January 21, 2007

Yet another case of when ‘keeping it real,’ goes terribly wrong.

Usually at the time when a person makes the keen decision to speak, there’s a moment that lasts about two seconds, in which he or she as an intelligent human-being can do a short preview to make sure that what is said is actually intelligent and even more important, that it is correct. Instead of just blurting out something that would seem like it came from a complete idiot than someone with the capability of thinking, we are able to retract before things get ugly. Consider it the brain’s “idiot filter.”

Some of us are able to use that filter, and some of us aren’t. For instance, Kanye West’s outburst (during a telethon benefitting the survivors of Hurricane Katrina) about the President of the United States, and his alleged hatred for African-Americans in New Orleans, while possibly true, and certainly passionate, did not come off as being anything more than ramblings from an angry fool. 

Along those same lines, recently, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown showed us that he is just as capable of turning off that “idiot filter.” In response to Donovan McNabb’s plea for the Eagles to bring in more ‘play-makers,’ Sheldon did something very stupid: he actually opened his mouth to speak, without obviously thinking about it first. Brown, who considered McNabb’s comments a vicious slight towards his fellow teammates, responded to “NBC 10’s” John Clark’s investigation of the absence of plays made by pointing out the lack of turnovers that the Philadelphia Eagles defense caused last season, by uttering these words:

“What’s the point [of getting turnovers] if the offense isn't going to do anything with them?”

Sheldon you’re kidding, right? Those comments made about as much sense as a surgeon stopping in the middle of a surgery and saying, “Why save this person, if all they are going to do is eventually die anyway?”

Sure, it should be understood that innate in every athlete is the need to defend themselves and their teammates. With that said, removing accountability when you are defending yourself is weak Sheldon, very weak. Especially since there is plenty of blame for you to take as to why the Eagles lost so very much this season.

Could Donovan McNabb and the offense have said, “What is the point of scoring? Sheldon Brown is only going to allow Plaxico Burress look like Jerry Rice again.” Moreover, could they have uttered: “we’d better make this a long drive, because Terrell Owens is being covered by Sheldon again, and you know that that means”? If they had followed Sheldon’s example, they would have had no other choice.

What makes his comments most disturbing is Brown’s apparent lack of understanding that as a defensive player in the NFL, forcing turnovers and stopping the other team from scoring is his JOB. Sure, when you are playing in a pick-up game or even as high school athlete, pouting and blaming your lack of playing well on the players around you is overlooked. Heck, it’s not like you are getting paid for it. But when you are a professional athlete making more money in a year than some of the fans that you play for will make in a lifetime, it is an insult for you to blame your team’s lack of success on other teammates; especially, if you’d played poorly in the process.


Let’s be real here…


Sheldon Brown’s comments were an insult to anyone who’d ever played, followed, or even heard of sports. In sports, particularly at the professional level, when a team wins, it wins as a team, not as separate units. Thus, when a team loses, it loses in pretty much the same fashion. Sure, there may be players help lead to a loss or a win more than others, but the overall concept is team-driven. An offense doesn’t finish with a win, and a defense with a loss. Therefore, complaining about being ‘being thrown under the bus,’ while doing so in the process, doesn't make any sense. With that said, finishing 8-8 is poor, no matter how friendly you are with your teammates, and Brown’s inability to see that coupled with his lack of seeing that he was a big part of that poor record is almost dumfounding.

Could McNabb have kept his comments quiet? Sure, but when McNabb discussed the need to help the Philadelphia Eagles win, it was something the Eagles’ fans needed and wanted to see. On the other hand, Brown not only came off oblivious to the fact that the Philadelphia Eagles did not make the playoffs, but he also appeared as openly content in their futility.

Did Sheldon Brown have to fully agree with McNabb’s comments? Not hardly. Defending his teammates is something that is very natural for any member of an organization. Moreover, it’s very hard to admit when you haven’t been good at something.  But standing up to defend the players on a team that had to rally to get to an 8-8 record is about as intelligent as cheering a dog on who’s chasing its tail, because the tail appears closer. No matter what you do, if the conditions stay the same, that dog will NEVER catch its tail.

Next time Sheldon, instead of defending your teammates by shouting out something that is obviously ill-advised, take a moment to review that a ‘playmaker’ is someone who actually steps up to make plays that actually help a team win. Then right after that, take into account the Philadelphia Eagles finished last in their division because they failed to ‘make plays’ when it counted, and for that matter, when it didn’t count.

Finally, after taking all of those facts in, do the one appropriate thing when responding to comments about a sub-par Philadelphia Eagles team: say absolutely, positively nothing to defend your team’s poor performance.

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