard the Jets fired the guy who was kicked off the Foxborough field last year for videotaping. If there was nothing wrong with what they did, why did they fire the guy?"
JJ: "Don't you think teams videotape the opposing sidelines from their enclosed section in the stadium, whether it is from the end zone, midfield or wherever their video guys are?"
CM: "Isn't just the home team doing that?"
JJ: "No, both teams have certain areas where their videotape guys are filming the game."
HL: "The league needs to hire a great movie detective like Gene Hackman. I mean, this is Enemies of the State kind of stuff we're talking about. You can even Google the sidelines during a game. Seriously, if all these people are truly passionate about what Bill Belichick and the Patriots admitted to, well, then they need to expand their search of the entire league. But nobody wants to open that box."
JJ: "There is just so much jealousy involved over what Belichick and his team has accomplished, plus people don't like his attitude."
CZAR: Are you paying attention to the Keyshawn Johnson-Terrell Owens feud? And what do you make of it?
HL: "I think Keyshawn is right for the most part. T.O. is playing out of his mind and is having a great season there. But T.O. has to acknowledge what Bill Parcells did to build that team. I mean, Keyshawn pointed out that Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy's team in Tampa, and we all know that Barry won with Jimmy's team in Dallas. You can't get away from those facts. Keyshawn simply wants T.O. to get off of Bill's back and to leave him alone."
JJ: "I tend to like T.O. more than I do Keyshawn. I do agree with what Keyshawn is saying. Parcells acquired a lot of the players that the Cowboys are winning with right now."
TB: "Doesn't T.O. simply want us all to give Wade Phillips some credit for their season? Doesn't he simply want everyone to give Wade some love because he believes Wade is treating him so well?"
HL: "That's not all that he is saying. He's constantly taking indirect shots at Parcells for how Bill treated him."
Czar: "I think T.O. was always upset that Parcells referred to Owens as 'the player' and never directly by name when he was in Dallas. Like saying that 'the player' didn't practice today when he was talking to the media. You know, Bill did that sarcastically when T.O. didn't practice for weeks in training camp while he was riding the sideline bike."
CM: "For T.O., it is much like asking him about an ex-wife. He never got along with Parcells and when he is asked, any chance he gets, he is going to rip his former coach. Parcells isn't totally innocent in all this, either. But when drawing sides in this dispute, people also tend to forget about T.O. Now that he is having this great year, he is being described as some innocent victim. He's being described as some team guy, and we all know this is revisionist history to a certain degree. We all know that he didn't practice last season and that he was a troublemaker. People are forgetting all that because Dallas is winning big and T.O. is a major part of that. Wade Phillips admitted to me that Parcells built a lot of what is working in Dallas. But the other thing is that Bill was unable to get this team over the playoff hump there. Just because T.O. doesn't like Parcells, that doesn't mean he shouldn't acknowledge what his former coach did in bringing in talent for this team."
