Jean Fugett’s Week 11 NFL Recap
By Jean Fugett; thanks to Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
WalterFootball.com is proud to partner with former Redskins and Cowboys tight end Jean Fugett, Jr. Esq. Fugett grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Amherst College. He was the last pick of the 13th round in the 1972 NFL Draft. Fugett made the Cowboys as a backup to future Hall of Famer Mike Ditka. Fugett eventually became a starter for Tom Landry’s Cowboys and started in Super Bowl X. He made the Pro Bowl in 1977.
As a free agent, Fugett went from being the lowest-paid starting tight end to the highest-paid with the Washington Redskins. While playing for legendary Redskins coach George Allen, Fugett attended law school at George Washington University at night.
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During and after his playing days, Fugett worked with CBS, the Washington Post and other media. He went on to serve as Director and Vice-Chair of the McCall Pattern Company Management Committee, founded a Baltimore law firm and partnered with Fanfone in Europe. After the death of his brother Reginald F. Lewis in 1993, Fugett took over TLC Beatrice International Foods, the largest black-owned and black-managed business in the world at the time. Fugett has served on committees with the NFL Players Association and on the Leadership Council for the American Diabetes Association Maryland Chapter. |
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WalterFootball.com would like to thank Redskins general manager Bruce Allen and senior vice president/executive producer of media Larry Michael for connecting us to Fugett. Now, let’s let Jean take over.
Week 12 NFL Picks
Bucs at Lions (Lions -9.5) Lions win but Bucs cover
Jaguars at Texans (Texans -10) Texans win at home but no cover
Vikings at Packers (Vikings +5) Packers win at home easy; now who is at QB for these teams?
Chargers at Chiefs (Chargers +4.5) Chargers due for a big game and will upset
Panthers at Dolphins (Dolphins +4) Panthers by a field goal
Steelers at Browns (Browns -2.5) Browns surprise Steelers
Bears at Rams (Bears +1) Bears find a way to win
Jets at Ravens (Jets +4) Jets win by 3
Titans at Raiders (Raiders -1.5) Raiders win at home
Colts at Cardinals (Cardinals -2.5) Cards deal on the Colts
Cowboys at Giants (Cowboys +2.5) Cowboys win easy
Broncos at Patriots (Patriots +2.5) Pats stand up and win
49ers at Redskins (49ers -5) 49ers over a divided DC team
Week 11 NFL Recap
This is a very stressful time in the NFL season as it is time for accountability and justification. There is a poll in Washington trying to figure out how such high hopes for the team could be dashed, and now there are questions if head coach Mike Shanahan will be back next year. Everybody knows Robert Griffin will be back. How does that fact affect the coach decision?
I was told by a good source that the owner of the Falcons said last week that Smith, the Falcon had coach will be back next year. Each non-Super Bowl season, every person in an NFL organization becomes accountable. When playoff success does not occur in the National Football League, change is dictated.
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Change from season to season in the NFL is not only dictated, change is demanded. Players and coaches become accountable at this time of the year. Questions are asked in the front office as well. Fortunately, I did not play on many losing teams in my eight years in the league. I think one or two of the Redskins years weren’t great. One year in Dallas, we didn’t make the playoffs, but we still had a winning record. When a team is winning, everything stays much the same throughout the season with everybody hoping for a happy ending and maybe a Hollywood finish. For the teams that are not playing well, the media begins the process of second-guessing. When teams lose, excuses have to be found and blame has to be assigned. When enough blame is put on a player or coach, they have to be replaced for next season, sometimes before. |
Former Redskin and Cowboy tight end Jean Fugett was a Pro Bowler in 1977 and a starter in Super Bowl X. |
Now, teams have to assess whether the team can continue on the current path to achieving its goals from the start of the season. If not, there is plenty of blame to go around.
Will the defense start getting mad at the offense, or will the offense blame the defense? Will the quarterback start getting mad at the defensive captain because the defense can’t hold a lead? It can get so bad that wives in the past have arguments at the supermarket. When all is said or done, somebody has to take the blame. Who will take the blame for the failures this season in Atlanta or Houston for example?
