A week removed from his tirade on a local reporter, Derek Anderson can't have many snaps left in his NFL career. In the closing minutes of last Monday's less than stellar performance against the San Francisco 49ers, Anderson was seen yucking it up with a fellow teammate on the bench. No one knows for sure what was talked about except for Anderson and his teammate, but one thing is for sure, they couldn't have been talking about the game. There wasn't much to smile about. Anderson came under fire not only from the broadcasters on the National telecast, but from local media as well. With yet another inconsistent season coming to a close for him, a season that was supposed to be different for him mostly due to the fact that he was on a better team than the previous year in Cleveland. This time, Anderson would legitimately have the edge as a starter coming into the season. No quarterback controversy, no fan backlash, nothing. He was starting fresh. It would be entirely in his control this time whether or not he succeeded.
As he moved to the podium to answer questions about the game, he had to know what was coming. Television cameras had caught just about the entire interaction on the bench. When Anderson was asked about what was said, he reacted the only way he knew how. He deflected all talk, calling it "his business" what was said between the two. Again, there wasn't much else to talk about in regards to the game. Anderson had played poorly, and he didn't seem too upset about it on the sidelines. Sensing irritation, a local reporter dug deeper, probing with questions and statements questioning Anderson's preparation and execution of the game plan from week to week. Aggravated at this point, Anderson snapped, saying he "takes this shit" seriously and he "studies his ass off" from week to week. The reporter kept asking what the two were talking about. Finally, Anderson said he was "done" and walked off the podium. He would later apologize for the outburst. In case you were wondering, Anderson played poorly again yesterday in a loss to the Rams. His statline- 7/20 for 93 yards. He threw 1 interception. With that type of performance, he took a lot of the shine of his preparation comment. He was later replaced by the back-up QB, who would later get hurt and the 3rd string QB played the rest of the game. That's how bad it is for DA these days in Arizona- even the 3rd stringer gets a chance before he re-enters. He probably won't be back next year.
There's a few points I'd like to make here. First, when he was asked about his conversation on the sideline, Anderson should have owned up to it. Players do this all the time in an effort to keep their spirits up, as well as the spirits of their teammates. As the quarterback, your job is to stay positive, I mean hell, Mark Sanchez is being fined by the Jets every time he displays poor body language. Back to Anderson-by taking it personally, he only compounded things. If a reporter, any reporter sees that he/she is getting a reaction from you, their job is to push the issue, all while being professional and respectful. Anderson could have easily said that it was a frustrating night all the way around, and that he wasn't happy with his performance. Simply put, he could have said, hey look, we were trying to make the best out of a bad situation and looking back now, we could have handled it differently. End of story, end of drama.
But were Anderson's sideline antics really that uncalled for? I can point to a number of instances, all within the last week, where two teams were playing a game, and the players on the losing team are smiling and talking it up not just with their teammates, but with the opponent. This is more common than you would be lead to believe in today's athlete. These guys are so rich, that the thought of competition is less important to them. Sure, they want to win, but at the end of the day, they seem to get over it pretty quick when they all meet at midfield, or center court to shake hands and make plans for the evening. It's so prominent nowadays that when opponents don't shake hands, the offender is labeled as a poor sport. Anderson has made himself a bigger target with his poor play and I do think he was unjustly made an example of. But hey, that's what happens when you're the QB. What we have here is a good old fashioned case of hipocracy.
I think that this is where pro sports is starting to lose a little bit of it's luster. Everyone is so interested in the "business" of professional sports that some of the good old fashioned rivalries and the spirit of competition have diminished greatly. College sports best embodies that passion, and yet we are still robbed out of a true playoff each year- a real opportunity to showcase the spirit of competition. No strings attached. In the case of Derek Anderson and pro sports, money has become the root of all evil, and it's killing the sport. But then again, that's today's athlete, like it or not.
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