More Insanity: The "I Played Football So I Know" Factor

As an addendum to my previous post, I recently listened to an exchange with Trent Dilfer and Merril Hoge about the Titans Terrible Towel Incident.

It is absolutely no surprise that the former players joined in on the "it gives the Steelers extra motivation" parade. And of course, their experiences as NFL players give them examples that they can draw from that prove this point.

Dilfer yammered on about how a team is supposed to win with class. Yep, the same Trent Dilfer who was on that tremendously classy 2000 Ravens Super Bowl squad where Brian Billick uttered those famous thought-he-was-off-camera remarks, "Fuck the Titans," after their playoff win in Nashville. The same Billick who was also caught on camera saying, "Fuck you," to the Titans sideline after a Jamal Lewis TD. The same lawless Ravens with Ray Lewis and Jamal Lewis. The same one with Shannon Sharpe talking shit after every game.

I would also add that before that particular playoff game, the Titans' fans were treated to a pre-game video, here documented by the Baltimore Sun:

A pre-game video galvanized the Ravens and backfired on the Titans.

As the teams prepared for the opening kickoff, the Titans' video board showed Ravens coach Brian Billick making several statements about the Titans. None was inflammatory or derogatory, but the Ravens became incensed at the obvious motivational ploy.

"It kind of fed into our game plan," said quarterback Trent Dilfer. "We wanted this game to be a fistfight. We didn't want flash and glitz. We wanted this to be a straight-out street brawl.

"When they did that, that's what it became. You saw smiles on our sideline, because everybody recognized this is going to be a fistfight, this is going to be a brawl. This is old-school, 1940s football, and we feel very comfortable with that style."

Billick said the video was "totally classless" and emphasized that he had said only complimentary things about the Titans last week. "It was a great motivator," he said. "I went up and down that sideline and said, `Guys, you've got to back me up.' Every single one of them came and hugged me after the game. They said, `Coach, we've got your backside.' "

Billick exonerated Titans coach Jeff Fisher, general manager Floyd Reese and President Jeff Diamond from blame in the affair.

"I've known them for years, and they're class guys," Billick said. "There's no way anyone could ever convince me that they know about that. I'll be very, very surprised if they're not upset about that as much as I am."

Fisher's response: "They went down 7-0. I don't think the video had anything to do with it. It wasn't my video."

I remember one quote that was in that video, it was after the 24-23 win the Ravens had in the regular season over the Titans. The Titans were on the Sports Illustrated cover that week and with the "best team in the NFL" curse-like statement SI is known for. Billick held up this issue after the game and said, "Maybe they are...but not today." I don't think you can blame anyone for showing this clip before a game. It gets the fans excited, hopefully your team excited, but extra motivation? Hardly.

There are a lot of interesting things about that 24-10 Ravens win that day. As you can see, even then Dilfer was spouting nonsense about "feeding into our game plan," and whatnot. The Ravens, on offense, were limited to 6 first downs and 134 yards. Even if you can argue that the Ravens defense was motivated (they did, after all, block a field goal and returned an interception for touchdowns in the 4th quarter, the difference in the game...which I will turn around and say, "What took them so long?"), what kind of bullshit is Trent Dilfer talking about? His offense didn't do anything that proves his point.

You'll see, also, Fisher doesn't exactly buy all this "extra motivation" stuff either. What I feel like, and probably Fisher does too, is that once the game begins, you forget all this stupid stuff and play the game. You need to think about your assignments and your playbook.

Merril Hoge then discussed his experience with extra motivation, citing the 1989 season with the Steelers. The Oilers had beaten the Steelers twice that year, and apparently Oilers coach Jerry Glanville rubbed it in their faces. So Hoge, with absolute clarity and definitiveness, remembers how the Steelers beat the Oilers in the playoffs that same year, clearly possessed by the lack of respect the Oilers showed them. Ummm...does a 26-23 OT win justify this reasoning?

It's like this (in as random a way as possible):

I say, "The Steelers are going to win this game because they drink Gator-Aid."

Then, the Titans come out to a 17-0 lead. They command the game for 3 1/2 quarters, allowing only two field goals. Then the Titans shank a punt and give the Steelers the ball on the 35 yard line, easily score a touchdown, make it 17-13. Then a series of penalties stalls the next Titans drive, and the Steelers get it back with good field position, and they score another touchdown with no time left on the clock. They win 20-17.

I say, "You see? Gator-Aid."

I say this without knowing whether the Titans sideline also drank Gator-Aid, and I say this without giving credit to other determining factors. I am also giving a lot of credit to Gator-Aid without knowing the true effects of it. It's a cousin to "the ends justify the means." Just because I say "Here's a factor," and the team I'm picking to win does win, doesn't mean I was right about the way they won.

Terrible Towel Controversy!

So Lendale White and Keith Bulluck stomped on some Steeler "terrible towels" after the 31-14 win over the Steelers Sunday. This, like all stupid shit, has become a controversy and a way for sports writers to earn a paycheck discussing it. And as usual, these people have lost their minds.

Here's what coach Jeff Fisher says:

"Why would it be a big deal? That if we play [the Steelers] again, they'll play harder? I don't think so," Fisher told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen. "They always play hard."

I didn't see it, only heard the broadcast, but from what I've gleaned from the scene, there were a ton of Steelers fans at LP Field waving these things like it was a home game. Whether this is a statement for bandwagon Titans fans who didn't think they had a chance and sold off their tickets, or a tremendous statement of the travel capabilities of the Steelers fans, I think if I were White or Bulluck, I'd be a bit pissed off about that sight as well.

Completely ludicrous are discussions like this (from the same ESPN article):

Three years ago, Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh wiped his shoes with a Terrible Towel after Cincinnati won 38-31 in Pittsburgh in early December to all but clinch the AFC North. When the teams met again a month later in Cincinnati, the Steelers -- motivated by Houshmandzadeh's shoe-wiping display -- won 31-17 for the first of their three conference road playoff wins that led to the Super Bowl.

Funny, the real story of that playoff game was that Carson Palmer was hurt on his very first pass of the game by Kimo von Oelhoffen, rendering the Bengals without their star quarterback. They played the game with Jon freaking Kitna. Love the parenthetical, "motivated by Houshmandzadeh's shoe-wiping display," as if this was THE reason for the game's end result. It's garbage, and this writer should be fired.

More notes from the inane (this from CNNSI):

Pittsburgh players and fans revere the Towel, and why go there against a team you might see again in the playoffs? For me, it falls under the heading of unwisely giving your opponent extra motivation. I promise you, if the Steelers and Titans do meet again, that footage will be run on a continuous loop in Pittsburgh.

And the effects on the Steelers will be akin to Prince Adam raising his sword and bellowing, "By the power of Grayskull!"

Folks, losing is motivation enough. And...and, even if we were to buy this 100% wholesale, I have to argue the whole "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" thing. Say the Steelers are so motivated that they just look like they're about to tear Titan heads off. I have a feeling this works both ways. I doubt the Titan players will be running into the Cumberland River screaming, "They're just too motivated! Holy shit, abandon ship!"

If the Steelers beat the Titans in the playoffs, and it's a big if that they even meet, it will have nothing to do with a towel, unless Kerry Collins' hands are too sweaty and the towel boy does a bad job.

In fact, here is a clip that makes more sense than this controversy: