Lowering Standards for Writing: A Weekend at Bernie's
For a view of what an untreated case Raider envy looks like, check out this article by Donco writer Bernie Lincicome. In it, Bernie makes his case that The Induction of John Madden Lowers the Standards for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Let us dissect this view with all the grace of a high school biology student carving up a frog, for the article appears to be written at a high-school level of understanding of the game of football. To do so, we will consider the only football stat that really matters - winning.
Lincicome states, "John Madden has put Mike Shanahan in the Hall of Fame."
The first question is, "Why is this Donco bozo comparing Mike Shanahan to John Madden in the first place?" Madden is eligible for the HOF. Shanarat is not until five years after he retires. This is the equivalent of comparing a ripe apple to a green banana.
The reason Lincicome does not instead compare Madden to any of the Donco coaches actually eligible for HOF induction is none of them actually has a chance in Hades of being considered. While much is made of the Raiders' current three-year losing streak, consider the fact the Doncos had a thirteen-year losing streak overlapping the period Raider HOFers Al Davis and John Madden were head coaches of this team.
From 1960-'72 the Donco record was an abysmal 52- 123. Utter Raider dominance over the Doncos during the time in question explains why Lincicome doesn't mention such stellar Donco Head Coaching Legends as Lou Saban in his biased comparison.
Lincicome goes on to state, "Since Shanahan has already won six more regular-season games and one more Super Bowl than Madden, clearly the Bronco coach is beyond the entrance bar, and Shanahan will not need to wait 27 years and become a TV oddity to verify his credentials, as Madden needed to do."
Well actually, Shanahan's regular season record is 122-74, while Madden's is 103-32. If you do the math, Shanahan actually has won 19 more regular season games than Madden, so it is unclear where Lincicome gets his stats. But the truth is Shanarat has also lost 42 more regular season games than Madden. 19-42 is the difference. Twice as many more losses as victories. I fail to be impressed.
The bottom line is Madden's regular season win percentage is better than ANY head coach's, ever. Lincicome is wacky on the junk to think a regular season win comparison to Shanarat is the way to make his ludicrous case.
The case that Shanarat should get in the HOF because of his two Super Bowl victories does not hold any weight either. See Exhibit A, Raider coach Tom Flores, whose two SB wins have yet to get him enshrined.
And please note, the reason it took Madden 20+ years to get inducted has nothing to do with his merits as a coach. The HOF voters have a prejudice against allowing active coaches in the HOF. John began as the youngest head coach in the NFL and subsequently retired from coaching at the age of 42, an age when most head coaches are just getting their first gig. What really happened is the HOF voters always thought Madden would return to coaching one day, so they put his enshrinement on the back burner.
Madden got in as a coach, not as a contributor. HOF voters follow guidelines to solely discuss a coach's career as a coach; hence, anything Madden did as a broadcaster or video game innovator were not taken into account by the voters. Lincicome's "He needed to become a TV oddity first" statement is patently false.
Madden is a coach and got in as a coach. Were he voted in as a contributor, his broadcasting, books, and other contributions could have been considered. But they weren't. Verily, Madden did not get in because "He became America's goofy uncle," as Lincicome suggests.
The one comparison Lincicome makes that does hold water is comparing Madden to Packer great Vince Lombardi. Lombardi is after all the man the trophy is named after and coached during the same era as Madden. Lombardi's coaching record of 106-36-6 closely mirrors Madden's record of 112-39-7. Neither ever coached a team to a losing record.
If the coach who's career compares most fittingly to John Madden's is that of the man himself, Lombardi, how is it possible Lincicome can make a case Madden doesn't belong? A blind man with Alzheimer on peyote could see if Vince is in, John is too.
The Lombardi legacy is not at all tarnished by his relatively short career by today's standards. Vince Lombardi's coaching career ended after a bout with intestinal cancer and he died on September 3, 1970.
Citing health reasons during the January 4, 1979 press conference announcing his retirement from coaching, the 42-year-old Madden said the years of stress (which lead to an ulcer causing him to chug Maalox by the quart) had given him "the body of a 70-year-old," according to his doctors. Hence, Madden's coaching legacy is not at all tarnished by the fact health concerns forced his retirement.
Though in my opinion winning should be the most important criterion for HOF induction and Madden stacks up like none other in this measure, what about the fact Madden only won one Super Bowl? Shouldn't his teams have won more, as Raider persona non grata, Tim Brown suggests?
