November 2004 Archives

Well, as my Titans are rapidly heading into injury-plagued disaster, and as I live in Canada, I suppose I can take a little time off today to talk about the Super Bowl of Canadian Football. The Grey Cup Game, which determines the champion of the Canadian Football League (CFL), is played this weekend, and NFL ratings will drop sharply north of the 39th parallel on Sunday.

I, like 99.9% of Americans, had no idea there was Canadian Football before moving to Canada in 2001. Upon hearing about it, I scoffed. Seriously, how good could a game be that had a 55-yard line, 20-yard end zones, 12 players, and only 3 downs? What delusion of grandeur could convince those poor misguided Canucks that their game was worthy of the name Football?

That was before I learned that the Harvard Rugby games played in 1874, from which sprang the college craze for American Football, were played against McGill University, from Montreal, and that the Canadians taught the Americans the game. So OK, the Canadians may have a bit of history to support their claim to the game. What happened from there, however, brought us to two very different places.

The official website of the CFL (www.CFL.ca), states that the CFL was officially named the CFL in 1958, some 26 years after the NFL had been named, but both countries have a long, rich tradition of football and rugby competition. So, let's look at some of the differences, shall we?

As I mentioned before, the CFL field is bigger than the NFL. The middle of the field is the 55-yard line, and the end zones are 20 yards deep, as opposed to the standard 10 yards of the NFL. Also, the field is wider, 195 feet, to the NFL's 160. The extra room is needed, as CFL teams field 12 players.

Though no one will argue that the talent level in the CFL is below that in the NFL (after all, if you've got the talent, wouldn't you rather play in a league where the rookie minimum salary is 5 times the average CFL salary?), it is very difficult to argue that the product is a lesser one. The bigger field, emphasis on passing (with only 3 downs to cover the same 10 yards for a new first down), and additional ways to score make for a much more offensive-oriented game. And, as in any league where the talent is mixed, there is a much higher chance for the unexpected to happen.

Some CFL stars made the jump to the NFL, and have done rather well for themselves. Doug Flutie, for example, had won a few Grey Cups before joining the Bills as a rather serviceable QB. Warren Moon wasn't too bad either, and Jeff Garcia, despite T.O.'s opinion, didn't stink up the joint in San Francisco. In fact, because of the emphasis on the passing game in the CFL, quarterbacks seem to have the easiest transition to the NFL. Most who do make the jump become 3rd-stringers, or serviceable backups, but a few have made a name for themselves. There are a few other players who've made the jump as well. Marc Boerigter has averaged 18.6 yards per catch with the Chiefs since joining them in 2002, for example.

And oddly enough, there have been quite a few players who, while only "solid," or "steady" players in the NFL, became greats in the CFL. Doug Flutie is one of them, as well. Today, you can see John Avery (once of the Miami Dolphins) tearing up the field for the Toronto Argonauts, who are in the Grey Cup game this weekend. Given the year they've had, Avery might just get a phone call from Miami after the game.

It's a tougher schedule in the CFL. 18 games, rather than 16, and in a colder climate. There are only 40 players on a CFL team, so no one except the QB's is above special teams. If they're not playing on old-style astro-turf (and pounding their knees to jelly), they're playing outside in substantially cooler temperatures than anyone other than Green Bay or the Pats.

I did enjoy the few CFL games I've seen. No, the stadiums aren't as big, nor the production quite as "sexy," and it's obvious that there's not nearly the money involved (average season ticket prices for a B.C. Lions game were about that of a single-game Seahawks Club Seat ticket), but it's still guys going out and playing their hearts out on a football field. And that's never a bad thing to see.

What is it about the middle of the season? Why is it that this time of year, every year, I feel like I could do a better job than half the coaches in the NFL are? Is it because, like the rest of the media and fan base out there, I have the advantage of 20/20 hindsight, and thus second-guess the daylights out of every move losing head coaches have made? Is it because, like the rest of the stat-crunchers out there, I can see trends that "should have been obvious" to anyone with eyes, thousands of pages of numbers, and an advanced degree in calculus (or access to people like that)? Maybe it's the Fantasy Football leagues I'm in, where I can usually pull a ringer off the waiver wire on game day and squeak out a win over some guy with 8 powerhouse studs that all fall flat (though, admittedly, that's not working too well for me this year). Or perhaps the cause of my hubris is the combined wisdom of the "NFL Insiders" that I read, listen to, watch, and otherwise soak up for hours each day. The act of which gives me insight into… well, not much, really, outside of just how little these "insiders" really know about anything that matters.

