Hyped Up

Let's play a quick game (and no, we're not playing tag). Use the following stats to name the NFL player:

This player has played in 19 out of 68 possible games in his 4 year career. He has a career completion percentage (ok, he's a QB) of 60.8% and averages just 109.6 yards per game. This QB has thrown 11 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions and has a measly quarterback rating of 73.2%.

This player does not have bad numbers because he plays on a bad team (his team has made the playoffs 3 out of his 4 years in the league), plays in a bad system (his system is known as one of the most potent offensive schemes in the league), has bad coaches (he actually has one of the best offensive-minded head coaches), or lacks offensive weapons around him (he is surrounded by 4 pro bowl caliber skilled position players).

Can you guess him? If you guess the most coveted QB this offseason, Kevin Kolb, then you guessed right.

Let's move onto round two of our little guessing game. Guess this coach:

This coach has a career regular season record of 95-81, a playoff record of 5-4 including 1 Super Bowl, and has been out of the profession for several years now. This coach has been linked with every coaching opening around the country from NFL teams all the way to some D-2 NCAA teams. Who is this guy?

If you guessed any of the Hall of Fame-worthy coaches who currently fit several of the above descriptions such as Bill Cower or Dick Vermeil you would be wrong. If you guessed 47 year old Jon Gruden, you're right.

Why did we play this game? To caution you of the media hype surrounding these guys.

According to the media, Kevin Kolb is the number one QB on the market this offseason and teams are lined up around the block to try to pry this guy from the Eagles for a first or second round draft pick. I'm by no stretch of the imagination a professional scout and I am sure as heck not a numbers guy (…Tommy Guns). What I am is a guy who watches the games and shapes my opinions around what I see and what I saw from Kevin Kolb and what his numbers only prove is that he is not yet worthy of all this hype surrounding him.

Moving to the Jon Gruden exhibit we see a coach who has mediocre career stats but because Jon is all over ESPN including his QB Camp (which is awesome by the way) and Monday Night Football, the media suddenly makes this guy out to be Vince Lombardi or Tom Landry. If Jon Gruden stays out of coaching he just might be elected into the Hall of Fame by inflated hype alone.

Let's pump the brakes. I'm not saying I don't love the way Jon Gruden interacts with players and his work ethic but can we please remember that Tampa fired him because after their Super Bowl victory in 2002, Gruden coached the Bucs to a 45-52 record over the succeeding 6 years?

All of this is to say -- be careful about listening to everything the media tells you (but of course, always listen to what TAG Radio tells you). Use your sports-sense to test the news you hear. Dig into some of the facts for yourself to see if the stories pass the sports lipase test.