Perhaps, but consider Madden's teams played the AFC/AFL Championship Game seven times in his ten year career. Yes, Madden's teams lost six of those games, but didn't Marv Levy lose four consecutive Super Bowls and still get inducted? In seventy percent of the seasons Madden coached, his team was playing for all the marbles.
In contrast, Mike Shanahan's teams have reached the AFC Championship game less than half as many times (three) and it has taken Shanarat three more years than Madden (thirteen total) to do even this. Bottom line: Madden decidedly achieved a more consistent level of greatness than The Rat will ever reach.
But perhaps John Madden's most important legacy (yes, there are even more important things than winning, true believers) is his role in elevating the station of African-Americans in the NFL. John stood by players such as the Soul Patrol (Brown, Tatum, Atkinson, and Thomas) and the Highway (Shell and Upshaw) at a time when having a lot of black players in the NFL simply wasn't cool.
Madden went so far as to cancel away games when hotels in the cities the Raiders were visiting would not accept black players. Madden made a difference in the Civil Rights movement going on at the time, and did so simply because these were the best players on the field.
What leagacy is Shanarat going to leave behind? That he drafted troubled bozo Maurice Clarett in the third round and watched him stick up 7-Elevens and lead police on high speed chases with his flak jacket and arsenal of pistols? Puhlease.
It is clear this Donco hack, Lincicome, is just miserable 'cause the Mules have NO ONE in the HOF themselves...oops...forgot Mr. Ed-way. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.
Remember, Edway was traded from the Colts to the Raiders before the Doncos sabotaged the deal anyway, so even Mr. Ed was identified by the Raiders as a player of greatness before he ever became a Horse-faced, Orange Push-Up Wearin' buffoon.
Imagine, the Donkey lovers look at this site and see their proud franchise listing the likes of Willie Brown (STILL a Raider coach) and Tony Dorsett (er...ya think he was a KY Cowboy?) as their only HOFers.
Is it any wonder this Mule Tool writer comes up with this fish wrapper?
Envy, pure and simple. He wishes the Doncos had even one third of the thirteen HOFers the Raiders list as enshrinees. It's like seeing your next door neighbor having Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston at the same time, then calling them "ugly" 'cause you never even get a phone number yourself.
In sum, while any orange-furred orangutan banging the keys on his typewriter can get published, Lincicome has lowered the standards for allowing primates to write.
Please feel free to tell 'em so by emailin' 'em at: lincicomeb@RockyMountainNews.com
A sticky thanks to Rxtreme for tipping us off to this article.
Let us dissect this view with all the grace of a high school biology student carving up a frog, for the article appears to be written at a high-school level of understanding of the game of football. To do so, we will consider the only football stat that really matters - winning.
Lincicome states, "John Madden has put Mike Shanahan in the Hall of Fame."
The first question is, "Why is this Donco bozo comparing Mike Shanahan to John Madden in the first place?" Madden is eligible for the HOF. Shanarat is not until five years after he retires. This is the equivalent of comparing a ripe apple to a green banana.
The reason Lincicome does not instead compare Madden to any of the Donco coaches actually eligible for HOF induction is none of them actually has a chance in Hades of being considered. While much is made of the Raiders' current three-year losing streak, consider the fact the Doncos had a thirteen-year losing streak overlapping the period Raider HOFers Al Davis and John Madden were head coaches of this team.
From 1960-'72 the Donco record was an abysmal 52- 123. Utter Raider dominance over the Doncos during the time in question explains why Lincicome doesn't mention such stellar Donco Head Coaching Legends as Lou Saban in his biased comparison.
Lincicome goes on to state, "Since Shanahan has already won six more regular-season games and one more Super Bowl than Madden, clearly the Bronco coach is beyond the entrance bar, and Shanahan will not need to wait 27 years and become a TV oddity to verify his credentials, as Madden needed to do."
Well actually, Shanahan's regular season record is 122-74, while Madden's is 103-32. If you do the math, Shanahan actually has won 19 more regular season games than Madden, so it is unclear where Lincicome gets his stats. But the truth is Shanarat has also lost 42 more regular season games than Madden. 19-42 is the difference. Twice as many more losses as victories. I fail to be impressed.
The bottom line is Madden's regular season win percentage is better than ANY head coach's, ever. Lincicome is wacky on the junk to think a regular season win comparison to Shanarat is the way to make his ludicrous case.
