Four Downs with Stock & Doc
by Ben Stockwell and Paul Hopkins
12/6/2008
 
This week the guys consider the implications of Nick Kaczur's painkiller use, whether T.O. can go on and on … playing, continue their Benson-arrest watch and ask whether it is ever worth looking past character issues in pursuit of great talent.
 
The revelation of Nick Kaczur's painkiller dependency highlights that the NFL needs to act to protect its players from long-term damage to their health.
 
DOC – FACT ! – And let's be honest, no-one will possibly disagree with this. Football is violent, aggressive and despite all the padding – it hurts. A lot. Players are getting bigger and stronger and the toll on their bodies is being taken. Football is making a lot of money from its players, which granted a lot of it, they receive back. But if the stories about the levels of usage are true then action needs to be taken. On their own huge levels of painkillers are incredibly dangerous, such is the consequences they lead to in terms of further drug use, dependency, and major physical issues that develop not just later in life, but right now, that require further doses of medication to get through. I won't pretend I know what the answer to it is, but rehabilitation is needed to support people who get this level of dependency, so that they don't fear coming forward and they don't get sucked into the underground world of dealing drugs that Kaczur got himself into.
 
STOCK – FACT ! – Do I really need to add anything to the above?
 
DOC – First time you've ever been without comment…
 
With his new contract signed, Terrell Owens can emulate Jerry Rice and continue playing until he is forty.
 
DOC – FACT ! – Why not? This guy is the complete physical specimen, and I'm not referring to the one he failed to provide lately. He looks after himself, trains hard and knows what the right things to do are and does them. He has had a few injuries which may curtail him getting to 40 but I think the odds are this guy has as good a shot as anyone to do so. He may well not finish his career in Dallas, as Jerry is far from shy about ruthlessly cutting players loose. But on the other hand, you know Jones secretly loves the attention Owens brings to his franchise and you know he himself loves basking in that T.O. glow, and considering they're not making very many moves to get some long-term replacements in, T.O. may go 40 in Texas.
 
STOCK – FACT ! – TO is in great physical shape now and the insane training regimens he puts himself through means that he can maintain this level of fitness for a long time as his mentor in San Francisco Mr Rice managed as well. Further to this he's not seen particularly frequently crossing through the channel of MIKE linebackers and strong safeties, so he doesn't take the physical pounding that some wide receivers do. He's great at what he does but by not taking the physical pounding and being such a health and fitness freak he will maintain his physical fitness longer than many others. Owens also loves the media spotlight and this new acting career he's started won't be enough, even guys like the Rock who have launched acting careers from “sports entertainment” aren't massively in the limelight, not to the extent Owens seems to crave. It's a mutual relationship that Owens and either the Cowboys or whoever will benefit from. The team gets a very a good WR and Owens gets podium for him to yak and be in the media spotlight. It's win-win, it's entertaining and long may it continue.
 
Taking last week's 3rd Down even further, Cedric Benson is now finished in the NFL.
 
DOC – FACT ! – Well, well, well, look at what we have here. Were we not talking about him last week Ben? Looks like I was right all along. Benson is finished; when the guy finally actually takes responsibility for his own idiocy it's a sign that things must be desperate for him. But will things change? No. Undoubtedly, someone else will give him a chance, he's a top five overall pick not too many years ago and time is somewhat on his side, but talent, application, commitment and brains are not. He's done.
 
STOCK – FACT ! – And I'll let Mr Benson answer this question for me as to why he's done: “Well I'd just like to say that it's not my fault that I became a victim here, the Bears have shown a lack of faith with me and I feel that the organisation, the fan base and my team-mates have let me down. My talent is undeniable I just need the help to open some lanes for me. It's not my fault that I'm fumbling, running in to my blockers, dropping passes, blowing protection assignments, that's the team not doing the job around me and making my job hard for me. I can only carry a team so far, this Bears offence was just beyond hope, I don't know why I've become a scapegoat.”
[Disclaimer – This is not a real quote from Cedric Benson]
 
OK, that's not a real quote from Benson but it's things along these lines that we've come to expect from Benson. First of all last year that he can't split carries with Thomas Jones, then he complains about a lack of help on offence and finally not taking responsibility for his own idiocy off the field by drink driving. It seems to me that teams will tolerate players if they are accountable and show signs of changing; Benson doesn't seem to be doing that. He may get a chance somewhere but he's shown nothing on or off the field since he was drafted to suggest that he'll live up to his “can't miss” draft status coming out of Texas.
 
In light of the ongoing brushes with the law of NFL players, it is no longer worth teams taking a risk on physical gifted players with major character flaws.
 
DOC – FICTION ! – It's just too hard to definitively give an answer to this. It is truly a case of horses for courses. Whilst I deride Cedric Benson above, Dallas rehabilitated Tank Johnson, for every Odell Thurman there's someone else who has made a mistake and come back. Right now, we're going through the era of stupidity, and maybe it should make teams (and even colleges) look at how they induct these suddenly very wealthy young men into society. For once, Dallas might actually be good at showing the way forward although they're gonna get hugely tested with Adam Jones. They're clearly not prepared for the limelight and not prepared for any form of responsibility and social awareness. We don't want them to be Mary Poppins' but then we have a right to expect them to act like normal, rounded human beings. Right now, they aren't. But talent always win out, because ultimately, football is about the here and the now, and winning. People just look past the question marks.
 
STOCK – FICTION ! – It's always worth the risk, it's just has to be a calculated risk. As darlo has pointed out, some characters can re-habilitated, he points to Cowboys examples so I'll point to the prime example on my team, Ray Lewis. January 2000 he's arrested and tried on double murder charges. He was found not guilty, went about his rehabilitation on the field immediately becoming Defensive Player of the Season for the 2000 season and MVP of Superbowl XXXV. At the point of his arrest and trial most people would've turned to this question and said his talent wasn't worth the risk for the disrepute he brought on himself and consequently to the franchise as well. But his image has been completely overhauled and unbelievably he has become a marketable individual. Unfortunately, the risk isn't just on the offence, if a player has all world talent you will always take the risk. Let's be honest here, the only reason Chris Henry got even a first chance in the NFL was because he has a rare skill set. The only reason Ray Lewis got a second chance was because he's one of the most talented linebackers ever to strap up the pads. Scrubs that get up to these antics wouldn't get a second chance because they aren't worth it, the upside isn't there. But the risk is certainly worth it for the elite players, their talent is so rare that at times you just have to take the risk that you can turn them around off the field.