Careless Cowboys

For the second time in four years the Dallas Cowboys accidentally revealed their draft board. In 2010, owner Jerry Jones gave post-draft interviews while standing in front of his team's draft board. Having learned nothing from that mistake Jones did the very same thing following the past draft. It may not be that big of a deal after the draft has come to an end but the draft board is usually something that a team goes to great lengths to keep secret. It's a secret that most try to keep at any time of the year. It provides insight into how a team goes about their draft business. It's not for the eyes of everyone. Jones must have his reasons for being so careless, or generous, so often.

The media put Jones on the defensive immediately following of the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. It's always fun to see Jerry all huffy. He received quite a bit of criticism for spending his first round pick on Wisconsin center Travis Frederick. Even Frederick was surprised by his selection in the first round. He was the best center in the draft but centers rarely receive first round consideration. Jones obviously felt that they needed an upgrade at the position. Since we now have the advantage of seeing how the Cowboys had the players stacked on their board, we can see that the team had Frederick rated as a second round pick. The Cowboys did trade down in the first round with the San Francisco 49ers so they were picking at the very end of the first. Drafting a player at the end of the first that you have slotted for the second isn't much of a reach. When a team drafts a player really has nothing to do with how others see the player. It only matters how the team sees the player. They drafted him. They're coaching them. It's their business. You hear it all the time time about the draft, "stay true to your board." This is one of the main reasons that teams don't reveal their boards.

The Cowboys and Jones are getting a lot of grief for this little gaffe. Especially since it's not the first time. I actually think that the Cowboys had a pretty nice draft. You really can't go wrong with a Wisconsin offensive lineman even if you draft him a round early. Frederick should be a very good player for them. Once the games start it really doesn't matter what round a player was drafted. San Diego St. tight end Gavin Escobar and Baylor receiver Terrance Williams will make super rich quarterback Tony Romo happy. Georgia Southern safety J.J. Wilcox and William & Mary corner B.W. Webb will help the secondary. Those five players should get a lot of playing time early. That's a nice draft any way that you look at it.

It's always fun to laugh and poke fun at the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones is starting to make that way too easy.

Throwback Thursday: Flea Flicker's Finest Football Coaches

ESPN is ranking the twenty greatest football coaches in the history of the NFL. The Flea Flicker has decided to do the same. Any "greatest of" list is going to be highly subjective. There's no right way of doing it. When it comes to coaches, one list maker might favor coaching innovations. The next list maker might just look at whether the coach won enough. Some coaches won a bunch but could never win the big one. Are they doomed to be axed from any list of the greatest coaches? It's all in the eye of the beholder. His how the Flea Flicker sees the top 25.

25. Marv Levy
24. Steve Owen
23. Mike Shanahan
22. Ray Flaherty
21. George Allen
20. Tony Dungy
19. Buddy Parker
18. Hank Stram
17. Tom Coughlin
16. Bill Parcells
15. Sid Gillman
14. Weeb Ewbank
13. Jimmy Johnson
12. Curly Lambeau
11. Bud Grant
10. John Madden
  9. Tom Landry
  8. Don Shula
  7. George Halas
  6. Chuck Noll
  5. Bill Belichick
  4. Joe Gibbs
  3. Bill Walsh
  2. Paul Brown
  1. Vince Lombardi

One thing that has always impressed me is when a coach experiences great success with one team and then moves to another and success follows. Ewbank won championships with the Baltimore Colts to close out the '50s. A decade later he won Super Bowl III with the New York Jets. In my book, Weeb Ewbank is one of the most underrated coaches. He's honored in the Hall of Fame but he always seems to be missing on any list of great coaches.

A Fan's Passion

I was listening to an interview of Credence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty. He spoke of the passion that kid's develop early for music, particular bands, sports teams, athletes, etc. As a kid, the object of that passion is everything. It becomes so much a part of who you are. Sometimes that passion fades as you get older. As other responsibilities distract and priorities change. The things that we value as a kid don't always hold that same value as an adult. Fogerty spoke of the instances when those passions stick. When your passion as a kid remains a passion as an adult, you have something special. I couldn't help but think of my life as a fan of the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings meant everything to me in the '70s. I thought that I was going to die when they were robbed by the Dallas Cowboys on Roger Staubach's "illegal" "Hail Mary" pass in the 1975 playoffs. Even regular season games struck me as life or death events. Fortunately, the Vikings won a bunch of games in those days. But, never that final game. While my view of the Vikings became a little more rational as I got older, my passion never faded. The geographical distance between Minnesota and me was always an issue. I often felt that I fought that distance better as a kid of the '70s than I did as a supposed adult of the '80s and '90s. I think that not being truly aware of the actual distance helped in handling it. Minnesota was right next door for all this naive little kid knew. The internet and it's sites and message boards brought Minnesota right next door as the '90s closed. Directv's "Sunday Ticket" brought the Vikings into my home every week of the season. Being a fan of any team is easy today.

