Here's my list of a few players and coaches who need to say good-bye to football . . . or have football say good-bye to them.
Marshall Faulk:
He was never an especially good RB. This fact was covered over and overlooked because of his soft hands. But he can’t stay healthy for more than a few weeks at a time and this isn’t the kind of problem that’ll just clear up at this point in his career (and life). It’s time to either cut his pay drastically and use him situationally, or give him the boot. He’s not only seen the end of his best years, but likely of his good years.
Ed McCaffery:
This one is painful. Ed’s always been a class guy. He’s done everything that’s ever been asked of him, sacrificed himself week in and week out and been the Broncos best blocking WR, their best route runner and their surest pair of hands. But just like Faulk, Ed can’t stay healthy anymore. The years of wearing trimmed down pads and getting hammered making catches over the middle have caught up to him. Compound this with the development of Ashley Lelie and it’s probably time for Ed to bow out.
Emmitt Smith:
Should have been forced out of football years ago. He only held on so he could year by year slither closer to Payton’s Rushing record and Jerry Jones is a classless wanker who so coveted that record for his Cowpatties that he didn’t have the guts or integrity to cut Emmitt loose. Emmitt spent the ‘02 season crying that he was “a diamond among garbage”. Turns out ‘03 proves that it was him stinking up the joint. It’s too late for him to go gracefully or with any degree of class, but he can still haul his smelly butt to the trash heap and stop pretending that he has anything worthwhile left in him.
Bruce Smith:
Maybe it’s the last name, because Bruce is another Smith who should have hung up his cleats several years ago, but was as desperate as his owner to have a record that neither of them deserve.
Eddie George:
Hasn’t been worth a spoonful of poop for the past few years, but keeps hoping against hope that his massive slide in production is a fluke, or the result of things he can’t control (like Fisher’s refusal to sign a FB of ANY quality to help out with the blocking). Unfortunately this isn’t the case. George is another hardworking, likable Ed who needs to see that it’s time to step aside.
Kevin Gilbride:
Sure, he’s a nice guy and the Buddy Ryan incident bought him a lot of sympathy, but his system is, at best, only sporadically successful and he refuses to change his philosophy. Gilbride has no place coaching in the NFL. Maybe he could pick up a college gig, then we wouldn’t have to watch his teams fall on their faces year after year.
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Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, NFL, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins
Comments (6)
Tom, what the hell are you ... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Randy H. | January 22, 2004 11:19 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Tom, what the hell are you drinking? Not only is this post incoherent, but it is also just plain stupid. Marshall Faulk is one of the BEST to ever play his position. No one disputes that, except perhaps you.
Sure, he's not the player he was four years ago, but he's still a top 10 RB in the league. You say that fact he wasn't a good back was "overlooked" due to his "soft hands". Are you familiar with the offensive schemes in the current NFL? It isn't a "nice to have" to have a back who can catch the ball out of the backfield or line up in the slot, its a requirement. I suggest you start watching European Football and leave the American kind to those of us who know what we're talking about.
1. Posted by Randy H. | January 22, 2004 11:19 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 22, 2004 23:19
2. Posted by Tom | January 23, 2004 1:32 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
1. Faulk has NEVER rushed for even 1,400 yards.
2. He hasn't played a full 16 game season in 4 yrs.
3. In '03 he played only 11 games.
4. His '03 per carry average was the lowest it's been in 7 years and the 3rd lowest of his career.
5. His per catch average was the lowest of his entire career.
6. He caught barely half the balls and had barely half the receiving yards that he had a year earlier, but played only 3 fewer games.
7. His overall production has declined every year for three years.
8. His rushing production has declined every year for three years.
9. His receiving production has declined every year for five years.
You say that it's a must to have a back with soft hands, but Faulk isn't half the receiver that he once was. So by your own standards, it's well beyond time for him to go.
A top ten running back? Hardly. Only his mother or a total idiot would believe so.
Enjoy your European football, genius.
Next.
2. Posted by Tom | January 23, 2004 1:32 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 23, 2004 01:32
3. Posted by randy | January 30, 2004 8:33 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Tom, you don't know shit. You're just a whiner. You're sitting around for weeks thinking about the fact that you were exposed as a football "know nothing" on this blog and now you want to respond. Give me a break. :)
And yes, you can thank your flamebait for your comment.
3. Posted by randy | January 30, 2004 8:33 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 30, 2004 20:33
4. Posted by Mark | April 19, 2004 2:25 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I'm not going to swear and call you an idiot up and down this message and make myself look like an idiot like these other people have. I'm just going to tell you why I don't like what you said about Emmitt Smith.
You need to be more respectful of what Emmitt Smith has done not only for himself, the Cowboys but for all of the NFL is amazing.
Of course he is at the end of his career and he is not the same running back he was in the heigth of his career. However, his accomplishments certainly mean more respect for him. He beat the Giants with a dislocated shoulder. Held out and Dallas lost all the games he didn't play in. Came back and led the Cowboys back to the Superbowl.
He has heart and has the desire to win and if he feels that he still has something to offer a team then let him do it. Yes, he should retire but who are you to say he should. I'm sure that your journalstic career doesn't compare to his success as a running back in the NFL.
4. Posted by Mark | April 19, 2004 2:25 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on April 19, 2004 02:25
5. Posted by Bud Grant | August 7, 2004 5:01 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Tom , you tell it lke it is!
5. Posted by Bud Grant | August 7, 2004 5:01 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 7, 2004 17:01
6. Posted by Tom | August 7, 2004 9:39 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Thank you, Bud.
6. Posted by Tom | August 7, 2004 9:39 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 7, 2004 21:39