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Lance Z’s blog

Heath Shuler

Heath Shuler

SPEED KILLS
http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2009/08/post_111.html
I have saved the worst for last.....

I was embarrassed for free agent signing DE Antonio Smith. He embarrassed his coach and himself and the organization as far as I'm concerned. Here is what happened.

It was getting toward the end of the one-on-one pass-rushing drills and Antonio Smith was bumped down inside to rush as a DT. If I remember correctly he was matched up against Chris White. Anyway, the defensive and offensive linemen have two reps against each other in pass protection drills and Antonio Smith jumped offsides before the ball was snapped on his first rep. The defense had been jumping offsides all morning and Bill Kollar said that tomorrow there would be "up-downs" for players who continued to jump offsides. On the next snap, Antonio Smith gave a half-assed effort. Kollar, unhappy with the effort level, asked Smith to come back and take another rep. While Kollar was displeased he didn't scream Smith down or cuss him out. Here is where it gets bad.

As Smith starts walking back toward the defensive line, he tells Kollar that this drill is bull*******, and when Kollar starts to go back at Smith a little bit, Smith just starts letting the F-bombs fly as he directs them to Kollar. He got up in Kollar's face and Mario Williams had to step in and separate things. Hey, I understand things get heated, but camp has just started and this wasn't even something that should have sparked the ire of Smith.

If this had taken place on just a regular practice day, I would have been disappointed in Smith, but probably wouldn't have written anything about it. However, this is different. For one, Smith's verbal assualt on his position coach happened in front of over 100 Texans fans who were gathered around that drill since the practice was open to the public. I've already received four e-mails from people who watched the event unfold and want me to address it so I feel like I needed to say something since it was out in full view of the public.

Cussing is part of football as far as I'm concerned, but there is a big difference between an "S.O.B." here or an S-bomb there. This was way over the top. My heart literally sank as I watched this because I couldn't help but think of the money Rick Smith and the Texans had invested in Smith, and how valuable I believe Smith can be to the Texans biggest area of need -- the pass rush.

If Smith is unhappy now, wait until Kollar gets it ratcheted-up. I spoke with scouts in the area who studied him and talked to him when he was at Oklahoma State and everyone said Antonio Smith is a good kid. I talked with someone who works for the Texans who said the same thing. It's just one incident in one practice, but I hope Antonio Smith is more coachable than this. And here's hoping that the Texans handled this behind the scenes and that they have their coach's back.

Then again, I'm a coaches son so maybe I get a little too sensitive about this stuff.
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I hope this is just an isolated incident.
 
Honoring Earl 34 said:
In another thread , someone said Kollar told Smith ... if you'd made that sack , y'all might have won the super bowl . That's when Smith got irate .
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I'm sure a lot of people are going to be upset with Antonio for this and he should surely shoulder some of the blame but we always talk about players having to be professionals and that applies to the coaches as well. That is a really childish low blow right there, I don't care if he was trying to light a fire under him either, find another way.
 
Jackie Chiles said:
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I'm sure a lot of people are going to be upset with Antonio for this and he should surely shoulder some of the blame but we always talk about players having to be professionals and that applies to the coaches as well. That is a really childish low blow right there, I don't care if he was trying to light a fire under him either, find another way.
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Yep ... he hit a nerve .
 
Zierlin or whatever his name is has always been an awful blogger for the chronicle. He usually offers 0 insight and most often unreadable. D-line coaches are supposed to get under their players' skin, Kollar was a d-lineman himself in the league and he knows how to light fires. He's different than Jethro Franklin in that he won't scream them down but he will push their buttons. This is what this sounds like. Would you rather have your d-lineman passive and accepting of criticisms? We don't know what was said exactly but everyone says AS is a high-motor, hard-working good guy so for Zierlin or whatever the heck to sensationalize like this is ridiculous.
 
I like it.. Kollar got under smith's nerve and even if it were just one day at this point, I am ok with it. coaches have to push players. in truth one play can make a difference in a game
 
m5kwatts said:
Zierlin or whatever his name is has always been an awful blogger for the chronicle. He usually offers 0 insight and most often unreadable. D-line coaches are supposed to get under their players' skin, Kollar was a d-lineman himself in the league and he knows how to light fires. He's different than Jethro Franklin in that he won't scream them down but he will push their buttons. This is what this sounds like. Would you rather have your d-lineman passive and accepting of criticisms? We don't know what was said exactly but everyone says AS is a high-motor, hard-working good guy so for Zierlin or whatever the heck to sensationalize like this is ridiculous.
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Hey m5kwatts, I've never gave someone negative rep before but you were almost the first for going after LZ. