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"QUALITY" PEOPLE NOT ALL THAT ESSENTIAL TO J.J.
By CHARLES JAY, Editor/Publisher, TotalAction.com
July 22, 1999

Two years ago, in the middle of his first season in Miami, Jimmy Johnson signed Lawrence Phillips as a free agent and let him see limited action in the Dolphins' backfield for the rest of the year.

This past April, Johnson selected Cecil Collins of Louisiana State in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.

He also has signed wide receiver Tony Martin - who has a Federal drug indictment hanging over his head - after Martin was cut by Atlanta.

Just a week or so ago, Johnson signed Robert Baker, a former star receiver from Auburn, to a free-agent contract.

And the next day, he did the same with former UNLV quarterback Jon Denton.

Could be that Randy Moss may just be the most influential figure in the NFL in several years.

Why do I say that? Because seemingly, the concept of NFL teams looking for "quality" people and staying away from "problem" individuals may have gone out the window. Whether it's justified or not, the pendulum might just be swinging the other way. At least it is in Miami.

There is no doubt a lot of NFL general managers were kicking themselves when Moss, who had done just about everything a receiver could do at Marshall University, had his All-Pro season as a rookie with the Minnesota Vikings. You see, 20 of them had passed up an opportunity to pick him in the first round. One of them was Johnson, who decided to trade down out of the 19th spot. By all indications, the presence of Moss would have taken Miami, a team without any wideouts that scared the opposition, to a different level.

Of course, this is all easy to say in retrospect. But general managers in the National Football League sometimes live and die (professionally speaking) on the basis of retrospect. More than one GM or personnel director has been fired because of a bad draft decision. Or non-decision, as it were. Within those parameters, a few of them probably should have been fired for not drafting Randy Moss.

Really, the rap on Moss was not all that serious - something that happened to him when he was in high school, for God sakes. But word travels fast in the NFL personnel grapevine, where today's golden boy can become tomorrow's poison. Once is guy is considered "a character problem", it can hang around his neck like an albatross. And the potential money damage to the player, which is rather definable, is such that I'm surprised more players don't sue somebody when bad information is spread about them. Clearly the word going around the grapevine got a little out of hand in Moss' case.

Just as clearly, there was going to be a backlash, after Moss supposedly served up a reminder that it's talent that counts, not so much character. If a guy can play, some of those "other" deficiencies can surely be overlooked, right?

Yeah, but Johnson may just be backtracking a bit too far in the other direction.

Moss may have strayed a bit as a youth, but his off-the-field accomplishments could never do enough to earn him a place on the Moral Turpitude All-Star team. Consider the aforementioned pillars of society:

* Phillips' exploits are well-documented. His history of extreme violence against women has been chronicled over and over. One day at Nebraska he decided to beat the hell out of his girlfriend, a Cornhusker basketball player, and drag her down the stairs. What he got was a year's probation and a suspension that lasted until just before the national championship game in January of 1996.

After Phillips was drafted by the Rams, he was arrested a few more times, was cut, and was picked up by the Dolphins. In the summer of 1998 he was arrested again for assault on - you guessed it - a woman, this time at a nightclub in the Miami area, for which he got another sentence of probation.

But Johnson didn't cut Phillips from the Dolphins for that reason. No, in fact, he supported him during this time. Phillips was ultimately released because he had missed some time in training camp with an injury when Johnson thought he should have been playing and practicing.

Phillips later went to Europe, where he had a big year. And allegedly all the women across the pond are still healthy. So although some teams, like Baltimore, have expressed some concern about signing L.P. to a contract, there are plenty of others who have a very genuine interest. Expect Phillips to play in the NFL somewhere this season.

* Robert Baker, a tremendous all-purpose offensive threat from Auburn, was recently released from prison, where he was serving time for trafficking in cocaine. And not just a little cocaine; the undercover agents who busted Baker say they bought 261 grams of coke from him. That's a lot of coke for a college kid to be selling.

And this was not one of those cases where the guy claimed he was a "victim of circumstance." Baker pled guilty, so he would get a sentence of 15 years instead of 30 or more.

Miami is well-known as a drug gateway for South American and the Caribbean. One can only hope Baker isn't already thinking about off-season "employment."

* Martin is awaiting Federal trial, accused of laundering drug money for Ricky Brownlee, a convicted drug dealer who has served seven years in prison. Allegedly, Martin leased cars on behalf of Brownlee, and also paid some of his legal fees. He was indicted right after the Super Bowl, then was released by Atlanta. This didn't matter to Johnson, who signed him in April. The trial is scheduled for August, which means Martin would probably not be able to play this season if convicted.

* Collins has his own problems as well. Let's quote from the "Bad Seeds" section of our own "Draft Machine" site, written before the '99 Draft:

"This great athlete was kicked off the LSU team when he was arrested for unauthorized battery and sexual assault. He then transferred to McNeese, where he flunked a drug test and was kicked off THAT team. There are rumors of additional and more serious offenses in the "sexual assault" realm. And he did not exactly score points when he was found to be lying to several NFL personnel people when it came to the seriousness of some of his legal problems. Many
teams are scared to death of him, because his character flaws are said to be more dangerous than that of Lawrence Phillips. And certainly he's a more serious risk than Randy Moss was thought to be last year."

* Denton, who transferred to Eastern Kentucky for his final season, had a big cloud hanging over his head coming into the NFL Draft. Again, let's take the quote from Draft Machine:

"No question Denton has some ability. He set several freshman passing records while at UNLV. But he was suspended during his sophomore year for drug violations, and before the '98 season was kicked off the UNLV squad for undisclosed reasons. Several sources have told us that Denton was actually running a prostitution ring in the Las Vegas area with several high school friends, with is something that will surely disqualify a player in the character department. He had a so-so year at Eastern Kentucky, not having a lot of time to throw but at the same time exposing some of his weaknesses as well. It is a longshot that he'll even be selected."

Prostitution. Assault and battery. Drug trafficking. Money laundering. Sexual assault. Not the kind of stats you expect to see up there alongside passes, tackles, receptions, interceptions, and touchdowns, is it?

We don't want to moralize to the point where we object to guys getting second chances. And if a player can make you better, I guess you have an obligation to take a look at him. But let's face it - leopards rarely change their spots, and Jimmy Johnson knows this going in. I'm just wondering what Johnson, who as far as workouts, meetings, rules, etc. are concerned, considers himself the ultimate disciplinarian, really expects out of these guys. Could these stories possibly have a happy ending?

Maybe. Maybe not. But for the record, next time you hear NFL general managers talking about their "team chemistry" and acquiring "quality people" to improve their team, take it all with a grain of salt. It really only matters if you can play football. In the final analysis, the rest will probably be excused.

Ever hear the old saying, "you can't tell the players without a scorecard?" Well, with this season's Dolphin lineup, you may not be able to tell the players without a police radio. And the sick part is we're not even kidding.