Rex Grossman recently told ESPN 980 that he’d be “a good soldier.” Grossman, of course, was referring to the Redskins almost certainly drafting Robert Griffin III. It’s great to see a guy willing to help the guy that’s coming in to replace him, but it got me thinking. Who are some of the “bad soldiers” of NFL. Here’s a quick list of five guys that took the low road over the past few years.
Randy Moss
Randy Moss is my favorite “bad soldier” of all time. He was very outspoken in the early years of his career, but he mellowed out through much of the middle of his time in the NFL. When he left the Patriots to join his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, he gave us one of the best sound-bytes of all time. Keep in mind, he was no longer with the Patriots when he said this.
Albert Haynesworth
Need I say more? When Haynesworth made the move from the Titans to the Redskins, Washington was in the middle of a transition from a 4-3 defense to their 3-4 defense. That didn’t sit well with Haynesworth who came into camp overweight and with no drive. One could say he took the money and ran, but we haven’t seen him run at all since he signed his giant contract.
Terrell Owens
Owens’ career has been characterized by one thing. He’s a chronic home wrecker. Do we all remember the Eagles? Yes, McNabb didn’t run a very good 2 minute drill against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX, but you don’t go out and say it if you’re on the team. And who can forget the his famous “that’s my quarterback” speech following a difficult playoff loss?
JaMarcus Russell
Russell should be given an award called the “Haynesworth award for excellence in effort.” Seriously, this guy had all the talent in the world combined with no drive whatsoever. It just goes to show, the NFL is a tough league. You have to be willing to sacrifice a lot of time and effort to rise to the top. Then, of course, there was his now infamous “self sack” that pretty much summed up his career.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j6kK73wpGNM
The entire New York Jets
This team is in shambles from a locker room chemistry perspective. Some people are huge believers that teammates need to be friends to communicate well as a team. That may be true and that may not be true, but their are more cracks in this team’s chemistry than a world wide plumbers convention. It’s at times like this that Rex Ryan wishes he just had a universal mute button to use on everyone in the Jets organization, including himself. Rex Ryan and the Jets are having a hard time finding any sympathy, however. Maybe that’s because of the way they treat fans.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NF_DEE3bUBs