Being a fan is never easy. Vikings fans are a woeful, "why me?," bunch. Being close, so close, a lot will do that to any fan base. Four Super Bowl losses. Four of their greatest teams didn't even make the Super Bowl. The Vikings suffered that heartbreaking loss in the 1975 playoff game against the Cowboys. NFC Championship game losses in 1987 to the Washington Redskins, 1998 to the Atlanta Flacons, and 2009 to the New Orleans Saints were brutal. All three came down to singular plays at the end of the games. All four are plays that will be spoken of, through tears, by Vikings fans forever. All fans of sports teams have similar stories. Most also have seasons that end right. I'm surrounded by fans of the San Francisco 49ers. Fans of the Oakland Raiders too. Those teams have a combined eight titles. I'm reminded of each, often. One of the Raiders Super Bowl wins came at the Vikings expense. I watched that game with Raiders fans. Painful. Still is.

I don't regret a second of my time as a Minnesota Vikings fan. I've enjoyed the ride. All the painful losses. All the beautiful wins. The ugly wins too. I'll enjoy this ride for the rest of my days. The Vikings will win that final game one day. I'm sure of it. That one win won't validate all my days as a Vikings fan. It's the entire journey that made it all worth the wait. John Fogerty was right. When the passion for something follows you from that bright-eyed kid to the adult that you've become, it's something special.

Nicely Compensated Football Players

Sports Illustrated recently listed the 50 most highly compensated athletes. The compensation includes both salary and endorsements. The list was topped by boxer Floyd Mayweather and dominated by basbeall players. Only seven football players made the list. The top two were no surprise. Another was expected. Another three may surprise. The seventh was simply shocking.

#3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints QB
-$40,000,000 in salary
-$7,800,000 in endorsements

Quarterbacks are expected to top any list of nicely compensated football players and Brees is one of the very best at the position. His presence at #3 is made by signing a new contract last year. $37 million of the 40 was his signing bonus. So, his pay for the 2012 season was a meager $3,000,000. Poor guy. Brees is starting to make a nice income as a pitchman. Dove, Vick's Vaporub, Chase, Verizon, Tide and Wrangler all cough up dough to Brees. I've seen him in Pepsi commercials but that giant wasn't listed by SI.

#8. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos QB
-$18,000,000 in salary
-$13,000,000 in endorsements

It's still weird to see or hear Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos quarterback. Nice salary. Rich endorsements. Manning has become the standard for pitchmen from the athletic world. Actually, Manning is one of the best pitchmen from any field. Reebok, Wheaties, Directv, Gatorade, Papa John's, and Buick take advantage of his charisma. Fantastic quarterback. Terrific seller of things. Rich man.

#15. Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR
-$25,160,000 in salary
-$200,000 in endorsements

I knew that Jackson was going to get a nice free agent contract last year. I never would have guessed that a 30-year old receiver would get the contract that Jackson got from the Buccaneers. He certainly was a playmaker last year. How much longer can he be that kind of deep threat? Jackson has a nice "little" endorsement deal with Denny's.

#21. Carl Nicks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers G
-$24,285,000 in salary
$0 in endorsement

A guard!!!!??? Brees, and in particular Jackson and Nicks are on this list because of the gigantic signing bonuses that they received with new contracts. Jackson and Nicks were the beneficiaries of a Buccaneers team that had a ton of salary cap space due to a fairly complete purging of their roster. The team could splurge and they did. Nicks is a great guard, maybe the best in the league. It's just incredible that only four football players were paid more than him last year. It's unfortunate that offensive linemen rarely get endorsements. They wouldn't be expensive. You'd think that fast food franchises would be all over them to prop up their hamburgers and fries.

