John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
Just because we construct a clever statement for a certain idea does not anoint it with holy oil and put it into law. This is how I feel about the expression “thrown under the bus.” As in, former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Andy Reid, never named a specific player or a play during his press conferences because that would be “throwing your players under the bus”, which has somehow been deemed unacceptable. He was always considered noble for not doing this.
I think that it may have an opposite effect. When you don’t hold specific players accountable for their actions then how can they get better? Are these NFL players still children that have to be handled with the softest, fluffiest kid gloves so they don’t get their egos bruised? These are tough kids and would probably be refreshed with a little public criticism. It might set a fire under a few and you might have seen better results in the game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
It would be nice for a change if a coach was brutally honest and started throwing his players under the bus. For example, Chip Kelly just had his press conference and as usual it is the same.
“They’re growing, draw on the positives, it’s a group effort, mistakes were made..etc”.
When asked about the awful pass coverage, he made the universal statement, that,”we all as a group need to work on it”. Now let us all sing “We Are the World” together in harmony.
If Kelly won’t toss people under the bus, then here, listen to the shocks squeal as these bodies squish against these tires. Nate Allen is horrid. He blew a third and long that would have given a second chance for the Birds in the fourth quarter.
Riley Cooper, who contributes nothing, clogs up space, and doesn’t understand to come back to a scrambling quarterback.
Billy Davis who can’t figure out to stop playing zone on third and long.
Patrick Chung also deserves a big heave under the bus for his soft tackling, or lack thereof.
These are just a few, but let us stop being so sensitive and maybe we would get better results. This is the Delaware Valley by the way, where players were known for toughness.
