December 21, 2015
In a game filled with pathetic performances on Sunday night, one stood out above them all – that of Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis. Ten previous teams were not wrong about Davis. He can’t coach.
The journeyman assistant was so overmatched by the Arizona Cardinals, he had to admit after the 40-17 loss that, for once, even he could find nothing good to say.
“The whole thing was awful,” he said. “We didn’t stop the run, we didn’t stop the pass. . . . our tackling was terrible. We’ve got to get that fixed.”
No kidding. The problem with Billy Davis is, he always talks a much better game than he coaches. Just ask the Steelers, Panthers, Browns, Packers, Falcons, Giants, Niners, Cardinals, Browns (again) and Michigan State. He worked for all of them, and he won nothing at any of those places.
A glib, affable man, Davis has always been much better at the job interview than the job itself, and this season his ineptitude is absolutely killing the Eagles. Has anyone forgotten Davis’ insane decision to use rookie Eric Rowe man-to-man against Calvin Johnson for most of the 45-14 loss to Detroit on Thanksgiving?
Well, he topped himself against the Cardinals. In a contest the Eagles needed to win far more than their opponents, the Birds were totally unprepared from the opening kickoff. They allowed John Brown to scoot free in the secondary on the very first play – he dropped the ball – before getting steamrolled for a 78-yard, seven-play touchdown drive.
Yes, the Cardinals are talented. And yes, the Eagles lost their two top cornerbacks to injury early. Still, there is no logical excuse for allowing 40 points, 493 total yards and 187 yards just to third-string running back David Johnson. In Eagles history, only two runners have gained over 185 yards and scored three touchdowns in a game – David Johnson and Jim Brown.
With elite defensive end Fletcher Cox, quality linebackers Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham, excellent safety Malcolm Jenkins and rookie standout Jordan Hicks (before his injury), somehow the Eagles still rank 28th in the NFL in points allowed, 30th in total yards, 31st in rushing yards and dead last in red-zone defense.
How is that possible? With Davis calling the plays, it is not only possible; it is predictable. He has demonstrated no ability to motivate his players – consider the damaging opening drives of opponents all season – and very little skill at adjusting against good opponents.
Above all, he learns nothing from his mistakes. Troy Aikman almost required medical attention in the Fox broadcast booth when he saw how Davis allowed Rowe to get abused against the Lions, and Brown’s romp into the open on the first play Sunday was reminiscent of the receiver’s fatal 75-yard touchdown catch with 1:21 left last season.
The Eagles have more problems right now than just Billy Davis. The offensive line is getting Sam Bradford mangled on a weekly basis, the running-back troika is plagued by inconsistency and dissension, the receivers have stone hands and coach Chip Kelly is a lousy GM. But none of those issues is any more worrisome than the collapse of the defense.
On no less than six different occasions so far this season, Davis has vowed to fix the problems, with no success. The real answer should be obvious to him – and everyone else – by now. The real answer is to do what 10 other teams have done, and say goodbye to Billy Davis.
***
Pete Rose loves baseball more than anyone I have ever met, and yet he got exactly what he deserved when Commissioner Rob Manfred denied the all-time hits leader’s latest bid for reinstatement last week. Rose has one enemy he could never conquer – himself.
I met him the summer of his pursuit for 4,000 hits – he would end up with 4,256 – when my editor at the Inquirer told me to do a one-on-one interview with the man himself for a special supplement. My boss said no appointment would be necessary. Rose was always available.
Indeed he was. I talked to him for close to an hour before a Phillies game, and my presence was unnecessary. He could speak for half an hour in response to a single question, mixing in anecdotes and statistics in a way like no other athlete before or since. He loved talking about baseball almost as much as he loved playing it.
And yet, he ruined his legacy by never knowing when to shut it down. When he could no longer play at an elite level, he relocated his competitive instincts to gambling, with far less success. Then he lied about it for decades, and then – after admitting his deception – he still continued to bet on the game.
