After a turbulent year at the “Monday Night Football” booth, Booger McFarland has been honing his talents on the ESPN analyst table during the 2020 NFL season.
Amid a roundtable discussion about Dwayne Haskins in “Monday Night Countdown”, McFarland gave a presentation that, well – let’s say it will attract some attention.
The Washington football team released Haskins on Monday, a shocking decision considering it used a first-round pick from the Ohio state quarterback last year. But by adding Haskins’ performance in the field, his transgressions of the COVID-19 protocol off the field and the fact that Ron Rivera, in his first year in Washington, has nothing to do with recruitment, the change becomes a little less impressive.
Speaking to Randy Moss, Suzy Kolber and Adam Schefter, McFarland addressed Haskins’ problems and painted them as part of what he sees as a bigger problem among NFL players.
Here’s what he had to say:
‘Especially young African American players …’
“Often young players, especially – I go ahead – especially young African Americans, because they represent 70% of this league – they come into this league and ask themselves the wrong thing,” said McFarland. “They come into the league saying no ‘how can I be a better player?’ They don’t say ‘how can I be a better teammate?’ They don’t say ‘how can I be a better person; how can i make my organization overcome the obstacle? ‘
“Here’s what they’ve been saying. They arrive saying ‘how can I build my brand better? How can I build my social media better? How can I work out on Instagram and show everyone that I’m ready to go, but when I get to the game, I don’t act? “
McFarland compares Haskins to JaMarcus Russell
McFarland’s vision is not entirely unique. He recited comments repeatedly demanded by critics who disagree with members of the Millennial and Gen Z generations who do not know a world without internet or social media.
But he gave his jargon his own twist on Monday and applied it to the very specific group that is the black NFL player. He continued, calling Haskins by name and holding him next to the notable NFL bust, the former Oakland Raiders No. 1 chosen by JaMarcus Russell.
“Unfortunately, Dwayne Haskins is not the first case I see that way,” continued McFarland. “And it won’t be the last. And that bothers me because a lot of that is the young African American player. They come and don’t consider it a business. It is still a game for them. …
“I saw a quarterback do that. I saw JaMarcus Russell do that. The number one choice in the draft, they gave him $ 40 million, and he played down the drain because he didn’t take it seriously. “
Names that did not appear in his speech include Johnny Manziel, Ryan Leaf, Paxton Lynch and Jake Locker – other notable quarterback strikes that obviously do not meet the stated criteria for criticism on Monday.
The media game has a lot to do with getting attention for what you write or say. Hot offers are plentiful because they are good for business. McFarland stopped for a moment on Monday, interjecting “I’ll go ahead”, before plunging into his fiery take.
And he should get some attention on Tuesday, whether he likes it or not.
More NFL from Yahoo Sports: