Some of you subscribers dare DOUBT that I’m the foremost football expert in America and a few have the gall to argue with my critical Justin Herbert analysis. It’s happened even after I received the credibility-enhancing validation of Herbert’s flop to open this ultra hyped season. For shame!
Maybe you, perhaps understandably, believe that my background is NBA and that I never, ever, at any point in my life, put my hand in the dirt (I didn’t). So, in an attempt at bridging the basketball and football worlds, let’s start this off with a Steph Curry anecdote.
Stephen Curry, an athlete who has colored outside the lines about as much as any in sports history, would often invoke the popular acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid!). On the beat I had a tendency to ask overly complicated questions, to which Steph would adjust his favored phrase: Keep it simple, Strauss!
When there’s a great talent, there’s a temptation from coaches to burden that ability with complexity. The player can do more, so let’s do all we can with that potential. You can see how this strategy goes awry. Watching Justin Herbert, I’m reminded of the risk inherent in attempting to “unlock” greatness with strategic complication. Is that what’s befallen the 0-4 Los Angeles Chargers? As I again take stock of the disaster down the 5 freeway, I’m reminded of how current Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh once saved Alex Smith’s career…