#27. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans QB
-$22,450,000 in salary
-$330,000 in endorsements

While it may be a surprise that Schaub earned more than Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and some others, he's a very good quarterback. He's the leader of an explosive offense. And, he's a quarterback. Quarterbacks are highly compensated. The Texans are a talented team. If they can get to the Super Bowl, Schaub could be in line for some real nice national endorsements. For now, he has Houston's Methodist Hospital, Nike and Verizon.

#29. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions WR
-$21,750,000 in salary
-$850,000 in endorsements

Johnson is the best receiver in the game right now. The only thing surprising about his compensation is that it's greater than his quarterback, Matthew Stafford. That will change soon. I think that his endorsement kitty will grow as he becomes more comfortable in front of the camera. He's on the league's real bright starts and he's in the prime of his career. He was on the Madden cover last year. After his fantastic 2012 season, I hope that Johnson finally put an end to that stupid "Madden Curse." Johnson pitches for Acura, Nike, and something called Eastbay.

#48. Eli Manning, New York Giants QB
-$11,500,000 in salary
-$7,000,000 in endorsements

Of the seven football players on this Top 50 list, the Manning brothers have the tiniest salaries. The younger Manning will likely get one of the top salaries in the league real soon. He doesn't show the same comfort in front of the camera as his brother but he's better than most athletes at pushing stuff. Reebok, Toyota, Kraft, Samsung, Directv, and Dunkin' Donuts pay him well.

Despite being, by far, America's top sport, the best compensated football players still make far less per year than the best compensated players in baseball and basketball. Half of the 50 players on SI's list came form baseball. 13 came from basketball. The football presence on this list is due mostly to the one-time signing bonuses that the lucky few can get. While some football players (quarterbacks) are truly reaching and even passing the $20,000,000/year landmark, the average yearly salary of football players is always going to lag behind the less violent sports.

Ditka's Due

The Chicago Bears are going to retire the #89 worn by former tight end Mike Ditka this season. It's a real nice gesture. It's also a very late gesture. Ditka last played for the Bears nearly fifty years ago. The delay is a joke. It's a real shame when teams and players can't see past often petty differences. Ditka has always walked to his own beat. As a player, he never saw things the same as Bears "grand pooba" George Halas. Despite being the kind of rugged, tough football player that Halas always loved, Ditka was traded after only six seasons to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967. Those differences didn't keep Halas from hiring Ditka as coach of the Bears in 1982. There was football respect between the long time owner and the great tight end. Three years later the Bears won the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Halas didn't live long enough to see it. His daughter's son, Michael McCaskey, ran the Bears and the differences between the team and the former great player and current head coach started to grow. There's always going to be some issues between players and ownership. Sometimes even coaches and ownership. It's simply the nature of often tense contract negotiations. The ideal is that mutual respect overcomes those bargaining table wars. Both parties have the same objectives. The Super Bowl. I just hate seeing iconic players not on good terms with their teams. Past or present. The Bears might be making peace with Ditka now but they might have started a little war with a more recent player in Brian Urlacher. Over in Green Bay, current quarterback Aaron Rodgers is trying to bring the Packers and former quarterback Brett Favre back together. Relations shouldn't come to this point with any team or player.

Ditka was the first tight end inducted into the Hall of Fame. That's no surprise as he was really the first tight end to be a threat in the passing game. The tight end position that we know today was far more blocker than pass catcher in the '60s. Ditka started the evolution to a more diverse position. An evolution that included John Mackey of the Baltimore Colts. Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome pretty much took it from there. Ditka may be better known to younger fans as a coach but he was a terrific football player. Despite looking like something of a grunt he was an explosive football player. Even though he played as many years with the Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys as he did with the Chicago Bears, Mike Ditka will always be a Bear. The Bears have retired thirteen numbers, which is the most in the league. Ditka's #89 will be and should be the fourteenth. It's about time.

49er Gamble?

