September 13, 2004: NFL
Week 1 Commentary and Analysis
By Ahchie
Opportunity Wasted
Dennis Green had a golden opportunity on Sunday to show that there
is going to be a new attitude in Arizona this season. That opportunity came
and went on one crucial play of the Cardinals' season opening bout with the
Rams. Arizona’s James Darling intercepted The Scarecrow (Marc “Ray”
Bulger) and took the rock 95 yards the other way for an apparent touchdown.
A LeVar Woods holding penalty, however, negated the big play and the Scarecrow
tossed a touchdown pass two plays later.
What
came immediately after the bonehead holding blunder could have and should
have been Dennis Green’s defining moment as the captain of the Cardinal’s
ship. Green should have gone on the field and physically yanked Woods out
of the game. Woods should have been directed to the pine and been told to
sit there for the duration. After the game Woods should have been given his
walking papers. Green should have made it clear that Woods would never play
for him again. That would have sent the message that the old ways are gone.
That would have sent the message that this is a new Cardinals team with a
new attitude.
Too harsh, you say? Remember that this is the Arizona Cardinals under inspection. They are one of the worst franchises in the league. If the Cardinals were a real NFL caliber team, they would have picked off the Scarecrow at least 7 times and ran away with an easy victory over the inept and poorly coached Rams. Those types of penalties to cancel a game turning play are what define horrible franchises such as the Cardinals. That type of play is considered the status quo and is readily accepted by those who have gotten used to losing. By leaving Woods in the game and on the team, Green essentially said to all of his young charges that the status quo and the same old attitude would be allowed to continue. Green had a golden opportunity to change forever the direction of the franchise and he failed.
Emmitt
Smith, on the other hand, almost single handedly brought Arizona back from
the depths. St. Louis had dominated Arizona all day and had tripled their
output, leading 9 to 3. Continuing at that pace for days uninterrupted would
have resulted in a 90 to 30 thrashing. But Smith brought his team all the
way back with his 11 yard touchdown run with a minute left in the third quarter.
In baseball when you look at the box scores, the first thing you do is ask
yourself, “What did Barry do?” This may be the season where your
first question in looking at the football boxes is, “What did Emmitt
do?”
Raiders Booted Off Radio
With four minutes remaining and the score tied at 21 in the Raiders
visit to Pittsburgh, KHTK radio made the bold decision to switch to the WNBA
and the tip off of the Sacramento Monarchs lopsided loss to the Los Angeles
Sparks. The staff at KHTK must have seen the future and decided to spare the
hopeless Raider faithful the agony of listening to another failure in the
closing minutes of a tight game.
Alvis
Whitted, ignored
by BMTG fantasy man, Brother Nature, did his best to push Oakland over the
top with his impressive 38 yard touchdown reception and subsequent 2 point
conversion reception to tie the game, but in the end was upstaged by the goal
line domination of the The Bus, Jerome Bettis, who rushed 5 times for 1 yard
and 3 touchdowns. Dave Roberts, former Dodgers centerfielder, was criticized
once for bunting for a single to lead off a game against the rival Giants.
That same criticism can be placed upon The Bus. Kinda lame if you have to
get your touchdowns that way.
Is Michael Irvin Racist?
To
be watched throughout the season will be Michael Irvin’s attitude about
the white man. Noticed on Sunday’s pre-game show on ESPN was Irvin’s
tendency to heap praise on black players, while throwing out excessive criticism
of white players. Mr. Irvin raved about Deion Sanders and his comeback attempt
at age 37, while he railed against Vinny Testaverde, who at age 40 will be
quarterbacking Irvin’s beloved old Cowboys. Mr. Irvin raved about Donovan
McNabb, but railed against Kurt Warner, saying his career is as good as finished.
The issue is not the positive or negative comment, but rather the intensity of that comment. It is valid to question Warner’s ability to continue to play at an NFL level. It is appropriate to applaud the effort being made by Sanders to come back. But when that praise or criticism is amplified and poured on in undue amounts, the intention of that intensity comes into question.
Irvin may be flashy and arrogant, but these comments do not mean that he is racist. There may indeed be no racial overtones to Irvin’s praise of one player and criticism of another. It is important to note that when Rush Limbaugh made his comments about Donovan McNabb last season, Irvin said, “Rush has a point.” Did he mean that he agreed with Rush’s assessment? Did he mean that Rush has a point, but he doesn’t agree? Does he mean merely that Rush is entitled to an opinion? Irvin’s statement seems to be the only one made in regards to the incident last year and is so ambiguous as to mean nothing.
In the interest of fairness, Irvin’s comments will be examined over the course of the entire season, rather than one segment of one week. The BMTG hopes to find that there is not a racist bone in Irvin’s body. Racist or not, at the end of the season the BMTG will consider issuing an Open Letter to Michael Irvin.