Whitlock: T.O., Herm, Donks, etc.

[chefsos]

A Turkey Day Edition of Truths

By Jason Whitlock
Special to Page 2


Just one e-mail today before we get to the NFL Truths.

Hey babe,

Can't wait for you to carve into this breast on Thanksgiving. I'm sure Tagliabue can't complain about the Jackson family enjoying a little turkey breast on Thanksgiving. Heck, Michael is the "other white meat." LOL!!!

Ms. Jackson, if you're nasty.

Happy Thanksgiving! Here are your 10 NFL Truths:

10. Terrell Owens didn't create the division in the Philadelphia Eagles' locker room. Donovan McNabb's contract did.
Listen, there are a million reasons this column is considered must-read material by NFL executives, players, media, wives, groupies, cheerleaders and fans. What I'm about to share with you is reason number 1,000,001.

Like the rest of America, you were probably shocked to see Philly linebacker Jeremiah Trotter on ESPN2 stumping for T.O.'s return last week. And you've probably wondered why the Philly players haven't been united in their disdain of all things T.O. The guy has been a major distraction and a major pain in the you-know-what since August. To an outsider, it would appear that T.O. has single-handedly ruined team chemistry.

But the Philly players have been mysteriously quiet when it comes to criticizing T.O. Only team "ambassador" Hugh Douglas has had the courage to stand up to him. (And, by the way, according to several sources, Owens body-slammed Douglas and nearly opened a can of whoop-ass on the former defensive end.) All the other Eagles shy away from commenting on T.O.'s antics, or offer themselves up as mediators between T.O. and Philly management or T.O. and McNabb.

To this date, I haven't heard or seen one Eagle step in front of a camera and say, "Ah, hell, naw T.O. I ain't gonna let you talk 'bout my quarterback like that. Donovan is our leader. When you attack Donovan, you're attacking this team."

Nope. All you hear from the Eagles is some Jimmy Carter-type garbage.

Why?

Because Philly management has played hardball at the negotiating table with all of the veteran talent except for its $115-million quarterback, Donovan McNabb, who received a record contract extension in 2003 despite having four years left on his original deal.

Andy Reid and Jeff Lurie have no problem kicking a money-hungry vet to the curb. Just ask Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, Corey Simon, Hugh Douglas and Jeremiah Trotter.

Despite plenty of cap room, the Eagles don't mind squeezing their pennies. No one should be surprised that Trotter has elected himself T.O.'s unofficial spokesman. Reid and Lurie humbled Trotter in a very public way. They let the run-stuffing linebacker run off to the Ben Franklin-filled arms of Daniel Snyder in 2002, and then welcomed Trotter back as a veteran's-minimum special-teamer in 2004.

Afraid to leave defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's protective cocoon after flopping in Washington, Trotter, a Pro Bowler again, signed a below-market contract with the Eagles last offseason. Trotter is now living vicariously through T.O. So are several other Eagles -- many of whom are in-the-closet McNabb haters.

Think about it. Terrell Owens basically validated Rush Limbaugh's "overrated" charge against McNabb and no Philly player has come to Donovan's defense. If T.O. had gone on TV and said, "We'd have a better record if Brian Urlacher was our middle linebacker," I guarantee you Trotter would be offended.

The Philly players feel that McNabb is overpaid. That's not unusual. Most NFL players justifiably believe that the starting quarterback is overpaid. Emmitt Smith was always the most valuable player on the Cowboys, but Emmitt never got his money as easily as Troy Aikman.

The difference between Philly and Dallas -- besides the Cowboys' championships -- is that Jerry Jones eventually paid his veteran contributors. Lurie and Reid replace their vets with younger, cheaper players year after year. It's good business. But it's not good for team chemistry. And it certainly puts McNabb in a difficult spot.

9. I can't decide if this McNabb vs. Owens war reminds me more of Ralph Tresvant vs. Bobby Brown or Stringer Bell vs. Avon Barksdale.
Brown and Owens have a lot in common -- the mental instability, the need for attention, the lip gloss. Bobby was always jealous of Ralph because Bobby knew he was the most talented singer in New Edition. It drove Bobby crazy that all the girls went crazy over Ralph, so Bobby basically started stripping on stage and grabbing his crotch. It's really no different from a shirtless T.O. doing sit-ups in his driveway. If I go with the New Edition analogy, Trotter would be Ronnie DeVoe. Ronnie didn't want to boot Bobby out of the group. But when the members all reunited for the Home Again tour, it was Ronnie's crew and Bobby's crew that wound up firing shots at each other.

