Yes, I know "Father's Day" is a contrived holiday and a tribute to the marketing genius of Hallmark Cards. But when it comes to a football team, having an acknowledged "father figure" inspiring the team can be a real plus.
I got to thinking about team "fathers" of the past. You'd probably have to consider the late Jim Johnson a very real "father figure" of the past decade for the Eagles. Sometimes, like Johnson, the team's "father" is not the head coach. Sometimes it's a player, too, like a veteran quarterback or linebacker; sometimes it's an owner (George Halas)…If you're lucky, your head coach takes on the role in a winning way.
It's no easy task to be the father of an NFL team, I'm sure, given the ever-changing rosters, the power of free-agency, and the many different personalities which need to respond to a father's leadership.
A lot of head coaches today prefer to delegate the "fatherly" duties to other assistants or team captains.
Still, when it comes down to team unity, nothing beats a good father. He teaches, he motivates, he disciplines, he protects…and yes, he loves his guys, even when they've had a real bad day.
I don't "feel" the Chippah yet as a "father" of the Eagles. He could end up being the "Godfather" because of the smart way he delegates his attention to the players, and he's got a huge staff of assistants to take care of personnel issues.
I don't see him as a "Big Brother" type, either, like Gruden was at Tampa, walking the fine line between being the boss and still belonging as "one of the guys"…
Maybe he will end up more as the "Smart Uncle", the guy who puts you in a position to succeed but at the end of the day cannot take responsibility if someone else's kid screws up.
Anyway, Happy Father's Day, to all you dads and guys who miss their dads…
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Dan Graziano of ESPN.com came to my rescue with some actual football news. He took a quick walk around the league and compiled these quick-hit topics and links to share:
Washington Redskins —The injury rehabilitation of Robert Griffin III and Brian Orakpo is going well, but the news on Adam Carriker is not as good. He suffered a setback in his recovery from the injury that ended his 2012 season and he'll likely have to start training camp on the PUP list.
Lots of talk the past couple of days about the value and effect of the zone-read offense in terms of keeping its quarterback protected. Keith McMillan went in search of a tutorial on the concepts and how they are employed.
New York Giants — The Giants' coaching staff is raving about all of the progress second-year wide receiver Rueben Randle has made during the offseason program, and I am suuuuuure they'd be saying all of the same things, just as strongly, if Victor Cruz were in camp on a signed free-agent tender. No way one has anything to do with the other. Pure coincidence.
The Giants' web site has a list of 10 things it learned from minicamp, including that David Wilson remains interested in serving as a kick returner in spite of his increased role in the running game.
Dallas Cowboys — Todd Archer thinks talks between the Cowboys and Anthony Spencer on the long-term contract they both want could take a fair amount of time yet.
Randy Galloway runs down eight changes the Cowboys made this offseason, including a few he thinks will actually help.
Philadelphia Eagles — Hey, we're famous! I enjoyed that discussion the other night, and obviously I have no way of knowing whether Chip Kelly will be a complete flop, a massive success or something in between. No one does. It's a huge mystery. But if you're telling me I have to pick over or under 3.5 years on Kelly in Philadelphia, I'll stick with under. Given the average tenure of NFL coaches, how little we know about Kelly, the reasonable questions about his real reasons for leaving Oregon and his current quarterback situation, it's simply the smarter way to bet. Once we have some actual evidence about how it's likely to go for Kelly at the NFL level, all of our outlooks are subject to change.
Thanks, Dan Graziano— I appreciate the speed date!
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