The Hoodie, Lawerence Maroney and now THIS!?
When we heard that Josh McDaniels had been hired we hoped that he would bring to the Broncos a little Patriots magic. What he has brought us, instead, is Bill Belichick’s hooded sweatshirt, Lawrence Maroney and Spygate.
I could hardly believe my eyes when I read this morning that Josh McDaniels is being accused of video taping the ‘Niners’ practice at Wembley. Really, McDaniels? If there’s one thing you should have learned from watching the Sith Lord, Bill Belichick, it’s that you probably won’t get away with taping your opponent’s walk-throughs.
Spy-gate was the biggest story line surrounding the Patriots in 2007, a year in which they finished the regular season undefeated (only to lose in the Superbowl). Belichick was demonized and cast a cheater forevermore. Football fans, especially Jets fans, all pretty much hate the guy. Chances are, if you don’t follow the Patriots, you think Belichick is an asshole.
Most of us already kind of thought Josh McDaniels was an asshole. Now we have video evidence. First the guy brought us the Belichick Hoodie, then he tried to trade for Matt Cassell, then he brought in Lawrence Maroney who is broken down after a career of not being any good in the first place. We wanted Josh to bring us the Patriots magic – some of that winning tradition – not the bad stuff. Come on! The kid is starting to lose some of his most ardent supporters. Local blogger Mandi P has chewed me out on Twiiter for not giving the guy a chance. Now even she is leaping off the McDaniels wagon.
The really embarrasing part is that the Broncos still got their asses beat by the crappy ‘Niners despite the illegal heads-up McDaniels had to their game plan. Of course, it doesn’t really take a video tape to know that they planned to run Frank Gore to the left, Frank Gore to the right. My grandmother knows the Broncos can’t stop the run.
So what does this mean for McDaniels future? As of yesterday I would have sworn up and down that there is no way the Broncos would fire the guy but you have to think the odds of that happening just got a little bit better. Nobody wants to be associated with a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater. Belichick got away with it in the end but he had Superbowl rings to deflect criticism with. All McDaniels has is a boorish demeanor, a few untimely f-bombs and a shitty record to hide behind. That and a hoodie.
