The American Spectator : Hike!

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Hike!

By Reid Collins on 10.21.09 @ 6:05AM

Let football revert to what it used to be-- a game run essentially by the quarterback.

NFL teams are experiencing much the same difficulty as AIG and other Wall Street titans, namely: Who's in charge? And whose fault is this?

The Washington Redskins are the epitome. After a mediocre season beginning, they have decided to remove their new coach, Jim Zorn, from his sideline position of calling the plays and substitute the recently hired offensive consultant Sherman Lewis as the man to mutter the numbers by wireless to the quarterback, who by the way probably will be subbed as well. The playcalling is the product of what team observers see from perches aloft and what Zorn, now Sherman, decides from field-level. And God knows how many other observers have access to the decisions.

In other words, the 11 men out there playing the game are mere chessmen. Zorn-Sherman has a microphone that radios his quarterback's helmet receiver what plays to call. To prevent lip-reading spying, he and other sideline coaches mutter the plays into a microphone with a sheet of paper covering their mouths. I say: UNCOVER!

Let football revert to what it used to be -- a game run essentially by the quarterback who has a view of the field, sees the weaknesses in the defense, knows the day-to-day expertise of his own players -- receivers in particular -- and runs the game.

What, you say? Remove the headsets from the automatons we now call quarterbacks? Let the sideline coach signal an occasional play. But let the man who must finally lead the team lead the team. As things now stand, in the Redskins' case, Zorn is slowly being eviscerated. I say, eviscerate them all. Outlaw and abandon the wireless mics and let the game revert to what it was: one man with particular skills captaining a team, playing the game, finding the weaknesses of the opposition, listening to the intelligence of his teammates in the huddle, and coming up with solutions.

Let the coaches coach. Teach technique where it needs it on the practice field. advising in timeouts and at half-time what he deems are advisable strategies, but allowing the quarterback to play the game.

True, this may vitiate the need for 20 plays in the playbook. There may be some unemployment at practice. But it will return the game to what it once was: a contest played on a field where conditions and responses made all the difference. It was a game once called football. A great game.

topics:
National Football League

About the Author

Reid Collins is a former CBS and CNN news correspondent.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (37) | Leave a comment

Aaron| 10.21.09 @ 6:32AM

Indeed! But why stop at football? The same thing is true in most parts of our culture, who is calling the plays on the field? Not who used to be that is for certain! Take a good hard look around, how often does the "quarterback" at the construction site get on his phone to the big boss? How about a salesmen or banker? We don't need to look any further than Afghanistan to see that our military suffers from the same quarterback conundrum.

Aaron| 10.21.09 @ 6:36AM

Oh yea, one more thing...

"It was a game once called football. A great game." when men were men and quarterbacks could star in pantyhose commercials! (had to get that one in there. :)

Ralph| 10.21.09 @ 6:54AM

Spot on. While we're at it, let's do away with the instant replay/review and let the officiating be done on the field as well. Also, how about playing on real turf outside? That's when football was fun.

John - TMF| 10.21.09 @ 7:16AM

My father passed from this Earth in winter of 1975. He was a 39 year old football fanatic. He would watch football even if the teams on the field were two of his most despised.

He was deathly ill the year of the 1975 Super Bowl. (for the '74 season) Super Bowl IX... We had shared that season, savoring the upstart Steelers who from 1969-1974 had come from no where to dominate the decade.

His ending comment for the game was about Terry Bradshaw... "He'll be the last of the great quarterbacks.... 'cause he calls his own game."

Dad, called Tom Landry "The Fantastic Plastic Man". He reviled the computers, the plays called from the sideline, the hopping popping jumping wiggling motions on the line...

To him, football stewed down to 4 running plays and 2 pass plays and all the rest of it was just "fancy waving and moving around to distract the defense".

