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"The Ego has Landed,"(The amazing story of how egos ended the Rams and Redskins seasons)
This NFL season has been on for the record books, we saw the Saints find their
stride and go to the playoffs, we saw the resurgance of the Oakland Raiders, we saw an
an evolution at the quarterback(the days of the drop back quarterbacks are numbered.)'
But more importantly we saw two teams with massive egos and little in their past to warrant
them. The Washington Redskins proved that you can't buy a Super Bowl, and the St.Louis
Rams proved that just because you won it last year, doesn't mean you will this year. The
problem with the rams is they were overconfident all season, how soon did they forget the
3-13 years that everyone has grown accustom to them having. St. Louis won the Super Bowl
last season, there is no getting around that, they won. They had a great season. But the
problem is they may become the next team to go to the superbowl and drop off afterwards.
Look what happened to teams like the Chargers,Steelers,and recently the Bills and Cowboys.
St.Louis was simply ahead of the curve last year , but due to overconfidence and possibly a
lack of training, the Rams let the rest of the NFC elite catch up and in many cases surpass them.
The Bottomline folks is that the Rams aren't a proven winning team. Maybe last season will be
their only claim to fame, possibly not. Perhaps they will go 14-2 and win the Super Bowl again,
but then again maybe they'll go 7-9 and be forgotten about. I unestimated the importance of
Dick Vermeil to this team. He was the rock that held them together. Maybe the coaching change
shook the player's confidence in the coaches. How else can anyone explain a Super Bowl
championship team, berely making the playoffs. The Rams cocky bravado was showplaced
in their games against the saints. Three games. Two loses. Too the SAINTS? Yes, the team
that was so passionately dubbed the aints , were the one team that owned the ex-Super Bowl
champions. The Wildcard playoff game, showed off how far the Saints have come in less than
a years time, and perhaps it showed how far the Rams slide. The fourth quarter was a showcase
of how great a quarterback Kurt Warner has become, and the Rams last play of the game truly
showed how overconfident the Rams truly were. Some teams prove their worth, by years of
dominece, either in division or league. Some teams just supter out and die, last a blwon out
star. To the Rams, like many other one hit wonders in the sports world, I say to you "Great try,"
And the old sports addage of "We'll get next year." Next time don't count your Super Bowl rings
before their won.
In the case of the NFL vs. The Washington Redskins or i.e. Daniel Snyder, I find you
guilty of crimes against the Redskins players, coaches and fans. $100 million dollars
doesn't buy you a Super Bowl visit or even a playoff spot because you have neither. Daniel
Snyder is the embodiment of the late 50's nefarious heel Pro football team owner. The
win at all cost(and I do mean dollar signs) kind of gimmick the Redskins put out this
year was horrible. If it wasn't enough when fans had to pay to see the team practice,
add to that the un-just firing of Norv Turner. Remember kids, the Skins were a playoff
team last year before Turner was hit with all the front office and player personal changes.
What coach in the league could endure all this and coach a winning team? If Daniel Snyde
and his boys would have set down and looked at the best free agents instead of the aging
allstar team they decided to buy, maybe the Skins could have had a great season, and
maybe a superbowl birth. Now the Redskins find themselves in a position that the NBA's
Chicago Bulls franchise is in. Where the franchise has the money to get top players but
the respect factor that the owner has for the players is so low, that no self-respecting
superstar or up and coming player would play there for all the money in the world. Snyder's
ruthless ownership of the skins and the takeover that was reminsect of a wall street hostile
takeover, did no good for the franchise or the players. But is this all Daniel Snyder's fault? I
will give the little gremlin credict. Not much beyond the fivoulous use of other people's money,
firing of Norv Turner and outright alienation of the franchise fans is his fault. Problems like
the use of the word "Redskin," has been there for years upon years. Several Native American
groups have askesd and pleaded that teams like the Redskins,Braves,Indians etc. change
their names. But of all those that "redskin," name is the most blantly racist term used in the
sports world.Not to get too political in on a sports website, but the first amendment protects
the Washington Franchise from changing it's name under the freedom of speech and expression
laws found in the Constitution, right? Wrong. If you read it the right way, freedom of speech can
only be used if it isn't violating or hurting another person's rights. So, Snyder change the name,
or get hit with a law suit. Now that my rant about the "Redskin," name is over I can go back to