The case that Shanarat should get in the HOF because of his two Super Bowl victories does not hold any weight either. See Exhibit A, Raider coach Tom Flores, whose two SB wins have yet to get him enshrined.
And please note, the reason it took Madden 20+ years to get inducted has nothing to do with his merits as a coach. The HOF voters have a prejudice against allowing active coaches in the HOF. John began as the youngest head coach in the NFL and subsequently retired from coaching at the age of 42, an age when most head coaches are just getting their first gig. What really happened is the HOF voters always thought Madden would return to coaching one day, so they put his enshrinement on the back burner.
Madden got in as a coach, not as a contributor. HOF voters follow guidelines to solely discuss a coach's career as a coach; hence, anything Madden did as a broadcaster or video game innovator were not taken into account by the voters. Lincicome's "He needed to become a TV oddity first" statement is patently false.
Madden is a coach and got in as a coach. Were he voted in as a contributor, his broadcasting, books, and other contributions could have been considered. But they weren't. Verily, Madden did not get in because "He became America's goofy uncle," as Lincicome suggests.
The one comparison Lincicome makes that does hold water is comparing Madden to Packer great Vince Lombardi. Lombardi is after all the man the trophy is named after and coached during the same era as Madden. Lombardi's coaching record of 106-36-6 closely mirrors Madden's record of 112-39-7. Neither ever coached a team to a losing record.
If the coach who's career compares most fittingly to John Madden's is that of the man himself, Lombardi, how is it possible Lincicome can make a case Madden doesn't belong? A blind man with Alzheimer on peyote could see if Vince is in, John is too.
The Lombardi legacy is not at all tarnished by his relatively short career by today's standards. Vince Lombardi's coaching career ended after a bout with intestinal cancer and he died on September 3, 1970.
Citing health reasons during the January 4, 1979 press conference announcing his retirement from coaching, the 42-year-old Madden said the years of stress (which lead to an ulcer causing him to chug Maalox by the quart) had given him "the body of a 70-year-old," according to his doctors. Hence, Madden's coaching legacy is not at all tarnished by the fact health concerns forced his retirement.
Though in my opinion winning should be the most important criterion for HOF induction and Madden stacks up like none other in this measure, what about the fact Madden only won one Super Bowl? Shouldn't his teams have won more, as Raider persona non grata, Tim Brown suggests?
Perhaps, but consider Madden's teams played the AFC/AFL Championship Game seven times in his ten year career. Yes, Madden's teams lost six of those games, but didn't Marv Levy lose four consecutive Super Bowls and still get inducted? In seventy percent of the seasons Madden coached, his team was playing for all the marbles.
In contrast, Mike Shanahan's teams have reached the AFC Championship game less than half as many times (three) and it has taken Shanarat three more years than Madden (thirteen total) to do even this. Bottom line: Madden decidedly achieved a more consistent level of greatness than The Rat will ever reach.
But perhaps John Madden's most important legacy (yes, there are even more important things than winning, true believers) is his role in elevating the station of African-Americans in the NFL. John stood by players such as the Soul Patrol (Brown, Tatum, Atkinson, and Thomas) and the Highway (Shell and Upshaw) at a time when having a lot of black players in the NFL simply wasn't cool.
Madden went so far as to cancel away games when hotels in the cities the Raiders were visiting would not accept black players. Madden made a difference in the Civil Rights movement going on at the time, and did so simply because these were the best players on the field.
What leagacy is Shanarat going to leave behind? That he drafted troubled bozo Maurice Clarett in the third round and watched him stick up 7-Elevens and lead police on high speed chases with his flak jacket and arsenal of pistols? Puhlease.
It is clear this Donco hack, Lincicome, is just miserable 'cause the Mules have NO ONE in the HOF themselves...oops...forgot Mr. Ed-way. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.
Remember, Edway was traded from the Colts to the Raiders before the Doncos sabotaged the deal anyway, so even Mr. Ed was identified by the Raiders as a player of greatness before he ever became a Horse-faced, Orange Push-Up Wearin' buffoon.
Imagine, the Donkey lovers look at this site and see their proud franchise listing the likes of Willie Brown (STILL a Raider coach) and Tony Dorsett (er...ya think he was a KY Cowboy?) as their only HOFers.
Is it any wonder this Mule Tool writer comes up with this fish wrapper?
Envy, pure and simple. He wishes the Doncos had even one third of the thirteen HOFers the Raiders list as enshrinees. It's like seeing your next door neighbor having Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston at the same time, then calling them "ugly" 'cause you never even get a phone number yourself.