A few years back I watched a total minute for minute replay of Super Bowl III - Dad and I watched that one together, too. For a "high powered" fancy passing attack, there was no motion, no bobbing and weaving, and it turned out was mostly a split back formation with Don Maynard split out. Boozer and Snell basically pounded the ball. And Joe Namath called his own plays.

So did Bart Star.... YA Tittle... Johnny U (Who would have punched out a coach if the coach dared to call a play.)

Dad was right. No one since Bradshaw has been truly great. Formidable skills... maybe... but not great.

I agree with Mr. Collins. Ban play calling from the sideline. I don't care if the Center is calling plays with an assist from the Flanker... I don't care if they draw them in the dirt like we used to do as kids... no pads... no yard markers... no rule book...

Just "1 minuted of planning, 5 seconds of furious execution, and 3 minutes arguing over who fouled whom after the play..." (that from Dad over watching our furious sandlot football games when I was a kid.)

Sigh...
The Mighty Fahvaag

Ryan| 10.21.09 @ 8:19AM

Three yards and a cloud of dust, my left hindquarters!

Okay, I can accede the dumbing-down of many in the quarterback position, except for at least one...

Peyton Manning, who probably combines the best of the old-school and new-school quarterbacking in the NFL, and may be the greatest QB to play the game.

Bradshaw, as good as he was, was overrated. Look at his stats sometime.

The game today needs better pacing - TV broadcasting has hurt it; at least it doesn't have the referee and player age and maturity woes that the NBA does.

That being said, offenses are FAR better and more complex today than before, and more exciting to watch. Just turn a Saints game on sometime.

Sorry, just ranting. Older doesn't mean better.

John - TMF| 10.21.09 @ 8:50AM

FOOTBALL FIGHT!!! HOOHAH!!!! Gotta love it.

1. My old man would have loved every minute of Payton Manning. A) he was a cavalry officer... ground and air... he loved Joe Namath because Namath would go vertical... he loathed Johnny U.. because U was 2 runs up the gut, and a pass.
B) BUT he also was a Lombardi devotee... and Lombardi's rule was "Three things can happen when you pass... two of them bad." .
To the extent that Manning is given a free hand to call the plays that he sees fit, then he, too can sit in the pantheon of great Quarterbacks when his time comes to do so.

2. Ryan... stats are just numbers in the middle of stuff that actually counts. FOUR Super Bowl Rings counts... and erase every other dicey silly baseball lovers statistic out there...

3. I'm 50. When I was 6 we didn't have a football... we played with a baseball glove taped up around an old ratty car repair rag... When I was 10 we played football between sidewalks (goal lines) - ever run a dive play over a concrete goal line? Nothing replaces the thrill of catching that winning touchdown pass just as Dad was calling you in for dinner, thus ending the game.

I don't see kids playing sandlot football anymore. Too dangerous and unorganized, I suppose.

Older IS better. Gray hair and 45 years of being a devoted and joy filled football fan allows me to say that...

r/The Mighty Fahvaag
(Steelers fan since 1969... Genuine viewer of SB I, SB II, SB III, and beyond. )
PS Fantasy Football isn't the same thing as the thrill scoring that touchdown in 1969... along Gulick Drive with the seagulls soaring overhead.

Paul McGrath| 10.21.09 @ 4:37PM

Yeah, I watched Super Bowls I and II as well, but along with everybody else, just barely. As you know, it was only a mildly interesting spectacle after the NFC title game as everyone knew that the Packers would wallop their opponents. And they did.

It wasn't until Joe Namath beat the Colts in the third one that the Super Bowl started to get interesting. (The Colts were 18 point favorites. I still remember that the Detroit Free Press sports editor, Joe Falls, predicted that the Colts would win 235-0.)

Gary| 10.21.09 @ 8:52AM

Great article! This debate about the QBs can as settled as the "10 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time" debate. In other words, not at all. All the correspondents will differ in their responses, but the idea that the games itself could be improved by having the QB call his own plays endures, I think in that it will take a different sort of player to be able to do that. (more of a gunslinger perhaps?)

cuban pete| 10.21.09 @ 8:55AM

Ryan:
The only stat that counts for a quarterback is the number of Super Bowl rings.

