Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Why is ESPN Creating the "lame duck" Controversy?

by: Michael Steffes

As a large giant once said in special agent Dale Cooper's vision, "Its Happening Again."

I am watching the end of ESPN First Take, and sure enough, just like during the MNF broadcast last night, the four letter network is creating Seahawks controversy where there is none. To be fair, its not just them, but either way its already stale.

The question posed to Skip and the Stews was did the Seahawks make a mistake naming a successor to Mike Holmgren before the season? The unanimous answers, almost as if they were reading the script handed to Jaws and Tirico was YES! The moment this team loses a game it will be utter chaos in the locker room. MORE AFTER THE JUMP...

Sorry to disappoint, but that will not be the case. Maybe as fans we are all being naive to what the experts almost all declare, but I don't think so. This is a team full of veteran leaders (Hass, Lofa, Kerney, JP, Grant, Walt, Nate) who are all men of character. This team is not made of the type of players who are worried about next year. They are worried about next week, not next year. This is one of the reasons that they have managed to make it to the final eight three years in a row.

Also, these comments do a disservice to Mike Holmgren, and personally it bothers me deeeply. Not only is Mike Holmgren one of the best coaches that this league has ever seen, but he is an excellent communicator and has never had a player he treated unfairly. He lets the players know what is expected of them, and he lets them know why he is hard on them. To say that the players would risk sending Mike Holmgren out of Seattle with a mutiny is pathetic. It marginalizes the organization, the players, and specifically the coaches.

Not to mention I have yet to hear someone bring up this point with out completely contradicting themselves. They say this has never been done, but they know it will be trouble because these situations never work out. HOW CAN THAT BE IF THIS HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE? Part of me wants to be happy the Hawks are getting some national attention, but if the parties involved don't care enough to make a fair and reasonable point, then maybe we shouldn't be. (Rant Off)