Insider | Notebook
The decision came as Tony Boselli walked alone on a San Diego beach, moments after a workout that, in reality, made the decision to retire from the NFL for him.
Two weeks ago, after the Houston Texans tackle cut short one of his traditional summer workouts on the West Coast because of piercing pain in his left shoulder, Boselli decided he had enough. The constant pain was a message this deeply religious man was not going to get the miracle cure he had hoped to get.
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Tony Boselli got Houston colors but never wore them. (Getty Images) |
"I thought all along that I would be able to get back, which is why I was so positive as I tried to return. But when I got away from the team, the reality hit that I couldn't do it. There was just too much pain."
The left shoulder is what will ultimately be the injury that drove him from the game. Three surgeries, two while with the Texans, left it damaged to the point where Boselli had problems getting range of motion and strength back. It had become arthritic, and no procedure could repair it enough to where he could play an NFL game.
Since coming into the league in 1995 as the second player taken in that draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Boselli has also had two surgeries on his right shoulder, ACL surgery on his right knee and surgery on his right ankle.
Those injuries limited him to 91 games in eight seasons, too few for a player who was the best offensive lineman in the league for a three- or four-year period from 1996-99.
"This definitely is not the way I thought I would end my career," Boselli said.
But he holds no bitterness toward the game. Or toward the doctor in Jacksonville who performed the original left shoulder surgery -- even though he screamed at that same doctor a year ago when he returned to Jacksonville for a game with the Texans, because he felt as if he had gotten bad treatment. Boselli didn't want to discuss the specifics of any problems with the doctors this week, but those who know him say he blames the 2001 shoulder surgeries and subsequent rehab tactics for his troubles.
"I also chose to play with the shoulder problems for a while, as far back as 1999," said Boselli. "That was probably wrong on my part. But I am competitor. I wanted to be out on the field."
After five Pro Bowl selections, Boselli was made available by the Jaguars in the 2002 expansion draft. In dire need of cap room, they exposed the building block of the franchise, a guy who had become the face of the team. The Texans assumed his $7.55 million cap figure for 2002. He restructured his contract this year, but it will still count $3.05 million against the cap this season.
The move to expose him in 2002 didn't sit well in Jacksonville, and it was especially tough on former coach Tom Coughlin. It was Coughlin who had personally scouted Boselli when he was in college and then made him the first draft pick in team history.
Coughlin had to sell that pick to the masses since taking an offensive tackle was anything but glamorous for an expansion team. So, he gave the beat writer for the local newspaper a tape from one of Boselli's college games to watch.
That reporter was sold.
I was that reporter.
From 1995-1999, I had a close-up view to watch Boselli develop into the league's best lineman. At 6-feet-7, 325 pounds, he had the feet of a dancer and the toughness needed to throw around some of the game's best pass rushers.
In 1996, his domination of Bills All-Pro Bruce Smith in the playoffs certified him as the NFL's best, holding Smith to three tackles and no sacks. After that game, an upset victory by the Jaguars, Smith told reporters he was doubled on most of the plays. The tape told a different story. Boselli had treated him like a JV player, singling him most of the game.
That was the last injury-free season he would have. The next year he missed four games with a high-ankle sprain, and missed one more in 1998 with another ankle injury. In 1999, with the Jaguars seemingly on their way to the Super Bowl, he tore the ACL in his right knee in the team's final regular-season game.
Jacksonville was upset by the Titans in the AFC Championship Game and never got there again.
Boselli started all 16 games in 2000, and he earned a Pro Bowl berth, but by then his shoulders were a problem. Amazingly, he didn't miss a game.
The following year he was placed on IR with the right shoulder injury after three games. He decided to fix the left one a short while after that, but that's when the problems intensified. Both injuries were torn labrums, and both developed arthritic problems. Two more surgeries were needed on the left shoulder after the Texans took the risk of taking him with the first pick of the 2002 expansion draft, forcing him to miss all of last season.
Boselli did eventually make it to the practice field some last season, and did participate some in the team's offseason work this year. But when he got away from the facility in early July, away from the competitive environment, he came to the conclusion he couldn't go on.
To help him make the decision final, he leaned on his wife, his family and some close friends, including Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell.
"After consulting with everyone, I knew it was the right thing," Boselli said.
In five years, it will be time for the Pro Football Hall of Fame to do the right thing. Five Pro Bowls and four years as the best lineman in the league should put Boselli in Canton.