Nope.

All those answers are wrong.

Why do I feel like I could do better? Two words: John Madden.

More specifically, John Madden's NFL franchise of video games. Be it Playstation, X-Box, Nintendo, or even on the PC, I master this game. Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming to be unbeatable, or even necessarily a great challenge to human opponents every time I play. No, my genius lies in the "Franchise Mode" of play. I rarely have a losing season in this game. In fact, I rarely fail to make the playoffs – even in "rebuilding years".

Anyone can be good at a single game, or even a tournament. It's a different skill set that allows one to dominate a 5-minute-per-quarter, no defense, no punting score-fest. An impressive skill-set, no doubt (and potentially rather lucrative, so I've heard), but not one that translates to real-world football coaching. No matter how fast you hit the X button on the sidelines, Ray Lewis isn't going to fly over the offensive line and flatten the opposing QB just as the ball is snapped. Then again, perhaps Ray Lewis is a bad example. Right, put Brad Kassell in there (former 3rd-string, current starting MLB for Tennessee). You get the point.

Being a good coach isn't just motivating the players and picking the right plays on each possession. In Franchise mode, it includes adjusting personnel groupings and substitutions each week; disguising formations, learning your own tendencies before the computer does and changing them; using your star players in unique ways, and overcoming injuries to those star players when you don't manage to avoid them – not just for a single game, but for weeks and even months of game time on end.

I've played the Tennessee Titans for "10 years" of game time in Madden 2000, at times without McNair, George, Wycheck, or Kearse. That team has yet to lose more than three games in a season.

So, how does this make me a better NFL coach than, say, Dave Wannstedt, or *cough* Steve Spurrier? Honestly, it probably doesn't. But there are a few things that they could learn. Things like, how to recognize when a certain style of attack isn't working, put pride aside, and use something your team isn't necessarily known for doing well – precisely because they're not known for doing it well. If no one in the building is expecting you to throw the ball deep on 2rd and 2 because your best receiver is out and half your payroll is going to your running back, and the opponent has 8 (or even 9) men in the box, you THROW THE FREAKING DEEP BALL. Even a 5th receiver should be good enough to can catch a ball once in a while if he's wide open, or one-on-one with a safety.

If you've got a reputation for being a pass-wacky coach, darnit, you should have some run plays from spread formations in the playbook. Heck, you should be willing to come out and run 30-35 times against a team that's expecting passes, if that's what it takes to win. So what if you're only getting 3 yards a carry? 3 yards x 4 downs = 12, right? That's another set of downs.

Quite honestly, I'm full of crap this week. I'm a darn good electronic coach. I have a decent mind for the game – good enough to realize I'm learning new stuff every week I watch the pros at work on my TV. I know there are thousands of things that factor into a coach's job that I don't even know about.

But still, one would think that a person who is good enough to coach in the NFL should be able to make a few adjustments from week to week. Gunther Cunningham's Chiefs defense should be able to account for a freaking play-fake bootleg after the first game, right? So far that same play has smoked them two weeks in a row – multiple times each week.

How is it a person making six or seven figures to do NOTHING BUT STUDY FOOTBALL can fail to recognize that, with Randy Moss not in the lineup, you must change the game-plan to account for an extra safety who's not covering Moss? And then wonder why your QB and running games aren't having the same effectiveness as they were earlier? You would think Mike Tice, knowing Moss was going to be out, would have planned his game to do other things.

Everyone gives Bill Bellichek so much credit for being a genius in New England, but really, he's just using video-game common sense: adapt as necessary to win the game. Everyone seemed so surprised to see Troy Brown step in and play well as a DB on Sunday. Not me. Madden 2004 rates the guy a 90 at RCB, after all.

