Ferguson Flees from Media Rich Cimini Daily News Ah, yes, the first day of training camp, a special day in the NFL. It's one of the few days when players and coaches - even those on really bad teams - can look into the camera and, with a straight face, wax optimistic about the season. Curiously, there was very little happy talk today at the opening of Jets camp. Truth is, there was very little talk, period, as several players blew off reporters outside the cafeteria at Hofstra. Clearly, the players were instructed by someone (gee, wonder who?) to duck the media. It made for one of the most bizarre moments I've witnessed in 18 years of covering the Jets: Rookie D'Brickashaw Ferguson, whose new contract makes him a multi-millionaire, ran away from a handful of reporters - literally. The big fella saw us coming and sprinted in the opposite direction, across the parking lot and past a small crowd of autograph seekers. My guess is he covered the first 40 yards in about 4.95 seconds. The new boss, Eric Mangini, has created a tense atmosphere, which could be a good thing - or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. Even those who were kind enough to stop and chat - Ray Mickens, Erik Coleman and Derrick Blaylock - seemed extremely guarded. Soon, the reporters were asked by security to leave the premises. So much for good will. Leave it to the Jets to blow the first day. - What a dick...they need to remember that its their privilege to even get to ask questions sometimes....I emailed him after I read it and let him know he's a jerkoff.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAW HAW HAW! Rest assured, he "ran" at the behest of the Boss Man, thanks. What a crybaby! I can't wait until a player says "it's a privilege" as a joke, indeed. I'll wee myself straight through to the couch cushion. They probably won't print it when it happens. I mean, why would they care about my couch cushion after all?
The media feel entitled. They don't see their coverage as a priveilage, but more as a right. It's sad, but it isn't just sports, it's society in general.
I think what Cimini also realizes is that it's going to be pretty tough to formulate an article every day with what the Jets are prepared front office is prepared to give him. And well that leads to less papers, which means that Cimini's job is going to be a helluva lot harder than it was with Herm "I like the media more than the actual game of football Edwards."
That brings tears of joy to my eyes. I can just see Mangini reading that article during a team meeting, causing numerous players to fall out of their seats laughing, and Mangini unable to finish due to his laughing fits.
I've realized the more angry the media is, the better our coaching staff must be. They hated Parcells, and loved Herm. It now seems they already dislike Mangini. I love it.
Read my email I sent to Canizzarro. It applies here, but to Cimini's credit, he was a little better about his crying.
THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE COMMON BEAT WRITER: Back in the day THEY were the average fans access to sports and their favorite team. That's what made guys like Peter Gammons. Kids and fans used to digest and sit on the edge of their seats for every little word Gammons would put out. The beat writer was ESPN, the internet and THE local team's voice to the fan. NOW..... In the NFL we have NFL Network, ESPN, Jets Nation and thousands of insider sites on the internet where every little bit of information quickly spreads. The common Beat writer is obsolete. For most of my life I used to rustle through sports pages looking for every little Jets story... NOW... Heck, by the time it's in the NY papers the story is DEAD. Most of the time I don't even read it, I breeze right through the story saying "check, check, check, yeah, yeah, nothing new....." and I don't even know Cannizaro from Cimini anymore... Newspapers do everything they can to try to have the hot story so, at this point the only "Hot story" they can produce is one about..... THE MEDIA.
Exactly - It's called Obsolete. There is no longer a need for what Cimini and Cannizaro used to make a living at.... We don't need THIER opinions on what'a going on... We have the information just like they do and we can form our own opinions, discuss it - OR, if we want we can get EXPERT opinions from FOOTBALL people... Why would we want the opinions of these guys who frankly have been so wrong dimwitted anyway all the years they HAD the priviledge... You know what, they ruined it... They ruined it by coddling up to some coaches and players and burying others.... It's over, now we form our own opinions.... Send a resume to ESPN or something Cimini.
It's a little dramatic. Pennington took a lot of crap for that quote. With good reason. But "us against the world" is a situation a lot of coaches try to create, maybe that's what Mangini is trying to do...
Mangini's "guideline" manual that he uses basically has a NYJ sticker on the front placed over the NE sticker that was on there... If the Pats did it and it worked, Mangini will do it. the Pats do this, along with putting guys on PUP before camp begins, as then they can be brought back whenever, and they can have more people in camp for the first week or 2.
