January 24, 2008
Good Scouting As A Foundation Of NFL Success
Yesterday, I suggested that good scouting of players to be taken in the draft was extremely important for NFL teams. I used the example of whom the Raiders drafted in exchange for Randy Moss to make that point. A friend sent me a note asking a question that he said would reinforce the point that good scouting is a foundation piece of NFL success. He asked me to name the two WRs taken before the 49ers took Jerry Rice in the NFL draft.
For reasons that I could never explain, I actually knew one of these two WRs. I guess some synaptic links just never let go…That player was Al Toon from Wisconsin and he was taken by the Jets. Toon was a fine player whose career was shortened by head injuries. With regard to the second WR taken before – read “instead” – of Jerry Rice, I could have guessed for a very long time without coming up with the name. How long, did you ask? Well, let’s just say that Michael Vick would have been invited to be the guest judge for Best-In-Show at the Westminster Dog Show before I got the answer.
That second WR was Eddie Brown from Miami and he was taken by the Bengals. Eddie Brown was the Rookie of the Year; he went to the Pro Bowl. Both of these players were outstanding in college and both had productive pro careers. However, it was the 49ers who had found the gem of the draft and who traded up to be in a position to take him. Snagging a Jerry Rice is what makes a scouting department worth their keep.
The Chargers fired James Lofton – their wide receivers’ coach – and Matt Simon – their running backs’ coach. Excuse me, but is there a municipal ordinance in San Diego that demands their football team fire coaches after successful seasons? Last year, Marty Schottenheimer and his staff took it in the shorts after a 14-2 record. Now the Chargers go to the AFC Championship Game and lose to a team on the brink of a historically outstanding record and they fire two assistant coaches. Did I miss something here? Did the WRs and RBs for the Chargers stink out the joint all season long?
In another coaching move that serves to make me shake my head in an attempt to get the cobwebs out, the NY Jets just hired Bill Callahan as their assistant head coach. Excuse me, but can someone tell me just what Bill Callahan did in his tenure with the Raiders or during his regime at Nebraska that would indicate this is a good hire? What other candidates were on the short list for that job? Ray Handley, Richie Kotite, Bobby Petrino and Dave Campo?
Speaking of the NY Jets, these next two weeks have to be a preview of Hell for Jets’ fans. These fans will be bombarded with news of the hated NE Patriots and/of the hated NY Giants. In addition, there is that other bit of inevitability they have to deal with - - one of those hated rivals will be hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy; there is no way around that one. It would be interesting to note next month whether or not sales of Prozac spiked during this two-week period in the NY/NJ area…
Ads for the Super Bowl game will cost $2.7M for 30 seconds this year. As of the first week of January, 67 of those ads had been sold and everyone fully expects the rest of them to be full prior to game time. In what has seemingly become a ritual for this time of year, godaddy.com buys a time slot and then produces an ad that will not make it past the network censors/arbiters of good taste. Then the company runs the ad on its website after it gets the publicity from the ad’s banishment from TV. Reportedly, this year’s ad involves Danica Patrick and a beaver. No, I have not gone to see the ad on the website but I am certain that there is an appearance by an aquatic mammal known for building dams in streams…
Jerry Greene reported in the Orlando Sentinel that Victoria’s Secret would return to the Super Bowl as a sponsor after an eight-year absence. That news should be welcomed by the National Association of Voyeurs. Taken at face value, there is nothing really interesting here. But then, we had to hear from the Chief Marketing Officer for Victoria’s Secret, Jill Beraud:
‘’Valentine’s Day is an important holiday for the brand, and with this year’s Super Bowl being positioned so close to Feb. 14, we had a unique opportunity to use one of the year’s highest-rated television programs as a vehicle to launch our efforts surrounding Valentine’s Day.'’
Really? The Super Bowl game is on Sunday February 3. Since the NFL seems to have settled on the first Sunday of February as the target date for the Super Bowl, that means this year’s game is on one of the days furthest from Valentine’s Day. At least half of the Super Bowl games in recent past and in future times will be closer to Valentine’s Day than this one is. Why do marketing weasels feel the need to fudge the truth? Victoria’s Secret is advertising on the Super Bowl simply because there is a huge audience of men and women staring at the TV set. Victoria’s Secret is a brand that garners sales from both sexes. The question is not why they are advertising on this game; the question is why they have not done so for the last eight years. Ask those marketing geniuses that question and be sure to remind them that all of the Super Bowl games are proximal to Valentine’s Day.
If you go online to check for Super Bowl tickets, you can find them in the $4-5K range. This is not what I would call a “family friendly event” from an economic perspective - - unless you are part of the Warren Buffet family.
Finally, here is a note from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald about a guy who might be one of the buyers for Super Bowl tix at $5K a pop:
“A Patriots fan from New Hampshire, Victor Thompson, has had a Patriots helmet tattooed across his entire shaved head. Thompson has not yet decided whether he wants to be very lonely, or buy lots of hats.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…
