SIMPLE RULE: BEST PLAYERS WIN GAMES
DEC. 2009
By John Landsberg
The longer I follow sports the more I have come to realize that the real success or failure of a team happens before the season even starts.
Bill Clinton was famously quoted as saying, “It’s the economy stupid.” In sports it should be “It’s the best players, stupid.”
A wise basketball coach once said something to the effect that basketball is a game of X’s and O’s. But, he noted, if one of his X’s is Michael Jordan he will probably win.
Take a look at the basketball team that Bill Self has put together at Kansas. Self is a terrific coach, but it sure helps to have a virtual college McDonald’s All-America team not just starting, but also sitting on the bench.
All this came to mind last month watching the Oakland Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell’s recent pathetic performance against the Chiefs. A completed screen pass was an accomplishment. Not only did Oakland lose to the Chiefs, which was humiliating, but Oakland’s coach looked like an idiot for even playing Russell.
On the other hand, look at former Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy, who is now recognized as a brilliant strategist and a coaching genius. He is on the TV circuit, an acclaimed author, speaker, etc.
People seemed to have forgotten that when Dungy was with Tampa Bay he went through offensive coordinators like water until he was fired in 2001. His quarterbacks in that time included Trent Dilfer, Shaun King and Brad Johnson, a trio that did not put fear in any opponents.
However, in 2002 Dungy was named the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and inherited a quarterback called Peyton Manning. Overnight he became an offensive genius and Super Bowl Winner. Funny how that works for coaches.
Current Colts Coach Jim Caldwell is currently a genius---as long as Manning is his quarterback.
After a careful examination of thousands of players (okay, not really) and their performance I have developed two specific rules for success in football:
· One, sign the best players for key positions.
· Secondly, never, ever draft any player from LSU. That school seems to be able to recruit superb athletes who do well at the college level, but for some reason the majority of them do not seem to be either smart or disciplined enough to perform at the professional level.
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Another year has gone by and this seems like a great opportunity to say thank you to the loyal readers of this column. Special thanks to those who have taken the time to comment on some of my opinions---whether you agreed or disagreed.
Happy Holidays to all!!
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