Many media peeps, NFL Network's Rich Eisen in particular, continually speak of the "risky" move by San Francisco 49ers coach  Jim Harbaugh when he inserted Colin Kaepernick as the starting quarterback in the middle of last season. Was it really such a gamble? The 49ers were cruising along at 6-2. Quarterback Alex Smith was having his best season. He was completing over 70% of his passes. His last full game as the 49ers starting quarterback was nearly perfect. Completing 18 of 19 passes for 232 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was an efficient, even very efficient, NFL quarterback. He had his team a whisper from the Super Bowl the year before. Many felt that the 49ers were heading that way again. His biggest problem? He was a very efficient NFL quarterback. Under Alex Smith, the 49ers were a ball control, strong defensive football team. That's terrific. Many teams strive for that. While the 49ers were efficient on offense, Harbaugh was looking for explosive. The coach got his chance to find explosive when Smith suffered a concussion against the St. Louis Rams in week nine. This allowed Harbaugh the chance to see what he had in the young Colin Kaepernick. Anyone that saw Kaepernick play in college at Nevada knew that the kid had very unique quarterback skills. Personally, I saw him take apart Cal. The Golden Bear defense had no answer to what Kaepernick brought to the football field. When you have a football player with his set of skills and, more importantly, his work ethic, the light bulb is going to come on. He's going to get the NFL game. Harbaugh was given the opportunity to find out if that time was at hand. Smith's concussion gave him the opportunity. It's long been a belief in sports that a player can't lose his job due to an injury. It's a belief that's not true. If the backup that becomes the starter due to injury gives the team a better chance to win, that player will remain the starter. Self-preservation is a natural instinct of coaches. They only survive if they win. They will always play the players that give them the best chance to get those wins. Harbaugh had his chance to audition his young quarterback and Kaepernick didn't disappoint. The often lingering effects of a concussion gave Harbaugh an excuse that was really for the always prying media. It also allowed for a fairly open-ended audition. If Kaepernick showed that he wasn't quite ready, the 49ers could always go back to the steady Smith. Harbaugh was in a win-win. There really was no risk. He had the chance to check out his unique, young quarterback while still having the fall back in Smith without the usual media "shitstorm" that always comes when switching quarterbacks in the middle of the season. We know now that everything worked out the way that Harbaugh likely hoped. He saw the big play capabilities from Kaepernick that he was never going to see from Smith. He wasn't going back to those efficient offensive ways. Everything worked out for Alex Smith as well when he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. A team with some very interesting offensive talent. The media called it all a gamble. Some still do. Harbaugh likely called it an opportunity.

So Long Brian Urlacher

Despite being a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, I'm disappointed to see Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher retire from playing football. Since the Bears and Urlacher parted ways at the beginning of this offseason, I guess that he technically didn't retire as the Chicago Bears middle linebacker. But, he's a Bear. Always will be a Bear. As a Vikings fan, Urlacher was a real pain. As a football fan, Urlacher was a dynamite football player. Over the first half of his professional career he was one of the best football players in the game. He became the blueprint of how the middle linebacker position is played in a cover-2 defense. He was bigger than most linebackers and as fast as many defensive backs. He brought unreal physical skills to the football field. When I first heard of his Scouting Combine performance before the 2000 NFL Draft I thought that he was simply some workout freak. More like Mike Mamula than Ray Lewis. I didn't see any University of New Mexico games so I never saw him do real football things. I didn't see him play linebacker, defensive back, receiver, or return kicks. All things that he did.  He caught six touchdown passes. He returned five kicks for touchdowns. I didn't see any of that. I only saw his workout numbers and they were freaky for a player his size. I wondered which NFL team would gamble on this player. I was ecstatic when the Bears made that gamble and selected Brian Urlacher with the ninth pick of the draft. About five months later I was pretty upset that the Bears had made that gamble. It was apparent early that Brian Urlacher had a bright future in the NFL.

Brian Urlacher looked too much like Uncle Fester to be a dominant football player but he most certainly was. He was such a great football player. For the first half of his career it seemed that he made a game changing play in every Bears-Vikings game. Plays that very few players can make. Plays that he made look easy.

-5x All-Pro
-8x Pro Bowl
-AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2005)
-NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2000)
-Ed Block Courage Award (2011)
-NFL 2000s All Decade Team

He was easy to admire as a great football player and easy to hate as a Bear. Of course, all the talking heads have been debating the Hall of Fame candidacy of Brain Urlacher ever since his retirement announcement. I see no doubt that he's Canton bound. Is he a first ballot inductee? Who knows? Cris Carter was a first ballot Hall of Famer but the voters didn't get that one right until six years later. In my book, Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis go into the hall of Fame together five years from now. The two best middle linebacker of their era. Two of the best of all time.

Thanks for the thrills, Brian Urlacher. Except for those against the Vikings.