Howard| 10.21.09 @ 9:49AM

There is way too much money in the game now to have it go back to the "glory days". 1st year quarterbacks make $30,000,000 guaranteed. They barely know their way to the locker room, let alone call plays. Quarterbacks used to apprentice for 5 years before starting. Now they are starters from Day 1. Also the roughing the passer calls are a joke. The Oilers/Titans stood there letting Tom Brady pick them apart. If they clobbered him like the old Raiders or Steelers would have done; the fines would be astronomical. The game is show business now. If you want real football watch a Division 1 or 2 college game. Or even better, High School.

Mike M| 10.21.09 @ 10:19AM

The NFL is very much like the football portrayed in the "Jetsons" cartoon of some 35 years ago.
Yes sir, Hanna-Barbera were way ahead of their time.
And all Daniel Snyder can do is cry and throw money at the problem.
Sound like anyone else we know?

Ryan| 10.21.09 @ 11:00AM

The Super Bowl argument is MOSTLY correct with a few caveats. Trent Dilfer and Joe Namath are two prime examples. Two mediocre (at best ) QB's with Super Bowl wins. There were losing QB's (Archie Manning, Dan Marino, etc) with no Super Bowls and far better skills.

I always remain convinced that good QB play relies on a good offensive line, who can make a mediocre-to-good QB (Bradshaw, Vinny Testaverde, Matt Cassel, Eli Manning - yeah, I went there) learn the game faster and play above their level, and a bad offensive line can kill good QB's (alas Joey Harrington, David Carr, Charlie Batch, Testaverde again, Kurt Warner when unprotected).

And yes, the current protect-the-QB rules are WAY overdone. The game is now designed to promote offense (which is more fun to watch, anyways). The current game has its faults, mostly revolving around holding the defense back from good play.

However, I'll also contend that instant replay, in its current form, makes the game FAR better by allowing bad calls to get dumped. Referee error should not be part of the game.

Eric Damon| 10.21.09 @ 12:09PM

I'm with Ryan for the most part here and I totally agree with his argument against Terry Bradshaw. Heck, even Terry Bradshaw will tell you that Joe Gilliam was a better quarterback and that he got into the HOF because the team won so many titles...not because he was an all-time great. Besides, when you think of those (damned...I'm a Cowboys fan) Steeler teams, the first and foremost thing you think of is "The Steel Curtain": Lambert, Hamm, Blount, Greenwood, Greene. They made the Steelers great because the offense didn't have to do a lot; give that group about 14 points and you could just about put a W in the book...especially when it started to get cold in Pittsburgh.

As for the modern game, Peyton Manning is the best because he basically calls his own game. He has earned the trust of his teammates, staff, and the respect of his opponents because he has taken the time to understand his playbook, work at his craft, and know what will work and when to call it.

But this strangling of the game is even worse in the NBA, where you have some of the greatest athletes in the world...and the most anal-retentive coaches in existence. Teams that should be living on the fastbreak are slowed down to a crawl, not by the other team but by a coach that needs to call everything from the sideline. Don't believe me? Then watch any game coached by Larry Brown, George Karl, Nate MacMillan, Mike Brown (even though no one listens to him), or Gregg Popovich. There are some great coaches on that short list, and every one of them acts like his point guard doesn't know to get the ball to the open shooter without the coach giving the order! Can't we just assume that any player that has played well enough to reach that level doesn't need a coach telling him every move to make?

steeler fan| 10.21.09 @ 1:31PM

bradshaw called his plays, won four super bowls, and beat the dallas cryboys twice. if joe gillam was a better quarterback then chuck noll would have played him. there is no question. bradshaw was the best.

cuban pete| 10.21.09 @ 2:42PM

You are on the money sir.

