Blognosticator - McD5
Drive.
It’s what we saw last Monday night in Kansas City as a home team on the ropes bounced back to absolutely dismantle the New England Patriots.
It’s what we saw this last weekend as a team and coach that were utterly embarrassed, rose to the occasion to stun the Pittsburgh Steelers in a last second win.
Many years ago, in what now seems a former life, a lot of people claimed that I was allegedly a sports bookie as a side occupation. During those years, I allegedly learned one very valuable lesson about the NFL.
Never bet against a team, even if it was believed to be the worst team in the league, the immediate week after a blowout. And especially if that following game was against one of the best teams in the league. What seemed insurmountable became routine. Favorite after favorite would lose that following game, as fans watched in shock and disbelief.
Drive.
There’s that word again. These players are professionals, and they don’t take kindly to being embarrassed. Like you and I, they go to work to put food on the table. And no one enjoys looking like a fool.
Jay Gruden is no fool—far from it. Due to living in Florida, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of watching Jay Gruden for the better part of fifteen years now. Gruden was a great QB in his own right. But so many questioned his arm strength. They didn’t believe he was NFL caliber. Jay had his shot. As fate would have it, his road to the NFL would require him having to beat out some young guy named Dan Marino. He didn’t, and he’s carried around a chip on his shoulder ever since.
Gruden figured that if he couldn’t play QB in the NFL, that he would instead make the league regret their earlier decision by beating them as a coach. With no coaching experience, he picked the Arena Football League as his proving grounds. He was a man on a mission. He took the Orlando Predators to the top. He then switched to take the job as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm. He took them to the top.
Gruden finally got his break, and was able to get his foot in the door as an offensive assistant with the Tampa Bay Bucs. That was a big challenge, but apparently not too big for Gruden. He continued to coach his Arena team at the same time that he was helping to coach the Bucs. Two teams at once.
Drive.
He won Championships with both. He refuses to wear his Super Bowl ring to this day. He doesn’t believe he “earned” it. He wants his own.
Jay then found himself as the coach of the Florida Tuskers, and took them to the Championship game in his only season with the team.
The Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL came calling, and he immediately responded by leading an offense that made it to the playoffs in each of his three years with the organization. His hunger never stopped.
And here we are. Seattle is coming to town on Monday night. Everyone seems to believe this will be a blowout. Embarrassment. Total destruction. Seattle’s about to expose this rookie HC, and put an end to any hopes we have of a successful season. We’ve been down that road of heartbreak so many times before.
Careful what you find when you pull that curtain back, Seattle. I believe you’re about to find a man driven like no other.
And that man has been waiting his entire life for this one moment.
Skins win. 33-31.
HTTR
Drive.
It’s what we saw last Monday night in Kansas City as a home team on the ropes bounced back to absolutely dismantle the New England Patriots.
It’s what we saw this last weekend as a team and coach that were utterly embarrassed, rose to the occasion to stun the Pittsburgh Steelers in a last second win.
Many years ago, in what now seems a former life, a lot of people claimed that I was allegedly a sports bookie as a side occupation. During those years, I allegedly learned one very valuable lesson about the NFL.
Never bet against a team, even if it was believed to be the worst team in the league, the immediate week after a blowout. And especially if that following game was against one of the best teams in the league. What seemed insurmountable became routine. Favorite after favorite would lose that following game, as fans watched in shock and disbelief.
Drive.
There’s that word again. These players are professionals, and they don’t take kindly to being embarrassed. Like you and I, they go to work to put food on the table. And no one enjoys looking like a fool.
Jay Gruden is no fool—far from it. Due to living in Florida, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of watching Jay Gruden for the better part of fifteen years now. Gruden was a great QB in his own right. But so many questioned his arm strength. They didn’t believe he was NFL caliber. Jay had his shot. As fate would have it, his road to the NFL would require him having to beat out some young guy named Dan Marino. He didn’t, and he’s carried around a chip on his shoulder ever since.
Gruden figured that if he couldn’t play QB in the NFL, that he would instead make the league regret their earlier decision by beating them as a coach. With no coaching experience, he picked the Arena Football League as his proving grounds. He was a man on a mission. He took the Orlando Predators to the top. He then switched to take the job as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm. He took them to the top.
Gruden finally got his break, and was able to get his foot in the door as an offensive assistant with the Tampa Bay Bucs. That was a big challenge, but apparently not too big for Gruden. He continued to coach his Arena team at the same time that he was helping to coach the Bucs. Two teams at once.
Drive.
He won Championships with both. He refuses to wear his Super Bowl ring to this day. He doesn’t believe he “earned” it. He wants his own.
Jay then found himself as the coach of the Florida Tuskers, and took them to the Championship game in his only season with the team.
The Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL came calling, and he immediately responded by leading an offense that made it to the playoffs in each of his three years with the organization. His hunger never stopped.
And here we are. Seattle is coming to town on Monday night. Everyone seems to believe this will be a blowout. Embarrassment. Total destruction. Seattle’s about to expose this rookie HC, and put an end to any hopes we have of a successful season. We’ve been down that road of heartbreak so many times before.
Careful what you find when you pull that curtain back, Seattle. I believe you’re about to find a man driven like no other.
And that man has been waiting his entire life for this one moment.
Skins win. 33-31.
HTTR