Old School?

I was listening to Rich Eisen's recent podcast. Actor Jason Bateman was one of his guests. Eisen frequently has non-football personalities on his show, but just as frequently the conversation turns to football. Since Bateman lives in Los Angeles, he was fairly excited to hear of the possibility of not one, but two new football teams in the LA area. Coming soon. Technically, they would only be new to LA. They would be two current teams that move for the money. This actually makes it even more exciting than going through the usual growing pains of an expansion team. Anyway, Bateman mentioned that he was a Raiders fan back when the team had their little southern sabbatical. Upon mention of Ken Stabler and Jim Plunkett, Eisen said that Bateman was "old school". My goodness. I was more than a little surprised. Even though the two QBs played forty years years ago I certainly don't think of either as old school. I was just a young lad when both entered the league, but they still had hard plastic helmets and at least one facebar. Old school is leather helmets. No facemasks and legal clothesline tackles. Night Train and Crazylegs. The Galloping Ghost and drop kicks. Plunkett and Stabler weren't even born when old school was in session.

Hall of Fame Ramblings

Any Hall of Fame induction class now without Cris Carter is a disappointment. But, I can still find a way to get interested, even excited. All of the players are deserving, although Shannon Sharpe should have followed Carter. Finally seeing a Cal player, Les Richter, enter Canton certainly adds some personal pizazz. It has certainly taken a while. For Richter and for Cal. Tony Gonzalez will certainly join Richter one day. Nnambi Asomugha and Aaron Rodgers are on the Hall path.

Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders highlight this 2011 class. They would highlight most any class. Both were fantastic players. Baltimore Colts great Lenny Moore is the only back, that I can think of, that could match Faulk's extraordinary skills as a receiver. A phenomenal player. His ideas for those great Rams offenses may have equaled, they certainly enhanced, those of Mike Martz. Faulk would make an excellent coach if he could handle players not having his football skills. Primetime! Deion Sanders has his lovers and haters. I loved his football abilities. Jimmy Johnson, Willie Brown, Mike Haynes and today's Darrelle Revis may have come close to the cover skills of Sanders, but I don't think that they touch him.

Shannon Sharpe certainly deserves induction. He took the bar from Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome and raised it even higher for tight ends. This induction should be seen as a family honor as Sterling Sharpe would have made it if not for an injury. Sterling Sharpe and Brett Favre would have made a frightening tandem. Shannon Sharpe was a fantastic tight end. A prominent part of three championships, he was the only receiving threat for the Ravens in 2000. I still feel that this spot should have been Cris Carter's, but that's just me.

Richard Dent was a great player, but I would place him in that gray area just outside of the Hall. For part of his career, Dent was a no doubt Hall of Famer. For the majority of his career he was just below. Dent's induction makes greater the argument for Alex Karras, Jim Marshall and others. Chris Doleman played the same position as Dent at about the same time and, I think, had the better overall career. Dent was an MVP in a Super Bowl. I guess that won over the voters.

It seems a stretch to consider a Hall of Famer as underrated, but I always felt that former Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger was just that. Like the recently inducted Floyd Little, Hanburger was a star at about the time I was discovering the NFL. Both were among the best in the league at their positions. As a kid, I thought that Chris Hanburger's name was hilarious. Just too much like hamburger.

Les Richter was covered in the previous Throwback Thursday. He should have been inducted much, much earlier. At the very least, he should have been inducted while he was alive.

Now, Ed Sabol is an NFL jewel. I'm so glad that his baby, NFL Films, is viewed with the reverence that it deserves. Football fans and non-football fans can appreciate the NFL Films product as the art that it truly is. It's just great, creative filmmaking. The NFL would not be where it is today, in the public eye, if not for Ed and Steve Sabol and their movies. Steve Sabol deserves a spot in Canton as well.

Joe Horrigan has one of the best jobs. To be able to work and create in the Hall of Fame would be a dream. In listening to him it's obvious he treasures his work, the Hall and the legacy of professional football. I would love to have his access to the players and to the history of the game. I would love to sit and listen to the players, coaches and everyone involved in building this game.

Congratulations to Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Richard Dent, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter and Ed Sabol.
Cris Carter had better be joining all of you next year.

The Savior

Sports Illustrated's recent Game Time issue had a nice little shout out to NFL treasurer Joe Siclare. He deserves more. This previously unknown league employee may have saved the 2011 season. He certainly jump started the negotiations when it was desperately needed.

The players and owners were getting nowhere in the negotiations in May. Big surprise there. The court-ordered mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, addressed league officials. "Look, you've got to come up with some new idea. You guys keep talking past each other instead of to each other."

The players didn't want to hand the owners $1 billion before the revenue was split without detailed, audited financial statements. Everything was stalled. Siclare suggested the league go back and study a common tactic in business. Why not give the workers a larger percentage of the income that requires no owner funding and let the ownership keep a larger cut of the income derived from it's investments? This was the breakthrough. The talks started moving. After weeks of discussions the two sides finally settled on a three pronged deal. Players would get 55% of the league's broadcast revenue, 45% of all revenue from NFL ventures (merchandise, promotions) and 40% of local team revenue (tickets, stadium enhancements). The TV money is a fixed amount over the duration of the contracts. No matter how much the owners invest in advertising, it won't change. The other revenue streams can be increased if the owners invest money, time and energy into it. The players loved getting a larger slice of a set large pie. The owners loved getting a larger slice of the variable pie. They can make that pie grow each year through their own investments into it. Both sides were happy, which is something that rarely (never?) happened the last five months. The revenue split was always considered the most difficult hurdle in this ridiculous mess. All thanks to Joe Siclare. The Flea Flicker and fans everywhere salute you.