But you could also argue that Owens is Avon (from the HBO series "The Wire"), the on-the-grind hustler determined to keep it street. McNabb is making the same mistake Stringer Bell made. McNabb is trying to stay above the street stuff. He's got millions in the bank and doesn't want a beef with some knucklehead about street corners. It's a noble position, but McNabb is losing his soldiers, the men who are supposed to protect him from street urchins like T.O. In this scenario, Drew Rosenhaus would be Slim Charles, Avon's smooth-talking street muscle: "It don't matter who did what to whom. Fact is, we went to war an' now there ain't no goin' back … if it's a lie, then we fight on the lie. But we gotta fight."

8. The "C-Amigos" -- Carr, Capers and Casserly -- all must go in Houston.
You can't really single out one guy for what's wrong in Houston. Quarterback David Carr still makes rookie decisions. Head coach Dom Capers still lacks offensive imagination. And general manager Charley Casserly has to be held responsible for assembling a horrid collection of talent.

7. Indy's defense is much improved from a year ago and played a decent game against the Bengals.
The 37 points the Bengals put on the board against the Colts is not an indication that Indy's defense took a step back. Stupid play-calling and Peyton Manning -- too many passes and a bad interception -- cost the Colts 10 points just before halftime. Cincy only scored 10 points in the second half. Considering the explosiveness of Cincy's offense, that's a pretty good showing by Indy's defense.

6. Herm Edwards would be a terrific choice to replace Dick Vermeil in Kansas City.
The Chiefs desperately need a defensive-minded head coach. Vermeil can't produce an environment conducive to playing sound defense. He's just too focused on the offensive side of the ball. Edwards is a terrific coach. He hasn't failed in New York with the Jets.

Edwards was an assistant in Kansas City under Marty Schottenheimer, and he has a strong relationship with Chiefs general manager and president Carl Peterson. Edwards would be an ideal selection.

5. My money is on the New Orleans Saints winning the Matt Leinart/Reggie Bush sweepstakes with a 3-13 record.
The 1-9 Texans have a much easier schedule down the stretch than the streaking Saints, losers of six straight. Houston has one game left against a team with a winning record (Jacksonville). The Saints play Tampa Bay twice, Atlanta, Carolina, the Jets and Detroit.

What will be interesting is whether Leinart, the quarterback the Saints desperately need, will agree to play for the Saints. I wouldn't.

4. There isn't one starting quarterback in the NFC that I couldn't raise legitimate questions about.
Seriously, if there's a problem in the NFC, it's at the quarterback position. Now that McNabb is down for the season, the NFC doesn't have a legit, all-star-caliber quarterback. Is there a quarterback in the NFC you'd rather have lead your team in this year's playoffs than Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Ben Rothlisberger or even, dare I say, Jake Plummer?

Here are the candidates:

Michael Vick: No. Can't pass from the pocket.

Drew Bledsoe: Too immobile.

Mark Brunell: Too old.

Brett Favre: Too old, too foolish.

Eli Manning: Too young, too inaccurate.

Matt Hasselbeck: Being carried by Shaun Alexander.

Jake Delhomme: Couldn't score against the Bears and made critical errors.

Chris Simms: Rather have Major Applewhite.

3. Vegas blows another one: Denver's defensive line will put a total clown suit on Bledsoe Thursday afternoon.
The Broncos might shut out the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Denver is favored by two points. I can't see them winning by fewer than two touchdowns. It's just a terrible matchup for the Cowboys. The Broncos won't have to blitz to get to Bledsoe. He'll fumble at least twice and throw a couple of interceptions. Dallas' running game won't provide any relief.

2. Reggie Bush is Gale Sayers.
I started saying this in September on "The Sports Reporters." Gale Sayers is the most unique talent ever to play in the NFL. There was no one like him before he played, and there's been no one like him since. Now there's Reggie Bush.

1. Don't be surprised if the Pittsburgh Steelers lose their next three games -- at Indy, Cincinnati, Chicago -- and miss the playoffs.
Pittsburgh's defense can be had, and the Steelers' offense -- no matter who is at quarterback -- just doesn't score enough.

[Calcountry]

Originally Posted by Paul Palmer

Herm Edwards...who cares? He pulled off a number against the Chargers last year...a good job with what he has had...Nothing really wrong with him...Oh except that he is Black ...according to some of the crackers visiting this site...

Jason Whitlock is a Black man...he relates Black pop culture references in his columns...Some people seemed bothered that he writes this way and that he tends to accentuate certain Black athletes' good qualities...He is more of a racialist than a racist.