Today, he is a caricature of that happy and fulfilled player that I met in 1984, a bloated windbag who makes a living on by signing autographs and degrading his legacy on cheap reality shows. His recent appearance as a World Series studio analyst on Fox was atrocious. Apparently, he has also misplaced his skill at talking baseball.
After Manfred’s inevitable rejection, Rose made one final appeal for admittance to the Hall of Fame. In an era filled with cheaters and bad acts, Rose believes he is no worse for ignoring the rules about gambling on baseball than the steroid weasels and the domestic abusers. Character should not be prerequisite for Cooperstown.
Well, here’s the opinion of someone who loved watching him play, enjoyed talking with him, and embraced writing about him: I don’t care. The Pete Rose I spent an hour with 31 years ago has destroyed my memory of him, and my respect for him. A plaque in some building in upstate New York is not going to undo any of the damage he has done.
***
In the recorded history of sports, has a coach ever received a contract extension with a 1-22 record? Probably not. But in the Bizarro World of the Sixers, it happened with not a single question from the woozy fan base.
Brett Brown received a reward for his career head-coaching record of 38-155 with a two-year extension last week, along with a written testimonial extolling “his tireless work ethic, his daily desire to consistently improve, and his resiliency to line up with our core values as an organization.”
In other words, he has been doing exactly what GM Sam Hinkie wanted – lose. In fact, Brown has succeeded (so to speak) beyond anyone’s projections this season by dropping six more games since the extension. The new contract wasn’t so much a reward as it was combat pay. Who else would endure this mess?
The best guess in the timing of Brown’s extension is that it was designed to calm any fears the veteran coach may have had over the hiring of Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations and, days later, the signing of Mike D’Antoni as associate head coach. Brown has publicly welcomed both, with apparent sincerity.
Of course, the Sixers wouldn’t be the Sixers without continuing their policy of lying to the fans. After D’Antoni was hired, Brown stressed that the hiring of his new assistant had nothing – absolutely nothing – to do with Colangelo’s appointment. The fact that D’Antoni coached for five years in Phoenix under Colangelo is just a really weird coincidence.
Yeah, right.
The most amazing part of the Brown-extension story is that no one – including Brown himself – has any idea if the longtime San Antonio assistant can actually coach an NBA team. He hasn’t had one yet to coach, and if the Sixers don’t defy the odds and win the lottery for LSU stud Ben Simmons, next year will continue that trend.
Regardless, Brett Brown now has job security – no small achievement for a coach who loses four out of every five games.
And finally …
• Dave Hakstol has done a decent job coaching the Flyers in his rookie season, but does the guy ever crack a smile? After Shayne Gostisbehere won his third overtime game in a month, Hakstol actually criticized the kid. Then, during a 2-0 shutout win over Carolina last Thursday, the coach threw a tantrum behind the bench. Lighten up, Dave. You’re not in North Dakota anymore.
• The Phillies have been urging fans to buy a new jersey for Christmas, but which one? It’s too early for an investment in Maikel Franco, way too late for Ryan Howard, and the one established young star, Ken Giles, was just traded to Houston. If jersey sales are slow right now, can you imagine what’s happening with tickets?
• Mayor-elect Jim Kenney didn’t even wait until he was in office to take on the Eagles, lambasting them for the high rent they charge Temple to play at Lincoln Financial Field. The mayor needs to know, right now, that the Eagles feel no obligation, or appreciation, to the city for the $200 million taxpayers provided in building the Linc. Never have, never will.
• Good news if, like many of the coaches and players, you don’t enjoy night games in the NFL. The Eagles-Giants season finale will not be flexed by NBC to 8:30 p.m. because the Birds will have already played the maximum six prime-time games this season. Even in a mediocre season, the Eagles get good national-TV ratings. Go figure.
• After two years in obscurity, former Sixers CEO Adam Aron resurfaced last week as the new boss at AMC Theatres. No word yet on whether he will bring along his favorite mascot, Phil E. Moose.
