Fatlock Follies: Doin' It the Way We Don't Want You to Be Doin' It
I must admit, after years of professed bashing of The Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock, I've, in recent months, come around on him a bit. He's done some admirable work in the form of creating a message that black America should embrace for its youth, future generations, and its overall image. Kudos to him for making a stand.
That said, I'm not sure yet how I feel about his two-part interview with Chiefs' running back Larry Johnson. Check out said parts here and here.
Whitlock does touch on some of his race revolution (his words in the aftermath of the Scoop Jackson/ESPN Page 2/AOL fiasco that took place several months ago) ideas in his chat with Johnson, and Johnson responds to them in a way that would appear he's on board with some of Whitlock's thinking.
Johnson also admits he's been immature in the past, the recent past notwithstanding. He claims this holdout -- the one that hasn't even come close to happening yet -- is somewhat of a move that would launch him into an eschelon of maturity. For good. He all but promises that getting this contract will straighten him out for life. Clearly, easier said than done.
The beef I have with this whole deal -- I offered some prognostications over on Arrowhead Addict a few weeks ago -- is that Whitlock, while a journalist giving his audience a story that they actually want, is only fueling the fire for a situation that, as of yet, doesn't even exist.
Training camp is still more than a month away. I know contract talks are slow, agents and athletes are greedy, and GMs are stingy. It's still a month, though. And hell, it's only training camp. Guys miss camp (or parts of it) all the time. Recently retired Chiefs O-lineman Willie Roaf and Will Shields had flippin' permission to sit out of training camp so that they could save the battering of those big bones for when it counts.
Sure. Chiefs Head Coach Herman Edwards told the public shortly after he was hired that Johnson would be his guy, his leader on and off the field. Johnson has, on numerous occasions, said that he wants to lead by example, which is on the football field. In Whitlock's Q&A with Johnson, the star running back claims that he needs this contract to take care of himself in the future, to prevent finding himself in a situation like a number of former NFL stars: crippled (literally) and with no means of doing anything about it.
Let's say that, in the 30+ days between now and River-Falls-departure time, Johnson's agent and Chiefs GM Carl Peterson haven't signed the dotted lines, and Johnson doesn't get on the bus bound for Wisconsin. Big deal. There's still buckets of time for a deal to get done before the season opens. Not a leaderish kind of move on Johnson's part, but insert whichever tag line you choose -- I'm going with the "blah, blah, blah, this is a business" one -- and life goes on.
Ultimately, there is no way in
My colleague Old No. 7, in his new hideout Predominantly Orange, had some interesting ideas regarding Johnson, the franchise, and the situation. He's point on about most everything he writes. I'm not sure that I'd ever use the words "great," "Bill," and "Grigsby" in the same sentence, but that's cool.
The skinny on this non-existent situation is this: Whitlock's doing his job; Johnson, much like Priest Holmes, wants to get paid; Peterson must accurately manage the Hunt family's money; and Edwards will just float in the midst of the second entry here. The common thread is this: All of these characters want the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl.
Whitlock might not openly admit it, but he does. Peterson felt that bringing Edwards to coach the team, with Johnson as/at his back, was the best missing piece to get this unit operating together. And operate they will, regardless of scenarios the media wants to perpetrate by squeezing a story out of a young, stubborn, gifted-and-wealthy professional athlete who, by the way, set the all-time single-season record for carries just last year.
Johnson will get paid. Peterson will continue to gray. Whitlock will have to find another pot of sauce to stir.
4 comments:
Folks,
This is easy.
Trade Johnsnon and fire Solari.
You gotta be realistic here.
-- The Lone Reader
a) You're insane.
b) You've lost your mind.
c) That's all you've got to say? The same old, tired jargon?
d) Come on.
e) You're crazy.
a) So we SHOULDN'T trade LJ? Why the hell not? Imagine the building blocks you could add to your already rebuilding franchise.
I guess you could shell out the cash for a few years while we develop. He loses a step, and we've got the bill. If we're planning to rebuild, let's do it right.
b) Solari is an obvious choice. Again, wanna rebuild? RE-FUCKIN'-BUILD.
c) It's anything but old, my man ... unless, of course, you're lookin' in a mirror. This is a real issue for KC sports fans. We actually have a commodity. So what to do? Carl hasn't done it yet, so why trust his decision making now?
That's why you rig the contract into minimal guaranteed money. LJ's agent knows that and they will allegedly ask for a lot of said guarantee. Carl's wiser and more experienced with these negotiations, though. He'll do the right thing. The only substantial bill the Chiefs have had to foot was that of Priest Holmes.
I'd say he was worth it.
This team is way too close to be throwing away your top position player. The D's almost there, the receiving corp will be an improvement, O-line could be decent.
You simply enjoy naysaying. Beyond this comment, I'll have no response to any trade LJ/fire Solari discussions. Winning the division, of course, will be the exception.
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