If Gale Sayers can get in after five good seasons, and Miami center Dwight Stephenson can get in after six healthy years and 116 games, then Boselli deserves to be in, too. He dominated the opposition, giving up 12½ sacks in his career, although half of them were really coverage sacks that came when Brunell was forced to hold the ball.
What's more impressive is he protected in a system that relied on five- and seven-step drops. There was little of the get-the-ball-out offense. Sayers and Stephenson also had their careers cut short by injury, but the voters did the right thing and put them into the Hall. Boselli deserves the same, but first he must be the initial player put into the Jaguars' Ring of Honor.
Perhaps he can even sign a one-day contract with the team so he can retire as a Jaguars player.
"The Hall of Fame and things like that are out of my control," said Boselli, who plans to work in the ministry of his church and help his wife raise their four children. "How I am viewed as a player is not up to me. It's up to people like you.
"If it were to happen, it would be a great honor and something I would cherish. If not, I know I went out there and did my best every time I took the field. I have no regrets. I got the chance to play in the NFL, which is what I dreamed about as a kid. There are a lot of people who never get that chance.
"I am not upset this. I wished it could be different, but my life is about a lot more than just football. I'll be OK."
The NFL lost a warrior this week, a throwback player who competed every Sunday and then had the class to show up in the locker room after he did. The NFL needs more players like Boselli.
Canton does, too.
Around the league
Browns going with new-look LB corps
The Cleveland Browns head to training camp with major questions about their linebackers. After the team's defense struggled last season, coach Butch Davis set out to get faster, which meant an overhaul of the linebackers.
The Browns are now expected to have three new starters, none with a previous start on their resumes.
Kevin Bentley and Ben Taylor are expected to start outside with Andra Davis in the middle.
"These guys are a lot more versatile," Davis said. "They give us a lot more athletic ability. In the past, we had linebackers who were role players. They played in run-down situations, but came out in the nickel and dime. This group can stay on the field. I feel good about these young players."
Davis also knows he has a security blanket in veteran Brant Boyer, who has been a key player in the team's nickel packages and can start when called upon to do so. Boyer is one of those veterans who gives his all year in and year out, which is why he has lasted nine years in the league.
"Along with Barry Gardner, we have two guys with legitimate experience," Davis said. "That's good for the younger players."
Owner is big part of rebuilding Falcons
Arthur Blank is one of those owners who cares deeply about what's going on with his team, and he's actively involved. That's a good thing, since the Atlanta Falcons are now a hot team. Blank has already showed what he can do in terms of turning that franchise around; Falcons fever is as high as it has ever been. Season tickets are sold out and there is a waiting list. In Atlanta?
A lot of that enthusiasm has to do with Michael Vick, but Blank has helped re-energize the city. His decision to cut ticket prices last year in the upper decks helped bring the fans back.
Attending Falcons games this year could be a trendy thing to do in Atlanta. The NFL is lucky to have owners like Blank who care, even if his signing of Warrick Dunn, which he spearheaded, is a move the team might end up regretting.
It's weight and see on Colts' Glenn
The Colts were thrilled with the way left tackle Tarik Glenn played last season, even saying he might have played at a Pro Bowl level.
They are also concerned this season about his weight. Glenn has a tendency to get too heavy. Glenn is never going to be considered a specimen playing the position, but he has to be careful he doesn't get too big.
One of the things that makes him a special player is his athletic ability. Glenn has outstanding feet, which is why he helps keep pass rushers of Peyton Manning. If he gets too heavy, he might not be as effective.
The Colts right tackle spot is a little less uncertain. Ryan Diem will be given the chance to win the starting job, but veteran Adam Meadows, who didn't play well last season and was eventually benched, won't go away without a fight. Diem has moved over from right guard, where rookie Steve Sciullo might start.
Even though Meadows agreed to a restructuring of his contract in February, there are no guarantees he will be with the team after this season. He is scheduled to have a cap figure of $8.735 million in 2004. His $4.270 million cap figure is too high for this season, but the Colts wouldn't save much cap room by releasing him.
Chief concerns
The Chiefs open camp this weekend with two very important questions. One is the health of running back Priest Holmes and the other is the improvement of the defense.
Holmes insists he will be fine after hip surgery, but we won't know for sure until he takes the field. He is looking for a new contract, but the Chiefs say they will only give him an extension, not a new deal. That means he will have to play out the final two years of his current deal.
