Since many of our actual newspaper columnists do this, I figured it’s good enough for Sportscolumn.com too. So, here goes my initial installment of a potpourri of unrelated sports comments entitled Passing Thoughts.
After watching the Philadelphia Eagles get slaughtered on Monday night, I heard about this new curse of the Super Bowl losers. The last 5, and 6 of 7, losers of the previous season’s Super Bowl have failed to make the playoffs, or even have a .500 record. That puts in perspective the incredible feat achieved by the 1990-93 Buffalo Bills of reaching a record 4 consecutive Super Bowls.
That may never be achieved again. Losing 4 straight Super Bowls is, hopefully, almost impossible, and just getting to 4 straight is highly improbable. As a matter of fact, the 1971-73 Miami Dolphins are the only other team to have played in as many as 3 straight Super Bowls. And, they only had to suffer the disappointment of losing the first one.
Obviously, losing the Super Bowl is a very traumatic experience. Of the 39 Super Bowl losers only seven (’70 Cowboys, ’71 Dolphins, ’73 Vikings, ’86 Broncos, and ’90-92 Bills) have reached the big game the following year. Not only are the Buffalo Bills an anomaly, they are a testament to collective psychological strength and intestinal fortitude. Super Bowl losers nowadays can’t even reach .500 the next year, and the Bills, after crushing defeats, three times again reached the Super Bowl.
To show the greatness of the Bills even more, this year the Indianapolis Colts will be the only team to have reached the PLAYOFFS in the last 4 consecutive years. If it’s unlikely for a team to get to the playoffs 4 straight years, then that feat of the 1990-93 Bills will never be done again.
Speaking of good, old teams, what has happened to the Raiders? Is it possible that the game has passed Al Davis by? I shutter at that thought because I grew up a Raiders fan. The very first game I ever remember watching was the 1977 Super Bowl when the Oakland Raiders demolished the Minnesota Vikings 32-14. That was the start for me, but Al Davis had been working magic for years before that. He helped introduce high octane offense into football. We all remember Daryle (The Mad Bomber) Lamonica, don’t we?
Time after time, Al Davis constructed winning teams out of NFL castoffs, eccentrics, and has-beens. George Blanda, John Matuzak, Ted Hendricks, Jim Plunkett, Todd Christensen, and Bo Jackson are names that will forever live in Raider lore and glory. However, since 1994, when Al fired a true Raider head coach, Art Shell, the Raiders have had eight non-winning seasons, only three playoff berths, and five head coaches in 11 years.
His, once sharp, eye for underappreciated talent is now only capable of finding underachieving talent. If Al hasn’t already turned over the day to day operations of the Raiders to a more contemporary football mind and eye, then it’s time. NOW! Al no longer understands what it takes to win in the NFL. What happened to the `Commitment To Excellence’?
Speaking of coaches, why hasn’t Art Shell gotten another job coaching in the NFL? Art Shell led marginally talented Raider teams to winning records in 5 of the 6 seasons he coached. He had three playoff appearances and two playoff victories. He has a career .587 winning percentage (54-38), yet, he hasn’t really been considered a coaching prospect since he was fired by Al Davis after going 9-7 in 1994.
It might be said that Art Shell isn’t a big X’s and O’s guy, and, not many offensive linemen have been head coaches in the NFL. But, Art Shell is a leader of men! He commands respect in the locker room and on the field, and if you look at the talent on his Raider teams, it’s obvious that he can coach. We all know that these X and O `gurus’ like Jim Fassel, Brian Billick, Steve Mariucci, Norv Turner, and Dom Capers will land head coaching jobs after underachieving time and time again, but will Art Shell ever get another chance to OVER-achieve? If not, why?
Lastly, what did Matt Millen do to earn the job as President of the Detroit Lions? His only previous experience in professional football was as a player, and a television analyst (along with about 1000 other guys). He was never a coach, nor an assistant in anyone’s front office. Is he really qualified to run an organization? It’s time to end his on the job training. In his five years as President of the Detroit Lions, they have the WORST record in the NFL. And, he recently got a five year contract extension. UNBELIEVABLE!