|
O Brother Where Art Thou?
Uh, on IR
by Michael E Lawrence
8/9/2007
To lose one brother to a season ending achilles injury seems like misfortune; to lose another to a triceps tear seems like carelessness. But however you look at it, the McDougle brothers had a rough pre-season.
Brothers Stockar and Jerome McDougle, a Jacksonville offensive lineman and Eagles defensive end respectively, both somehow went down with injuries that ended their 2007 campaigns on the same Monday night two weeks ago. The former first round picks might even face an uphill battle to resume their, frankly, spotty careers on their return in 2008. As it was, Jerome was attempting a comeback having been shot on the eve of training camp in 2005.
But the McDougle boys, for all their star-crossed output in the National Football League, are just the tip of the iceberg as far as bruvvers playing in the pros go.
You want sibling success stories in the big league? Try this list of current or recent players out for size (active players in bold):
Dawan Landry (S, Baltimore) and LaRon Landry (S, Washington)
Champ Bailey (CB, Wash.; Denver) and Boss Bailey (LB, Detroit)
Santana Moss (WR, NYJ; Wash.) and Sinorice Moss (WR, NYG)
Bennie Blades (S, Detriot) and Brian Blades (WR, Seattle)
Torry Holt (WR, St. Louis) and Terrence Holt (S, Detroit; Arizona)
Jonathan Ogden (OT, Baltimore) and Marques Ogden (OL, Jax; Baltimore; Tenn.)
Sterling Sharpe (WR, Green Bay) and Shannon Sharpe (TE, Denver; Baltimore)
Kenny Irons (RB, Cincinnati) and David Irons (CB, Atlanta Falcons)
Peter Boulware (LB/DE Baltimore) and Michael Boulware (S, Seattle)
Josh McCown (QB, Detroit; Oakland) and Luke McCown (Cleveland; Tampa)
Thomas Jones (RB, Ari., TB, Chic. NYJ) and Julius Jones (RB, Dallas)
Tike Barber (RB, NYG) and Ronde Barner (CB, Tampa Bay)
Daniel Bullocks (S, Detroit) and Josh Bullocks (S, New Orleans) (identical twins)
Shawn Andrews (OG, Philadelphia) and Stacey Andrews (OL, Cincinnati)
Matt Hasselbeck (QB GBP; Seattle) and Tim Hasselbeck (QB, Phil; Wash.; NYG)
Peyton Manning (QB, Indianapolis) and Eli Manning (Team mascot, NY Giants)
Of course strictly speaking, the last pair don’t really count, as, it turns out, Eli is not an NFL level player. (Kidding, kidding.) But there are many, many others we could add to the list: the Tuiasosopos (Marcus and Zach), the Babineaux (Jordan and Jonathan), the Dysons (Kevin and Andre), the Detmers (Ty and Ko), the Ayanbadejos (Brendan and Obafemi), the Gbaja Biamilas (Kabeer and Akbar) the list goes on and on.
The obvious moral: don’t let them ever tell you nurture’s more important than nature. For these boys it’s all in the genes. Maybe that’s why me and Richie got such skinny pins.
The active brother pairings listed here are, for the most part, still building themselves NFL legacies. The Bullocks (that’s Bullocks) brothers are both safeties, both former second round picks and both, unfortunately for them, on teams mired in losing traditions.
Daniel, in Detroit, could be chasing a lot of leads this season on a subpar Lions defense, though Josh tasted real success on a 2006 New Orleans team resurrected from a recent history of disaster both on and off the football field. That Peyton Manning shredded his defensive backfield in the NFL opener can be politely ignored in the expectation the Saints defense recaptures some semblance of its former lustre.
The Irons brothers have been less fortunate still. Both drafted this past April Kenny in round two by Cincinnati and David in round six by Atlanta they can now boast a shared history of knee problems.
David, a skilled man to man cornerback, fell all the way to the sixth round because of concerns about knee injuries that had seen him miss all of 2001 and 2004 in high school and college respectively. Kenny, healthy throughout, promptly tore his ACL in his first Bengals’ preseason outing, and will miss the entire 2007 campaign.
Another safety pairing, the Landrys, have experienced better luck. Dawan surprised as a 5th round pick two drafts ago, winning a starting job on a powerful Ravens defense that spurred a 13-3 record and an NFC North title. LaRon, the sixth overall draft selection this year, is already guaranteed $17.5 million without having played a single down in the NFL. That he was shot in the groin in a paintballing accident in the off-season makes this impoverished reporter feel slightly better about that.
The Andrews brothers Shawn in Philadelphia and Stacey in Cincinnati, are two young offensive linemen with very bright futures. Shawn made All Pro last year and is set to dominate form his RG position for years to come. Stacey meanwhile, is just now coming to prominence at the LG spot on a powerful Bengals offense..
The Mosses, too, are having a decent time of it. While elder Santana has established himself as a premier deep threat in the NFL in stints with the Jets and Redskins including a monster 1483 yard season in 2005 Sinorice could well develop into a dangerous slot receiver and return man in his own right, if he can conquer a murky receiver depth chart in the Meadowlands.
The brothers Ogden define different ends of the success spectrum in the NFL. While older brother Jonathan is a multiple All Pro, surefire Hall of Famer and Super Bowl winner, the less talented Marques has bounced from roster to roster, and is currently without an employer, having been cut August 26th by the Titans.
