Loose Slag from the Still Mill - Nov. 24th

November 23, 1999 by Still Mill

Loose Slag from the Still Mill� Loose Slag from the Still Mill�. (Nov. 24^th)

Marty Jr.'s press conference was nothing but more trite sayings and old cliché's dusted off and rehashed. You want to know a major problem of Cowhead? The man has no idea of DETAILS. Sure, as a head coach, you don't always need to "get down in the weeds", since there are coordinators and other assistants that do most of that. Nevertheless, the head coach is ultimately responsible for everything that his team does on the practice field and on gameday. EVERYTHING. If the waterboy runs out of Gatorade in the 3^rd quarter, it's ultimately the head coach's fault. The sad truth, is that it's becoming more and more apparent that Cowhead has no grasp, no concept, and no comprehension of the DETAILS that comprise a football team. Listen to ANY Cowher press conference, and what do you hear?? A book of trite quotes that Roget's would be proud of, that's what. In the past, it's been old saws like "We just fell short a little bit" and "The focus sometimes just wasn't quite what it needed to be". This week, we got, "We're still going thru growing pains"; "Tough times breed tough people"; and "We're not getting it done". This is all a load of coachspeak crap. It's high time Cowhead, the recipient of a massive payraise in March '98, to step forward and start addressing specifics. Broad, sloppy brush strokes are fine if you're painting a barn, but if you're painting the Sistine Chapel, you need to pay considerably more attention to detail, and you need some finer brushing. Cowher is paid over a million dollars per year; is in control of a large coaching staff; and is in charge of a roster of players making a combined $53 million per year. Is it to much to ask to have Cowhead start addressing details?? What, is he running for political office, and he's using campaign speaking tactics, so as to not offend anyone?? It's readily apparent that key coordinators --- namely Dom Capers, Dick LeBeau, Ron Erhardt, and Chan Gailey --- were far more important than we ever realized. It was these men who covered up for Cowhead's gross ineptitude & ignorance in preparation, tactics, and game-planning. I personally don't see Cowhead's problem as one of intensity; rather, I see it as one of ignorance and dimwittedness. In the past, Cowhead reaped the benefit of some astute coordinators, while he did a solid job of ranting and raving and motivating. Motivation goes only so far. If your plan is to attack a platoon of tanks with men armed only with bayonet, motivation won't get you very far. Good field generals, like coaches, need a combination of both astute tactics/strategy, as well as motivation & charisma.
How long before Cowhead decides to give some youngsters PT?? Perhaps our "Fun & Games" page should start a pool, where readers can put in their "bet" on what date Cowhead will extract head from ass, and start giving youngsters PT. Last year, as you may recall, Cowhead didn't give ANYBODY any extra PT until the finale at Jax, and even then he doled out PT as sparsely as Rooney misers his checkbook. The time should be NOW to get some youngsters some PT. This serves 2 purposes:

1. Gives us a chance to evaluate personnel, in preparation for off-season moves and the draft. You can't evaluate a man while he's sitting on pine.

2. Gives youngsters a chance to get experience and improve on their skills.

The men who should be getting increased PT are: Amos, Malcolm, Shaw, Fu, Hunt (as a FB), Conrad, Edwards (he's STILL not starting, by the way), Gonzo, Faat Staat, Smith, Porter, and Shields. (No omission of Kelsay here -- he's a 7^th round stiff). Guys who need to be issued a seat cushion: Hawkins, Wittman, Prozac, Emmons, Henry, Davis, Jackwell, A. Brown, Roye, and Steed. (Note that some guys --- good or bad --- are on this seat-cushion list simply because there is NOTHING we can learn about them that we don't already know.)

Knowing Cowher, he'll wait until December 15^th or so to finally decide to give some of these guys some PT. And then he'll lament next August about why his youngsters are not progressing.

I've been too busy to check Intertops.com, as well as Vegas, to see if one can place a bet on this upcoming Cinci game. No, not on the win/loss. Rather, on if, for the 3^rd week in a row, we can throw the game away in our final possession on an intercepted screen play.
Ya gotta believe that Cowher has seen some recent box scores of the Chico Bears. The reporters ought to ask him about Jim Miller, the man Cowher gave about 38 minutes of opportunity to back in '96. Stewart gets dozens of games to slop around in, but Miller got just over 2 quarters of work. Cowher probably feels like a dunce. Wait�.no, he won't. Cowhead is too mulestubborn and blind to see the fine work Miller has done. Plus, Cowher is proud to have the 29^th ranked pass offense in the NFL, for the 2d year in a row. Technically, this is an improvement --- and you KNOW Field Goal Bill feels this way --- because there are now 31 teams this year.
Holan "Hot Tub" Harrison was on Stan & Guy's show on Fox. (I get it on DSS.) Harrison babbled on and on about how "this team is not a bunch of quitters" and "we'll keep fighting and we won't give up", etc. It was rather amusing. We're talking about a team that rolled over and played dead the final 5 games last year. This year, we've yet to beat a winning team, and we've slopped our way thru 4 of the wins we have. And, all this bravado coming from the Hot Tub Meister himself, Hot Tub Harrison. How many games has this guy fully played in the past 2 season?? 6? 7?

The Still Mill

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