Head (Coach) Games

September 9, 2009

I've had it up to here with the head games Head Coaches in the NFL play, especially Bill Belichick and his disciples. It's understandable that NFL Head Coaches are looking for an edge but when it gets to a point where they are blatantly using deceptive tactics, it's a problem. If you play fantasy football this is particularly frustrating since you are trying to field the best team possible.

Bill Belichick is the master of these head games, often using injury reports as a means of hindering opponents game plans and preparations. In 2007, Tom Brady was on the Patriots injury report for the entire season but he played nearly every down of every game that year. This year, half the players on the Pats injury report have "undisclosed" injuries, another ploy that doesn't help us set a fantasy football lineup. By now, the entire league is onto Belichick's antics and prepare for the Pats as if all their starters and key players are healthy.

Enter disciple number one, Eric Mangini (aka Eric Mangina). This guy has to be one of the most manipulative Head Coaches in all the NFL. At this point, the pupil (Mangini) may have outdone the master (Belichick). His latest scheme involves the Browns' starting quarterback; who will it be Quinn or Anderson? Guess what? Mangini knows. Quinn and Anderson know. The entire Browns organization knows. You want to know, too? Na-na-na-na-na, Mangini's not telling! Feel like you're back in elementary school?

It's reached the point where Mangini is losing credibility by the day. If Mangini's head games are frustrating for the us, imagine how tired his players are of it? This form of psychological warfare within the organization breeds contempt and it's only a matter of time before Mangini is faced with a mutiny in Cleveland.

Things won't get better for fantasy football enthusiasts any time soon. There are two more Belichick disciples at the helm of teams in the NFL; Josh McDaniels of the Denver Broncos and Jim Schwatz of the Detroit Lions. If not for Daunte Culpepper's toe injury, we might still be discussing who will start at QB for the Lions in week one. Still, it remains to be seen whether these Coaches will adopt the Belichick methodology of keeping everyone guessing. If this trend catches on in the NFL, the consummate copycat league, it would be a disaster for fantasy football afficionados like you and me.

With the vast popularity of fantasy football and the NFL's emphasis on portraying a good image, maybe it's time to implement some sort of accountability for Coaches and their team's in regards to injury reports and depth charts. If the NFL wants to maintain its integrity, they should encourage transparency related to injury reports and depth charts. If Coaches want to use the injury report as a deceptive tool, they should be fined as a result.

~The Fool