The True Fan says:

(by Ryan Wise)

Sure, it's cool about the Red Sox and all, and I'm glad they broke the 100-year-old Curse of the Zombino or whatever, but I'm paying attention to a different set of playoffs. Yes, i confess, I'm an out of the closet Major League Soccer fan.

OK, honestly, I know it isn't great soccer. It quite often has jumbled gameplay, not much finesse, and only has a handful of truly great talents, but there's one key difference for me that separates it from the Premierships, the Eredivisies, and Bundesligas. It's our jumbled, finesseless league. Growing up as a young soccer player in Colorado, I really wanted a local team to root for at the professional level, and MISL wasn't doing it for me (or most of the country, for that matter). I follow the league today because I still want to see US professional soccer taken seriously by this country and the rest of the world. Who cares if all the best talents eventually get sucked over to Europe? That just makes our national team that much better, raises the level of esteem European fans have for US players, and makes room at home for rising college stars and yes, the occasional Freddy Adu.

So what's the lay of the land today? In the east, we have Freddy's team DC United taking on their arch-rivals (and winner of the Worst. Team Name. Ever. award) the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, while the New England Revolution meet the Columbus Crew.

DC United is, along with San Jose, one of my favorite teams in the league. Their passing game is clean and they can show a lot of cleverness on the ball. Jaime Moreno and Alecko Eskandarian, their two main strikers, have shown a talent for finding the net, but also the restraint and unselfishness to dish the ball out when they don't have the shot. In their first meeting with the Metros (semifinals consist of two separate games where total aggregate goals determine the winner), DC scored first when Earnie Stewart received the ball deep on the right wing, in a play that everyone, including Stewart himself, thought was offsides. But the flag stayed down, and Stewart hammered it into the top corner. To put the game away, Eskandarian pulled a split second window away from his man and slotted in a corner goal in the last minutes.

The other eastern game had a somewhat surprise upset, when the New England Revolution, coming off a terrible regular season performance, upset the league leading Crew with one rocketing shot by Avery John from almost 25 yards out. I think the Crew can and will come back this weekend, and we'll probably be seeing a Crew/United Eastern Title face-off.

Over here in the West, I'm very focused on the returning champions, the San Jose Earthquakes, and their current battle with the KC Wizards. San Jose, even though having somewhat of an off regular season, can be extremely fun to watch, and the Landon Donovan/Brian Ching partnership has really proved to be effective for both club and country. With Donovan probably leaving MLS after this season to join Bayer Leverkusen full time, San Jose may have that extra desire to grab the MLS Cup a second time in a row.

The Earthquakes handily beat Kansas City, out-passing and out-challenging them until Dwayne DeRosario's fluke cross/shot was deflected into the net in the 40th minute. San Jose put the game away after the half on a corner kick that saw second-string keeper Bo Oshonti blocked by a sea of players in the 6-yard box, allowing Craig Waibel to easily put in the far post shot.

The other Western Conference game, the LA Galaxy vs. the Colorado Rapids saw LA continuing to implode despite their management's best efforts to eke out something in the playoffs. Jean Philippe Peguero put the game's only goal past keeper Kevin Hartman in the 30th minute.

The next leg of semifinals starts tomorrow with both Western Conference matches and the DC/NY game. San Jose vs. KC will unfortunately be tape delayed until Sunday, the same day as the LA/Colorado matchup happens live (this week and next, all the games will be on Fox Sports World, or my TiVo if you guys want to join me!). Next week will see one round of Conference Finals, and then the MLS Cup Final happens on Nov. 14th on ABC.

For my money, the most exciting final would be a San Jose/DC match. The two best passing games, with the two most recognizable soccer talents in this country (Donovan vs. Adu, setting aside the fact that Adu would probably see little game time) could prove to be an action-packed game. Also, while San Jose can run with the ball and has lots of great speed, most of their goals come off set pieces, while DC has shown that they can score with improvisation and slicing open the defense. Who would win? I couldn't call it, but I'd be rooting for San Jose in the end. Y'all should come on over and root with or against me November 14th!