Posted on January 10th, 2013
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Football is a violent and dangerous game. I get that. But there has been too much misdirection in the aftermath of Robert Griffin III going down against Seattle.
It’s not hindsight if you questioned the wisdom of continuing to play Griffin after his injured right knee buckled in the first quarter.
It’s not second-guessing if you thought calling his number on running plays foolishly put additional strain on the knee.
And it’s not looking in the rear-view mirror if you believed injury-induced ineffectiveness — not just the risk of further damage — should have led to his benching before the fateful fourth quarter.
Everyone acknowledges the perils of padded human beings slamming into each other repeatedly for 60 minutes. You don’t need abundant foresight to know that bones, brains, limbs and ligaments are put in harm’s way.
The evidence speaks for itself every week as NFL teams report on their wounded.
But the inevitability of injuries doesn’t absolve the league, coaches or players when they disregard preventive measures. While it’s unclear how much pain can be avoided, that’s no excuse for acting as if we’ve learned nothing over the years.
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Posted on January 8th, 2013
By DERON SNYDER
Nick Saban’s three national titles at Alabama arguably are more impressive than Paul Bryant’s six. The Bear never had to contend with scholarship limits, early entries to the NFL draft, or a conference in which football and breathing are equal in importance.
Under Saban, the Crimson Tide have become a marvel to behold. He has created a standard of excellence that shows no signs of eroding. The good folks in Tuscaloosa extended his contract in March — making him the game’s highest paid coach at $5.5 million per year though 2019 — and they’ll dole out another raise if NFL teams sniff too closely.
No, he doesn’t have the warmest personality in fulfilling his media obligations. Saban comes across as an insufferable control freak, an automaton programmed to coach as passionately as possible while doing everything else as dryly. That makes him easy to root against, unless you’re a fan of Bama or a team he left in the past.
But something about the way he approaches his job is very appealing at its core. Not on an average, human level, but in terms of pursuing perfection.
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Posted on January 7th, 2013
By DERON SNYDER
He was given short shrift entering the season, primarily due to his diminutive stature. He went on to win Seattle’s starting job, but nationally played second fiddle to Robert Griffin III and third banana to Andrew Luck in this season of high-profile rookie quarterbacks. But Russell Wilson is the one who has advanced to the playoffs’ next round while the other two have begun their offseason vacations.
Only a special player could out-RG3 in RG3’s house, flip the script and force the Redskins to swallow what their face of the franchise dished out all season. But Griffin couldn’t keep up with Wilson, not with a bum right knee entering the game and a banged-up passing hand suffered in the first quarter.
Unencumbered by a bulky brace, aching joints and bruised extremities, Wilson demonstrated why his name has crept into Rookie of the Year conversations, flummoxing Washington in a 24-14 victory in a NFC wild-card game Sunday at FedEx Field.
Wilson didn’t produce eye-popping statistics, but he provided steady leadership and a calm demeanor as the Seahawks fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. His passing and running on three consecutive drives to end the first half resulted in 13 points and a one-point game at intermission.
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Posted on January 7th, 2013
JAKE LAYMAN
By DERON SNYDER
The stream of early season cupcakes didn’t leave Maryland soft and weak Saturday when the Terrapins faced Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Although opponents hadn’t offered much resistance as Mark Turgeon’s squad reeled off 12 consecutive wins, regular practice sessions made his team hard, strong and hungry to devour a real foe.
The Hokies qualified in name and league, but they were treated like another Monmouth or South Carolina State. In the process of a 94-71 rout, Maryland provided ample evidence that it’s deep and dangerous, with multiple assets inside, outside and in-between.
You want 3-point shooting? Freshmen Jake Layman and Seth Allen hit a combined 7 of 15. You want presence in the post? Sophomore Alex Len hit 6 of his 12 shots and finished with a quiet 16 points and nine rebounds. You want ball movement? The Terps recorded 18 assists on 31 field goals. You want solid bench play? Maryland’s reserves outscored their counterparts, 32-9.
Turgeon had expressed concern about the preparedness of his four freshmen stars, including big men Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare. The coach was worried about their rate of progress and lack of consistency as the team meandered through a decidedly easy schedule.
Turns out he fretted for nothing.
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Posted on January 3rd, 2013
By DERON SNYDER
The sneers and snickers are decreasing. The contempt and ridicule are fading. Skeptics are becoming believers, and pessimists are becoming fewer.
Decades in the making, a fundamental change has seeped into the NFL, altering points-of-view on the sidelines and in front offices: College-style offenses are no longer laughing matters.
Now the joke is on those who would dismiss the success of Washington’s Robert Griffin III, Seattle’s Russell Wilson and San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick. They merely quarterback half of the NFC’s playoff field. Carolina’s Cam Newton, another dual-threat signal-caller, owns the NFL record for career passing yards through two seasons (7,920), topping Peyton Manning’s 7,874 yards set in 1998-99.
Manning still gets it done the old-fashioned way with Denver, as does Tom Brady with New England and Matt Ryan with Atlanta. But adding the ability of pocket passers to the mobility of scrambling QBs — like, say, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers — has produced hybrids previously known to flourish primarily in college.