The Holts are similarly imblanced in their professional success. Torry remains one of the finest wide receivers in the league today and was key cog in the Greatest Show on Turf-era Rams squad that won a Super Bowl after the 1999 season. He is also first all time in NFL history averaging 84.7 yards receiving per game. Terrence, meanwhile yet another safety on our list is striving to win a job as a starter on a struggling Cardinals franchise. You win some
The same could also be said for the Hasselbecks and the Baileys. While Matt Hasselbeck has guided the Seahawks to a Super Bowl XL appearance and garners Pro Browl consideration on a yearly basis, brother Tim bounced around the NFC East as a second and third stringer at the same position.
As for the Baileys, older bro Champ remains one of the NFL’s premier defenders at and position, the gold standard by which other cornerbacks are judged. Brother Boss is an athletic but undersized linebacker for the Lions, and so far in his career has recorded more concussions than sacks (of which he has 2.5 for his career).
Elsewhere in our active pairings, most NFL defenders would acknowledge its fairly tricky to keep up with the Joneses running back brothers Thomas, now of New York, and Julius, in Dallas.
Originally the 7th overall pick to Arizona in 2000, Thomas appeared to be a bust three years into his career having rushed for just 1264 yards after a slew of injuries. Having spent his fourth season with the Buccaneers, he found form and a home in Chicago, recording back to back 1200+ yard seasons in 2005/6. He was perhaps Chicago’s brightest player in the Super Bowl XLI loss to the Colts, gaining 112 yards on the ground before being traded to the Jets in April.
The younger Julius, a second rounder in 2004, is entrenched in a running back by committee system in Dallas alongside Marion Barber, and hasn’t quite reached the heights envisioned for him when Bill Parcells selected him to be his feature back three years ago. Now entering the final year of his rookie contract, Julius may yet emulate his older brother and leave town for a more clear cut starter’s role, assuming his game continues to improve.
Perhaps the best know sibling combo of all, Peyton and Eli Manning, define the archetype of hermanos competing in sport in the modern era. Peyton, of course, is fresh from a Super Bowl victory replete with MVP honours and a massive sense of relief, after fans and critics alike doubted he could handle big game pressure.
Ironically, Eli faces the same doubts, all be they on a smaller scale, as a ravenous New York media questions whether he can ever get it done as the Giants’ starting quarterback.
In the last of our at least-part active duos worthy of comment, the Barbers are in the upper echelon. Twins Tiki and Ronde have seen their fair share of triumph Ronde has a Super Bowl ring (XXVII) and Tiki was on the losing side two years previously (XXV). While Ronde continues to roam at a Pro Bowl level in Tampa’s cover 2 defense, Tiki hung up his cleats earlier his year as the Giants’ all time leading rusher, with 10448 yards. He is now concentrating on a broadcasting career, and to a lesser degree on badmouthing former Head Coach Tom Coughlin.
Reversing field back into the 90s now as we crank up the brotherly success stories, there are two final pairings we’d like to note.
The Blades were Bennie, 2nd overall pick and Pro Bowl calibre safety for Detroit from 1988 to 1996, and Brian, also drafted in 1988 (round two) as a receiver by Seattle. By the time Bennie signed with Seattle in 1997 so as to play his final season with his frere, Brian was well on his way to amassing an enormous 581 receptions for 7620 yards in an 11 year Seahawk career. Both were tough, durable and central to their respective teams’ character and competitiveness, though too often the supporting cast around them was less than ideal.
Years later Brian was actually convicted of manslaughter when a shotgun he was holding fired and killed cousin Charles Blades Jr. during a tussle, though sensationally the verdict was overturned just 72 hours after the intitial guilty verdict was returned. Bennie meanwhile was busy ensuring the Blades family name would continue to be associated with football. His son linebacker H.B. was selected in the 2007 draft by the Washington Redskins.
But if you really want to belong to an NFL brotherhood, brother: you want to be part of our final sibling duo.
That is, you want to be a Sharpe.
The Sharpes brothers Sterling and Shannon, a Packer and Bronco/Raven respectively might have been the most successful brother combination ever to play in the league.
While Shannon is now better remembered, it was Sterling, drafted 7th overall (five picks after Brian Blades) in the first round of the 1988 draft, who made the biggest initial impact. On a young Packers squad with a fresh faced Brett Favre at quarterback, Sterling compiled astonishing numbers in just seven pro seasons, not least back to back 100+ reception seasons in 1992 and 1993 with Favre at the helm. Before a neck injury cut short a potentially Hall of Fame career, he was named All-Pro five times.
Two years later, afterthought little brother Shannon was drafted in the 7th round by the Broncos from tiny Savanah State. Considered a tweener, Shannon soon took up his big brother’s mantle. Now ranked 14th all time in receptions with 815, he also picked up three Super Bowl rings along the way, two with Denver in 1997/8 and one with Baltimore in 2000. Officially a tight end, Shannon used his superior athleticism essentially to become the go to receiver for John Elway and, uh, Trent Dilfer alike.
Between them they account for 13 Pro Bowls, 127 touchdowns, and an All Decade Team nod (Shannon is the Team of the 90s starting tight end). Their hands are weighed down by the diamonds, rubies and 24 carat gold of three Super Bowl rings, after Shannon donated the first of his three to Sterling, saying:
The two people who influenced me the most, good or bad, are Sterling and my grandmother. Everything I know about being a man, about football, everything I know about sports, pretty much in life, is because of those two people.
You can’t put a value on brotherly love. But you know, if you had to a pricless Super Bowl ring would probably just about do it.
|