Throwback Thursday: Les Richter

Les Richter will be inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame this Saturday. He will become the first Cal player to be honored in Canton. It was a long wait, nearly fifty years after his last game. It was a wait that Richter didn't make. He passed away on June 12, 2010.

Les Richter was the second overall pick in the 1952 NFL Draft by the New York Yankees. Two days later the Yankees folded. The franchise and the players were transferred to Dallas and the Texans were briefly formed. This is the franchise that eventually became the Baltimore Colts and the Indianapolis team that we know today. Richter missed all that chaos when the Los Angeles Rams traded eleven players for him in one of the biggest trades in league history. The Rams had to wait two years while Richter served in the military. When Richter finally made it to the Rams in 1954, he quickly established himself as one of the best linebackers of his era. He was selected to eight straight Pro Bowls. The only time that he didn't receive the honor was in his final season of 1962. From 1955-60, Richter was named first- or second-team All-NFL each season. Known for his rugged and punishing style of play, Richter surprisingly never missed a game during his 112 game career.

It has always been a mystery to me as to why Les Richter hadn't been inducted into the Hall of Fame. His absence, as well as that of Alex Karras, Jerry Kramer, Don Coryell and now Cris Carter, was criminal. Richter was certainly worthy. He was one of the best linebackers of his time. Perhaps, he was overshadowed by the better known Chuck Bednarik, Sam Huff and Bill George in the '50s. Richter's play and achievements were right there with those more noticed players. Instead of the football hotspots of Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, Richter played in Los Angeles. His absence is just another example of why the media should have no role in the Hall of Fame selection process. At least Les Richter finally made it to Canton. The wait was just a couple years too long.

Randy Moss

Randy Moss has retired. It's unfortunate that he wasn't currently on a team. No tearful press conference at the team facilities. It'd be cool if he could sign a contract with the Minnesota Vikings so that he could retire where he started. None of that is something that I think would interest Moss. That would be of greater benefit for the fans than for him. Despite his sensational season with the New England Patriots and the tragedy that was last season, I will always think of Randy Moss as a Minnesota Viking.

It's so hard to believe that the career of Randy Moss is at an end. In the pre-Internet days, Moss was the first high school player that I'd ever seen gain nationwide recognition. I followed his recruiting with curiosity. This unbelievably talented receiver. I followed his brief steps at Notre Dame, Florida St. and finally a home, near his West Virginia home, at Marshall. He destroyed the college record books. Embarrassed opponents. "The Freak." He was out of this world, but could he do it in the NFL? Could he stay out of trouble? That unbelievable draft day in April 1998 just doesn't seem that long ago. Moss never should have made it out of the top ten. He certainly shouldn't have made it all the way to the Vikings at 21. Randy Moss said that he would blow up the league. He took apart a Packer team that was a year removed from the Super Bowl. The Packers took cornerbacks with their first three picks in the next draft. Moss did blow up the league. He changed defenses. Teams started looking for tall, fast receivers. But, there will only be one Randy Moss.

I have seen few athletes as physically gifted as Randy Moss. Few athletes so much better than everyone else. He didn't have to work at football to be good. He may not have even had to work at it to be great. But, he did. Former Vikings receiver Cris Carter's offseason workouts were legendary. Moss did them too. He never stopped working. He never stopped learning. He became a smart football player in addition to being a spectacular football player. His work ethic may seem surprising to some considering his reputation for taking plays off. Unfortunately, he did. I never understood this in Moss. It seemed so contradictory as he is so competitive. He hates to lose, but he takes plays off. It makes no sense. It was frustrating. I loved to watch him play football, yet he was never one of my favorite players.

I fear that those in the media will fail to give Randy Moss proper credit for his work on the football field. He didn't always welcome the media into his life. They aren't likely to forgive that. Some say that Moss may have to wait for induction into the Hall of Fame. If that happens, the voters confirm their idiocy. Atlanta Falcons' receiver Roddy White said that if Moss isn't a first ballot Hall of Famer, the media should give the voting to the players. Randy Moss is not only one of the best receivers of all time. He is one of the best football players of all time.

Big K

Ten years ago yesterday, Minneosta Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer died of heat exhaustion. His body overheated and simply shut down after an early training camp practice, on a hot day in Mankato. Similar incidents happen every year. They happen way too often at the high school level. The passing of Stringer opened the eyes of everyone. The need for hydration and the conditions of practices changed everywhere.

Korey Stringer, known to most as Big K, may have been the most universally loved Viking. Teammates and opponents gravitated towards him. Smiles came alive whenever he entered a room. He was always great off the field. He was just starting to hit his stride on it. In 2000, he made his first of what looked to be many Pro Bowls. He was just a beast on the field. A huge teddy bear off it. He will always be remembered by those that were around that terrible day ten years ago. In life, Korey Stringer gave his all to everyone. In his death, he may have saved some lives.

And They're Off

All training camps are now open. Some degree of normalcy has finally arrived. Finally, it is all about the football. On the field football. No more bargaining tables, negotiations, finger pointing, and hostilities. Pathetic, suit and tie hostilities. Just on the field hostilities now. With Hall of Fame weekend coming up, minus a game, it's almost like this mess never happened. Well, not quite. At the very least, it's far, far better than it was only a couple of weeks ago. It's very refreshing.

Another thing that is very refreshing is the impact of the rookie wage scale on contract negotiations. Better yet, the lack of negotiations. This new wage scale is working beautifully. Maybe it's the newness of it all but teams have signed all their picks in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks. Amazing. Kind of kills the job of agents which is always a good thing. Having football back is a very good thing.

Here we go.....

RIP Korey Stringer