The only bad thing about his play in the past is that he sided with some straight up ghetto-headed knuckleheads in the Chiefs locker room that then disrupted team chemistry and certain decisions then made by Peteyson...

He likes to stir up the conversation in KC with some of his takes...He is quite entertaining in doing so...

Would these certain critics prefer that sports columnists pay no attention to race or Blackness? Yeah that was the way it used to be because whites wanted to either ignore or keep silent the existing inequalities both in sport, its management, and in society at large...

Go back to the 1950s South white dudes....Either that or go to school, practice writing, and create your own technique to challenge his takes in newsprint...

I am offended by the term "cracker" you fuggin racist pig.

[Calcountry]

Originally Posted by bunnytrdr

I am offended by the term "cracker" you fuggin racist pig.

Further more, you didn't say "cracker" right. Only white people can say it with the right kind of, you know, accent so as to not offend my lilly white ass.

[Deberg_1990]

Come on Jason, Reggie Bush is a hell of a talent but he hasnt played one down in the NFL yet.....Geez....

[Calcountry]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Come on Jason, Reggie Bush is a hell of a talent but he hasnt played one down in the NFL yet.....Geez....

I don't know how well he will cut on field turf. Will his knees and ankles hold out if he keeps cutting on a dime like in the Fresno game?

God forbid, someone rolls up his ankles a couple of times.

[philfree]

Originally Posted by bunnytrdr

I am offended by the term "cracker" you fuggin racist pig.

If any "Cracker" used a racist term like "Cracker" in regards to a person of Whitlocks persuasion he would be promptly fired and if not that he would be at least forced to give a public apology. What a pig!

PhilFree

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Paul Palmer

Herm Edwards...who cares? He pulled off a number against the Chargers last year...a good job with what he has had...Nothing really wrong with him...Oh except that he is Black ...according to some of the crackers visiting this site...

Jason Whitlock is a Black man...he relates Black pop culture references in his columns...Some people seemed bothered that he writes this way and that he tends to accentuate certain Black athletes' good qualities...He is more of a racialist than a racist.

The only bad thing about his play in the past is that he sided with some straight up ghetto-headed knuckleheads in the Chiefs locker room that then disrupted team chemistry and certain decisions then made by Peteyson...

He likes to stir up the conversation in KC with some of his takes...He is quite entertaining in doing so...

Would these certain critics prefer that sports columnists pay no attention to race or Blackness? Yeah that was the way it used to be because whites wanted to either ignore or keep silent the existing inequalities both in sport, its management, and in society at large...

Go back to the 1950s South white dudes....Either that or go to school, practice writing, and create your own technique to challenge his takes in newsprint...

race or blackness? is this like the two voices of Michael Irvin?

Whitlock keeps it alive because I thnk it's all he knows and letting it go is too scary.

should content of character be predicated by the color of skin?

[TRR]

If Herm Edwards gets the HC job in KC, I'll puke. The guy is a complete joke. An excellent candidate for a coordinators position, but nothing more.

[Redcoats58]

Originally Posted by TRR

If Herm Edwards gets the HC job in KC, I'll puke. The guy is a complete joke. An excellent candidate for a coordinators position, but nothing more.

Hello? HELLO? You play to win the Gaaame!

[Logical]

Originally Posted by Rausch

No, they wouldn't.

THEY CAN'T. You can't trade picks for coaches any longer. Period...

You are both correct and incorrect.

You cannot trade picks for a coach correct.

If the Chiefs sign Edwards without him first having been fired by the Jets the commisioner can award them a 1st round pick.

[VonneMarie]

Originally Posted by Redcoats58

Hello? HELLO? You play to win the Gaaame!

Classic.

[Redcoats58]

Originally Posted by VonneMarie

Classic.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by TRR

If Herm Edwards gets the HC job in KC, I'll puke. The guy is a complete joke. An excellent candidate for a coordinators position, but nothing more.

Why do you think this?

[dtebbe]

Fatlock, I have two words for you:
Johnny Gill

He's the best singer in New Edition, AND the one the women toss thier panties to.

DT

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Spicy McHaggis

I actually agree on the comparison to the Kansas Comet and Bush. Bush may never be as good an NFL player as Sayers but they both can do it all.

Edit: And if anyone reminds me of Dave Meggett its Sproles not Bush.

I also agree with the comparison.

Now, will he be able to take his game to the NFL level?

Who knows.

But at the college level, his ability to make cuts, change directions, stop on a dime, combined with his speed and vision, is unique and is a complete package that I haven't seen since Sayers.