In sum, while any orange-furred orangutan banging the keys on his typewriter can get published, Lincicome has lowered the standards for allowing primates to write.
Please feel free to tell 'em so by emailin' 'em at: lincicomeb@RockyMountainNews.com
A sticky thanks to Rxtreme for tipping us off to this article.
posted by Stick'em at 6:10 AM
5 Comments:
Stick'em:
I took you up on your suggestion and wrote the following to the hack donco writer:
Mr. Lincicome,
Your article is full of faulty logic and reasoning. It is quite simple. John Madden was elected into the Hall of Fame as a coach because of his stellar record of achievement and high level of excellence. He has the highest winning percentage of any coach who has won 100+ games. In your article, you left out one of the more important benchmarks for truly comparing apples to apples. Madden had a winning record against each and every coach in his era who was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
If Shanahan gets into the Hall of Fame, he will be like the rest of the coaches who preceded him. He will get in only based on his own merits and record of achievement not because he won 2 super bowls. If winning 2 super bowls were enough, Tom Flores would already be in the Hall of Fame.
Finally, to state that the bar has somehow been lowered by the induction of Madden is categorically false, ridiculous, and frankly completely asinine. You do your colleagues and readers a disservice by writing a piece that tarnishes Madden's well deserved election. Shame on you. As a paid staff writer for the Rocky Mountain News you should pay more attention to the facts and less to your bias opinions and blatant Raider-envy.
Sincerely,
Calico Jack
CJ: Well done. Stick a fork in 'em.
Verily, the more often we write these bozos in a manner which shows we know what time it is (e.g., NOT sending them the $%#@ YOU, you %$^&*+@ type stuff) and call 'em out with passionate reason, the less often these clowns will think they can mindlessly bash the Raiders without consequences from the Nation.
We are not sheep. We do not need mediots to tell us what our opinions are or should be.
Bernie,
As a Raider fan of 30 years, I read your article on John Madden with surprise. There were quite a few mistakes in that piece, and I am not talking about typos. Perhaps you should cut down to three articles a week.
I became a Raider fan on the first game of 1976. So you see, I can do the proper math, unlike yourself. As I re-read the article, it doesn't even make sense. First you are ranting and raving about "thinnest" credentials, as if a .759 career winning percentage during what is coming to be accepted as the golden decade of pro football is somehow something to be ashamed of. Then you change your mind and say what? Never mind? Not that there's anything wrong with that?
Tom Flores did not do as well. That's incorrect, and I like Tom Flores. John Madden is not a great coach; he WAS a great coach. I think a factor few are talking about is the great brouhaha over the violence of pro football in the 1970s. That piece is missing from your article. As well as the name of Al Davis, which shows me that you saw the Adam Schefter interview that has us all chuckling at Denver's expense.
The lack of Davis' name tells me you have not completely lost your mind. I don't know you as a writer. Seventeen years in Chicago says you are to be taken seriously. Still, I think you are out of your league here. Stick with the Bears, Packers, Lions, and Vikings. This is the AFC West, where we have ethics even as we eat our young.
My hunch is someone gave you the idea or put you up to this. You thought you had the magic to pull it off. Guess what? You didn't. You looked foolish, and this tarnishes your record as a sports journalist. John Madden had winning records (substantial winning records) against those coaches he faced who are now in the HOF. He coached when there were only 14 games in a season. He was the head coach during some of the classic NFL games, where rule changes were made as a result. Do I have to spoon-feed you on these games?
Your article did not make sense. Perhaps it ingratiated you with the powers-that-be, but it was weak and insipid and beneath the standards you once believed in.
Craig Parker
Author, Football's Blackest Hole
Give the guy some credit...he certainly knows his audience.
Denver fans are a lot of things...half-drunk, high on meth, pregnant out of wedlock, mouth breathing window lickers, but they've also had hammered into their Cro-magnon skulls that somehow the Raiders--read: Mr. Davis--made the Original sin of firing Shanahan (because keeping him on back in 1989 would have been much more prudent).
Anything that genuflects The Rat in print is something they'll jump all over. In summary, I'm not sure if he believes his shibboleth so much as he knows his subscribers.
Anon 3:32
Wonder what that guy would look like if you backed up over 'em with your car?
I can just see "RAIDERS" tattooed on his forehead for life - LOL!
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