The performances of RG3, Wilson and Kaepernick in college-influenced offenses have made the NFL reconsider long-held beliefs that Saturday-style attacks can’t work on Sundays.
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Posted on January 1st, 2013
By DERON SNYDER
Examining and evaluating one’s self is routine when calendars flip from one year to the next. Folks think about some desired behaviors and make a determination to achieve them during the next 12 months.
Making such declarations are easy and fun — as long as they’re for someone else. So I hereby make the following resolutions for these sports figures in 2013:
• Redskins coach Mike Shanahan: “To limit any ‘I-told-you-sos’” Doubts were high when the team fell to 3-6 this season, 14-27 overall under Shanny. But now the project is on schedule for completion, just like he envisioned when he signed on. No one saw RG3 coming, but that’s beside the point.
• The NFL coaches fired Monday: “To be better, not bitter.” Andy Reid, Lovie Smith and Norv Turner can’t complain after lengthy stints in the corner office. Pat Shurmur (two years) and Romeo Crennel (one year) didn’t get much time, but probably as much as they deserved.
• The NHL owners and players: “To get something done or get off the pot.” The Winter Classic was scheduled for Tuesday, but the sides have opted to play a different game, seeing who can hold their breath longer. Thankfully, a drop-dead date is approaching and they should use it — one way or the other.
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Posted on December 31st, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Robert Griffin III is Washington’s MVP and easily could be the NFL’s Rookie of the Year. But Alfred Morris earned both distinctions for the regular season finale. On national TV with Dallas in town and a playoff berth at stake, Morris delivered a statement Sunday and made history in the process.
RG3 had a noticeable hitch in his giddy-up, still recovering from the right knee injury he suffered in Week 14. His passing was off, too, as he recorded a season-low nine completions (though a couple of his 18attempts were dropped). Griffin managed to scamper six times for 63 yards, running often enough to keep Dallas honest on read-option plays, but this clearly was his worst game of the season.
No worries. The other half of Washington’s two-headed rookie monster — “Flash & Cash” — was more than capable to pick up the slack.
Morris set career highs in attempts (33), yards (200) and touchdowns (three) in a 28-18 victory, killing Dallas’ playoff hopes and breaking Washington’s single-season rushing record. The Redskins called his number time and again, and he didn’t let them down.
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Posted on December 30th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Mike Brown last month, just five games into the season, even though the starting point guard was injured and the starting center still was recovering from back surgery. The Brooklyn Nets fired coach Avery Johnson on Thursday, with a 14-14 record, even though he won Coach of the Month in November with a totally revamped team and players still learning each other.
“This isn’t about the fair game,” Johnson told reporters during his farewell news conference. “A lot of time, it’s about the blame game. Because for the most part in this business, the coach always gets blamed. Whether it’s fair or not isn’t the point. It’s just the way it happens.”
Johnson and Brown deserved more time, but they worked in the biggest markets for impatient owners with high expectations in a microwave culture. That was a bad combination, especially for Johnson, in the final year of his contract with no extension in sight. The fact that Brown was jettisoned with nearly three full seasons left on his deal just shows that owners with deep pockets can be extremely impulsive.
But here’s where Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov can show much better instincts than the Lakers‘ ownership duo of Jerry and Jimmy Buss.
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Posted on December 29th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Where has the time gone?
January: It’s hard to believe 12 months have passed since we heard reports about the Nationals interest in Prince Fielder. Passing on the portly first baseman might have been Washington’s best move, although Detroit made out great. The Tigers signed Fielder in January, which also stands out for Joe Paterno’s death, Alabama’s second football title in three seasons and Flip Saunders‘ firing as Wizards coach.
February: “Linsanity” was one of the most incredible stories imaginable, a script that Disney would reject for flagrant hokiness. But Hollywood would be interested in another item from that month, when 19-year-old Bryce Harper expressed his desire to emulate Joe Namath off the field. Based on his production in winning Rookie of the Year, Harper can do whatever he likes on his own time.
March: Our tendency to create phonetic links between every scandal and a certain D.C. hotel continued. Too bad we couldn’t pay somebody to make Bountygate go away; that saga made our heads hurt worse than a helmet-to-helmet shot. Much better was the thrilling sensation (personal brackets notwithstanding) of No. 15 seeds Norfolk State and Lehigh upsetting No. 2 seeds Missouri and Duke within a four-hour span. Those were super-shiny moments.
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Posted on December 25th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
No one has to convince Darryl Hill about the value of sports in society. He has been a first-hand witness for a half-century, ever since he enrolled at the University of Maryland and became the first African-American to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Hill had to sit out in 1962 after transferring from the Naval Academy, but he integrated the ACC in 1963 and emerged as the Terrapins’ top receiver. He has been honored this year during 50th anniversary celebrations at Maryland and Clemson, and reflected on his accomplishment in various articles.
“Sports put everyone on the same playing field and same level,” Hill said in a recent phone interview. “I fought against discrimination in college sports so that young African-Americans and people of color could play sports at the college of their choice.”
Now the 69-year-old native Washingtonian has turned his attention to a different type of discrimination in sports, a form of bias that is growing but isn’t grasped by many folks. His new battle entails breaking down barriers associated with cost, not color.
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