Mike Giles| 11.3.09 @ 2:34PM

>"if joe gillam was a better quarterback then chuck noll would have played him."<<br />
Not necessarily. Gillam didn't fit the "profile" of a 70's quarterback.

Ryan| 10.21.09 @ 12:19PM

One other thing. NFL head coaches are primarily strategists, NOT skill trainers. Most skills should be learned in the college game, and tweaked by assistants in the NFL. Raw athletic talent rarely pans out in the NFL without good training (Mike Vick and Kordell Stewart come to mind here).

Al Adab| 10.21.09 @ 2:18PM

Good metaphor for our political life. Too much central control and not enough on-field (marketplace) command which better adjusts to changing circumstances. A lesson in here somewhere.

somnolence| 10.21.09 @ 3:23PM

The two greatest signal callers for me remain Starr and Unitas. Starr for the precise, worthwhile passing that was rarely picked off, Unitas for the skill of running out a clock 10 minutes at a time if need be(he did this more than once in his career).

Mark| 10.21.09 @ 4:14PM

Comparing quatrer backs of yesteryear to today is like comparing apples to oranges. Start letting linemen hit the quarterback, let cornerbacks defend the pass, remove Don Shula from the rules committee, and start calling holding as it is was during the 70's era, and then you can compare quarterbacks. Quarterbacks stats now are over inflated because of constant rule changes to make the game "more intersting" for the politically correct crowd.

WJ| 10.21.09 @ 4:34PM

Totally disagree. If the QB calling his own plays is such an advantage, then there is no rule stopping the team from doing so a la Peyton Manning.

Definitely love instant replay, as this leads to more calls being correct.

Do agree with Mark (4:14pm) that the rules protecting the QB having got way out of hand. The QB can't be touched at all after the throw is made.

Pat| 10.21.09 @ 4:43PM

A 10 yard penalty for giving the quarterback a dirty look - just a reminder that NFL teams have millions invested in the modern quarterback and don't want him hurt, roughed up or otherwise inconvenienced - and a concept borrowed from the movies where a stunt double fills in for the star actor when the action might get him hurt. A trio or even more of talking heads in suits (what's with wearing suits and ties to a football game anyway) who provide non-stop babbling so Americans aren't traumatized by dead air and might actually enjoy watching the game without the continuous quips, drawings, rehashing of plays and trite war stories of past players and events.

Exorbitant ticket prices in 300 million dollar stadiums paid for by local taxpayers, exorbitant fees for hi-def on your cable and extra fees for special subscription programs about the NFL, which are over and above the other exorbitant monthly cable fees you are already paying.

Special recognition for Hispanic NFL fans, Croats, Mongolians, Finns and folks that can afford cable fees in western Patagonia. Recognition and colorful shoes for charitable causes such as breast cancer awareness - next up, political causes such as Gay Pride Recognition honored by the NFL on the field if strictly forbidden in the locker rooms - and a way to get additional use from the pink shoes.

It ain't easy being a fan in a world of bottom line profits. Football is Hollywood entertainment not sports - you want sports, attend your local high school games.

jr| 10.21.09 @ 5:17PM

Hey footballers, do not too upset. The owners need those Czars to run their teams.

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Doctor Right| 10.21.09 @ 11:55PM

I'm still reeling from the sight of NFL players wearing pink shoes to be concerned about this...

Chuck| 10.22.09 @ 12:28PM

The old timers will be happy to hear the most popular offense in little league ball is the single wing. My 6th grade team has two solid QB's, and they can shake off coach's call anytime with no second-guessing - as long as it works for +3 or better.

Mike Giles| 11.3.09 @ 2:31PM

The thing about instant replay and slo-mo is that the viewer can pick up all the bad calls - and more importantly - the calls not made. I'm tired of watching receivers push off of defensive backs. Or of linemen damn near ripping the jersey off of a defensive lineman, while he holds him.

I don't know where the league got the idea people don't want to watch great defense.

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