Drone Officials Needed for Pass Interference
After the non-call last week at the end of the Panthers-Patriots game, again I say we need drones to officiate fairly and consistently.
Please revisit our earlier post calling for drone referees. Most NFL referees are incapable of keeping up with a fast college game like Baylor or Oregon plays. The NFL game is much faster. High school referees do a good job because of the speed of the game, which is not very fast, but once you get to higher level, the referees do not do as well keeping up with the speed of the game.
Pass inference and defensive holding are the calls most problematic today. For a wide receiver, every time he gets close to a good defensive back, he will be grabbed. The receiver needs the skill to draw the foul so to speak, like in the NBA.
Either the receiver gets away from the defensive back or causes a collision to show the referee that the defender is interfering. Defensive back have been holding from Day 1 in the NFL. It is a technique that is taught. Most defensive backs cannot stay with a receiver without grabbing, pushing and shoving. It is up to the offensive player to be good enough to get away from the pressure.
When I played, defensive backs could come up and grab you, hold you all the way downfield, and punch you in the stomach as you ran. That’s how Pat Fischer played Drew Pearson all the time and it was legal until the ball was thrown.
When a defensive back holds up a wide receiver at the line, there are things the wide out can do to get away. One way is to try to break the defender’s arm. That is what we did. I would come down with a chop so hard that the defender had to let go. A defender cannot continue to hold after a chop like that. That is all part of release technique by a tight end coming off the line of scrimmage on every play.
Sometimes when I got mad, I would try to break the defensive back’s wrist by hitting right on his wrist bone. After such a blow the defender would then let go. Another thing you would do is punch them – in the face if possible. If a guy grabs your jersey, you try to punch him in the mouth. There are ways to get away.
If a player complains that he cannot get away from the line of scrimmage, that player is not an All-Pro receiver. You will not hear the guy in Detroit saying anything about that. That’s what I’m saying. Receivers have to learn how to get open. If you cannot get open because someone is grabbing you, then you’re not a good receiver. My rookie year, I called my mother complaining that players were trying to hurt me. �Hurt them back,� she told me! My mom knows what she is talking about after watching Johnny Unitas and Colts teams for over 20 years.
Will there be an investigation about Trent Williams of the Redskins allegedly getting cussed out by an NFL official during the game last week?
AFC
Pittsburgh still has a chance to win the AFC North even though Cincinnati has the lead. Cleveland is out of it and Baltimore is on its way out.
In the AFC West, you can still be sure that Denver and Kansas City are going to make the playoffs.
As for the AFC East, New England has a clear path, but it is doubtful a second playoff team will come from this division.
The Colts are in control in the AFC South, but are playing poorly.
NFC
The NFC West division is very interesting. The Seahawks are in control, but now that the Cardinals are playing better and Colin Kaepernick is not, the 49ers are now in jeopardy. The remaining schedule is critical for both Arizona and San Francisco now a race to watch.
In the NFC South, the Falcons have had injuries with Julio Jones and Roddy White, along with no rushing attack. Now, the Panthers are coming on and the Saints should continue to play well. The Bucs looks like they are starting to play better – too little, too late.
People were saying the NFC East is the worst division in football, but a look at the NFC North with two starting quarterbacks that have gone out; and how do we reference the quarterback situation in Minnesota? The Vikings did not have a quarterback this season. The NFC South has two teams that are 2-8. Enough said about that division this week.
It looks like Robert Griffin and Dan Snyder are going to make the call on Mike Shanahan’s future in Washington. It is very unusual for a coach’s future to hang on what a player thinks. In Washington, you also have to ask if Haslett can return as defensive coordinator. The Redskins are easy to second-guess. On Day 1, the team could not use most of last year’s playbook because of an injured quarterback.
P.S. Washington was also victimized by the cap hit that the owners put on the organization for exceeding an �unlimited� salary cap during the lockout. That fine still has to be explained to me…
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