Mum's the word: Jets quiet as they prepare for camp to open By ANDREA ADELSON, AP Sports Writer July 27, 2006 Highlight reels: D'Brickashaw Ferguson Nick Mangold ADVERTISEMENT HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- It's not often that a rookie offensive lineman gets a chance to show off his speed on his first day at training camp. Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson did. He put on quite a show. The No. 4 overall pick reported to camp on time Thursday, after signing his multimillion dollar contract the previous night. As he walked out of the cafeteria following lunch, Ferguson showed his Justin Gatlin-like speed when approached for comment. He ran away from reporters -- and fans shouting, 'D'Brick!' as they begged for autographs. Laughing all the way, Ferguson crossed a busy intersection and kept running until he was out of sight. One teammate watched with a puzzled look on his face. Yes, the Eric Mangini era has begun. The new coach is the anti-Herman Edwards, clamping down on players, their activities and limiting access to them. Though players reported Thursday, Mangini was unavailable, preferring to talk when practice opens Friday. It was the first time in recent memory the coach was unavailable the day players showed up for camp. Mangini is a taskmaster and disciplinarian, and modeling his regime after Patriots coach Bill Belichick. He quizzes players in the hallway on formations and schemes. He wants them all to be accountable not just for their own play, but for what everyone else is doing. "He's a very strict coach, it's another whole vibe you get," safety Erik Coleman said. "He's a disciplinarian, he expects his players to know everything about the team. I think that's a positive thing. It's pretty intense, everyone's serious about what's going to happen. Focus is the main thing you will see out of everyone." Players seem to be fine with the change of pace, but it is early. Taking orders from a 35-year-old coach could become more difficult if they have another losing season. "Eric is being himself," veteran cornerback Ray Mickens said. "He's a very detail-oriented coach, he definitely studies a lot. He pays attention to the little things. That's what he wants out of us as players. You have to be a reflection of your head coach, and that's what he wants us to become." There will be many challenges for the first-year head coach. First is the situation at quarterback, with Chad Pennington coming off a second rotator cuff operation. Pennington participated in minicamp, but is no shoo-in to start. Mangini has said the job is wide open between Pennington, Patrick Ramsey and rookie Kellen Clemens. The Jets also have a young coordinator in Brian Schottenheimer and must find a way to increase their scoring, a problem over the last three seasons. The Jets also are putting in a new defensive scheme, the 3-4. Though Mickens has experience playing in it, many players don't, including Pro Bowl linebacker Jonathan Vilma and former first-round pick Dewayne Robertson. There was good news Thursday when the Jets signed first-round pick Nick Mangold to a five-year, $7.47 million deal with $4.8 million guaranteed, and second-round pick Kellen Clemens. But there was also a bit of bad news. Running back Curtis Martin was placed on the physically unable to perform list with a lingering right knee injury, along with receiver Justin McCareins (leg) and center Trey Teague (center). It is unclear how many practices the 33-year-old Martin will miss. Maybe they can put Ferguson in the backfield. Updated on Thursday, Jul 27, 2006 6:04
Yeah I know he took crap for it, but again, that's because the media has the ability to replay it time and time again and comment on it in any manor they wish, until they gain the support of viewers. They made it look like the "Rhodes scholar, college boy, hot shot QB was trying to come in and tell the reporters who had been doing their job for years what their place was, like he was putting himself on a pedestal." Even though Chad sort of was, I have to agree with him. First of all, Chad's not an idiot like alot of NFL players who breeze through university and don't benefit from it, ending up no smarter than the average Joe. He is a legitimately intelligent guy, and he probably is smarter than the reporters. He also happens to be a pro football player, and in the setting he was in, the realism is that he does have more status than the reporter. So, in my opinion, Chad was just telling the truth in that situation, and the truth hurts, so the guys doing the writing twisted it to their advantage. That fact is this: Chad had at least 3 things on all those guys that were pissing him off. He's a Rhodes Scholar with education in the same field as those reporters, he's a pro football player instead of just a wannabe reporter, and he has a hell of a lot more money than they do. In our society, like it or not, someone with those characteristics enjoys higher status than others, and he played that card.
The big losers in the Herm-Mangini transition: Serby, Cannizaro, Cimini and Myers. Now the loaded question is when does the media terrorism attempt begin? If today was the opening salvo it was more of a whine than anything else. How long until the beat reporters are threatening to start combing the small town papers archives looking for old speeding tickets and illegal lawn gnome citations to spice things up?
