Freeman: Cards' James on Edge of ultimate reward
TAMPA, Fla. -- Willie Parker is bitter, and it sort of makes me sick.
See, I was there when Parker was playing at North Carolina -- or when he was not playing at North Carolina. I was part of the media who covered the Tar Heels, talked to the coaches, went to practice, went to games. I saw Parker. I was unimpressed, and call me an idiot for lots of things, but not for this. I was unimpressed with Parker for one basic reason: He was unimpressive.
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| Willie Parker was fifth in rushing as a senior ... behind four guys you've never heard of. (US Presswire) |
Which is why there has been some revisionist history going on here. People on the periphery of Parker, whether it's his Steelers teammates or some in the media like Peter King of Sports Illustrated, have put the blame on the coaches at UNC. That's a shame, but that's what outsiders do. They go for the easy answer. It's intellectually lazy, but nobody ever accused the average NFL player, or King, of being an intellectual.
But Parker has done the same thing. Given two choices for his lack of college production -- his coaches, or himself -- Parker has looked straight into the mirror and ... looked away. Has to be the coaches' fault. Has to. Every time the Steelers are on Monday Night Football and the starting players introduce themselves and their alma mater, Parker doesn't mention North Carolina. He mentions Clinton (N.C.) High School.
This week, when I asked him what happened to him in college, he wouldn't go there. He smirked, though, as he said this:
"I don't even talk about college," he said. "I didn't play in college, but now I'm going to my second Super Bowl. That's all I have to say."
It's a compelling argument. In four years at North Carolina, Parker ran for 1,172 yards. That was his career total. He has topped that three times in the NFL, rushing for more than 1,200 yards in 2005, '06 and '07. This is not a hard position to take: Parker typically runs for more yards in a single NFL season than he did in his four-year college career; ergo, his college coaches were idiots.
Unless they weren't.
Which means it was Parker's fault.
Look, I was there. When a coach is an idiot, who's the first guy to kick him when he's down? Me. But I'm not kicking former UNC coach John Bunting for this. Not for refusing to play Parker more than he did.
Parker had lots of chances in school, and frankly, he was never the best running back on the team. That's strange to say, even stupid to say, given that none of his backfield mates played in the NFL. But I was there. I saw it.
I was there on Sept. 1, 2001, when UNC played at Maryland. Parker took the first carry of the game, bounced it outside to the left and was gone. He went 77 yards. Touchdown. And I distinctly remember what happened next in the press box:
All of the UNC beat writers, me included, were joking that Parker wouldn't break 100 yards for the day. He was that bad.
Turns out he got there, but just barely. He carried the ball 12 more times for 25 yards, finishing with 102. North Carolina lost 23-7 -- that was a bad UNC team. For the season, Parker gained just 298 yards in the other 11 games. That was a bad UNC player, too.
Parker couldn't catch the ball. He fumbled too much. He was always getting nicked up in practice, taking off reps or even entire days, and Bunting couldn't stand it. Bunting is the quintessential meathead football coach -- and I like you, John Bunting -- which means the most important quality to him was toughness. And Parker didn't have it. He wouldn't hit the hole hard. Wouldn't play hurt. Wouldn't hang onto the ball. By his senior season, he was fifth on the team in rushing. Fifth. Behind four guys you've never heard of.
I was there. I saw it.
Now I see something else, of course. I see a very good NFL running back, a guy who runs with some toughness and all sorts of speed. Give Parker an inch on the outside, and he'll take it a mile. He holds the Super Bowl record for longest rush from scrimmage, the 75-yarder he took to the house against Seattle in 2006.
In the Steelers' AFC semifinal against San Diego he ran for 146 yards, the most by a Pittsburgh running back in the playoffs since Franco Harris gained 153 in 1975. A few weeks earlier, though, Parker showed his bitter side by complaining about the Steelers' offensive approach, suggesting he wasn't being used properly. Coach Mike Tomlin squashed that nonsense -- his team was 10-3 at the time, and had won four consecutive games -- by saying, "Every morning I come to work, I walk past five Lombardi (trophies) -- not five rushing titles."
Parker's not foolproof. After that monster game against San Diego, he was monstrously bad against the Ravens in the AFC title game. He managed just 47 yards on 24 carries, dropped what would have been a long reception and lost a fumble. The Steelers won, though, and Fast Willie is here in the Super Bowl.
He's a very good player, but let's be clear on this: He's not a great player. Parker comes out on passing downs for Mewelde Moore. He comes out on short-yardage plays for Gary Russell. Just like at North Carolina, Parker is a liability as a receiver and as a blocker, and still is best when he's in open space. North Carolina's offensive line in those days was so bad, it couldn't give him open space. Pittsburgh's line can, and you see the results.
Just don't get confused. Parker could have played more at North Carolina, sure, but he didn't deserve to. Anyone who says otherwise wasn't there ... or was named Willie Parker.
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