As 2007 begins, there are a lot of people around the NFL who are seriously wishing they had done things a bit differently last year. Here is a short list....
Randy Moss regrets ever signing with the Raiders. Once the most dynamic reciever in the NFL, Moss has been unable to produce big plays and put points on the board since joining the team. Much of that has to due with his lack of a supporting cast around him. A quarterback who could deliver the ball to the proper team would help Moss improve his numbers significantly.
Al Davis regrets re-hiring Art Shell as head coach. Davis said he made a mistake when he fired Shell the first time. Now he will be making a mistake if he does not fire Shell a second time. Team moral and discipline have evaporated under Shell. Their players have been on the brink of mutiny all season long. Thier play on the field has been a comedy of errors, intterupted breifly by flashes of defensive brilliance. The only thing consistant about the Raiders is thier steady decline.... The team will have the #1 pick in the 2007 draft. At least there is nowhere to go but up.
Ben Roethlisburger regrets riding a motorcylce without a helmet. First of all, it damn near killed him. He was lucky to come out of it a functional human being. But despite all claims that he is 100% recovered from the incident, its clear that he is not the same player he was when the Steelers won the Superbowl. Its been a parade of minor injuries since then, and an emergency surgery to remove his appendix. While all those events are not directly connected to the motorcycle accident, common sense tells us that the wreck is what got it all started. Call it Karma.
Ricky Williams regrets not moving to Canada sooner. The new-age, pot-smoking, free-spirited Williams was banned from the NFL for a full year for failing his drug test again. So he went to play for the legendary Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. And despite that he only played 4 1/2 games due to a broken arm, he still finished 8th overall in the league for rushing. He had an impressive 4.8 yrds per carry average. Its clear that money has never been the motivating factor for Williams. He just wants to have a good time, and it looks like he's having it in Canada.
Tony Dungy regrets his devotion to the Soft Cover2 defense. It worked great for him when he was in Tampa Bay. When he came to the Colts, he began to craft the defense to specifically operate in the Cover2. He put together a smaller, leaner, faster defensive unit. In the process, he abandoned any chance they had of stopping the run. At the start of the season, the Colts looked like the team of destiny. Now their secondy will look like a second home for Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, because he will spend a lot of time back there during this weekend's wildcard game.
The Houston Texans regret choosing Mario Williams first in the draft. Ironic enough, the Defensive Rookie of the Year award went to the Texans SECOND ROUND pick, DeMeco Ryans. While Mario Williams failed to generate any impressive stats this season, Ryans led the NFL in tackles. Meanwhile, other first round picks like Reggie Bush, Vince Young, and AJ Hawk all showed that they were worth they hype. Houston, You Have A Problem.. and its somewhere in your front office!
Jim Mora Jr Regrets opening his mouth on radio. The young coach was expected to be a big name in the NFL for many years, but now finds himself unemployed. Mora was not fired for his inability to get the Falcons into the playoffs. He was not fired for failing to use Michael Vick effectively. He was not fired because his recievers are incapeable of cathing a pass. Mora was fired because he is a dumbass. He went on the radio and said that if he were offered the job at the University of Washington, he would 'leave the Falcons in a heartbeat.' Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank is a classy man, and he simply freed Mora from his responsibility in Atlanta so he could go pursue his dream job. By the way, Tye Willingham is still the coach at University of Washington.
Detroit Lions fans regret continuing to support the team. Its being reported that Lions GM Matt Millin will continue to remain on the job, much to the disbelief of the entire world. At this point there is absolutley no reason to justify keeping Millen on board. It shows a blatent disrespect for the fans, and disregard towards the players. The team has been a disater ever since Millen took his seat in the luxury box. His own ego takes precedent over all decisions. He has displayed a complete inability to win the loyalty of his players and coaches, and he has made nothing but terrible decisions regarding the team roster. The people of Detroit should sue the Lions for Fraud and False Advertising... the claim to have a proffessional football team, but nobody has seen it yet.
Bill Parcells has a lot of regrets right now. Far too many to list all at once. He regrets not making Romo his starter earlier in the season. He regrets not being able to find a kicker who can get the job done in clutch situations. He regrets ever having heard the name Terrell Owens. He regrets coming out of retirement and being forced to deal with stupid questions from reporters. And if the Cowboys lose in this weekend's wildcard game, Parcells will regret having so much stuff in his office, because it will take a while to clean it out.
The Green Bay Packer regret keeping Favre all season. This is not a negative comment about Favre... just the opposite. Favre was the best thing Green Bay had going for it all season. But now the Packers will have no choice but to start Aaron Rogers next season, and he will be going in without a lot of NFL experience. Its going to take a while for him to adjust to being the starter and taking all those hits each week. And its going to take a while for him to reajdust to game speeds and get his arm strenth back to playing level. Guys get rusty when they come out of college and sit on the bench for too long. A single season is one thing, but more than that simply takes years off a guy's carreer. The Packers would have been better served if they had simply switched to Rogers midseason, or began putting him in during the second half of games this year. The inexperience of Rogers will guarentee a 'slow start' in 2007.
The Bengals regret not having a personal supervisor for each player. The Bengals finished the year with as many wins as arrests. The 8-8 Bengals had 8 players arrested in seperate incidents in 2006. They should all just stay at home and watch 'The Longest Yard' on dvd, rather than trying to create thier own prison team.