The Chiefs should take a cautious approach, but if he shows up at camp and can run the ball like he did before injuring his hip last year, he deserves a new deal. One of those mega-deals with a huge signing bonus. Too often in the NFL, teams release players because they didn't perform up to their contract, which makes the deals one-way.
Holmes has exceeded his contract, so he deserves a new one if he is healthy. But even just for asking, he is portrayed as greedy. The Chiefs should pony up if Holmes can start the first preseason game.
As for the defense, Greg Robinson is a far better coordinator than he was perceived last season. The players he had to work with were limited, but now with some key additions and the return to health of some vital people ( Jerome Woods, Ryan Sims), watch Robinson turn the defense around. They will play better.
Odds and ends
- With Boselli out, the Texans have to rethink their line. They had hoped to move Chester Pitts, who started as a rookie at left tackle last season, to right tackle. He will now stay at left tackle, with guard Zach Wiegert, who was signed as a free agent, likely playing right tackle. Greg Randall might also be considered at right tackle if the team thinks Wiegert is better at guard.
- If veteran defensive tackle Chester McGlockton really has matured after dabbling some in coaching this offseason, the Jets might have made a good move in signing him. McGlockton has always had the ability, but he has been lazy and didn't play hard all the time. Maybe his coaching foray has taught him the value of hard work, although he is clearly above his listed playing weight of 332. The Jets say he will use camp to get in shape. If the Jets can get a good 15-20 plays out of him, they will have a player. If not, he can be a disruptive force, which he has been in the past.
- The feeling in Dallas is coach Bill Parcells has taken a liking to quarterback Quincy Carter and he is now the favorite to be the team's starter. Parcells likes the way Carter can move around in the pocket. Chad Hutchinson has seemed too robotic. It will be interesting to see how respected quarterbacks coach Sean Payton handles these two players. Payton turned Kerry Collins into a 4,000-yard passer, so he can turn things around.
- When Junior Seau was traded to the Dolphins, the original thinking in San Diego was Zeke Moreno or Carlos Polk would be the players competing to take his spot. But the Chargers have been so impressed with fourth-round pick Matt Wilhelm that he is now in the mix. Wilhelm was a major contributor for a good Ohio State defense last year and could start as a rookie. If he does, it would mark the second consecutive season that the Chargers have started a rookie linebacker. Ben Leber started at the strong-side spot all of last season.
- The Vikings might be without Michael Bennett for the season after he had surgery on his foot, but watch out for Onterrio Smith. The Vikings coaches love the kid, and if he can prove to be effective in pass protection, he should be the starter. Smith was tabbed as one of the steals of the draft in this space, and we're sticking to that. He had some off-field troubles in his past, as well as some injury concerns, but he has that home-run speed. He's not as fast as Bennett, but he will be effective running in the Vikings' spread offense.
- Rams receiver Troy Edwards has always been a cocky player. Now it appears that arrogance is beginning to pay off. The Rams drafted two receivers in the April draft with the idea of replacing Edwards as the team's slot receiver. But Edwards impressed the team with his offseason, and some Rams players are even predicting he will put up some impressive numbers in 2003. The loss of Az Zahir-Hakim to Detroit in free agency hurt the Rams last year, but now that Edwards has had time to learn the system, he should be that same type of player. Just ask him.
- The Redskins hiring of player agent Eric Schaffer to handle contracts came as a surprise to some team's cap specialists since he didn't do much negotiating when he worked for IMG. Schaffer, it seems, was the person responsible for clarifying contract language for agents Tom Condon and Ken Kremer, but he didn't even handle many late-round deals for the agency. In Washington, he is expected to take on a bigger role in negotiating deals, but expect owner Dan Snyder to continue to do the big contracts, which he did this offseason.
- Did you see the Philadelphia Eagles became the latest team to ban outside food in their new stadium? That means none of those wonderful Philadelphia hoagies or cheese steaks can find their way into the stadium in the hands of fans. The Eagles say the policy is for security purposes. The skeptics say it has to do with the Eagles wanting to make more money from concessions, which is probably true. Don't $6 hot dogs sound enticing? Look at the bright side, Eagles fans. At least the toilets will flush in the new stadium. Although, without a greasy cheese steak to eat, you might not need them as much.
- The Bills gave punter Brian Moorman a seven-year contract extension this week. If they are serious about their move away from their pass-happy offense of 2002 to a ball-control offense, he'll be earning his money. That decision is still one of the more baffling ones of the entire offseason. How do you take the ball out of the hands of Drew Bledsoe?
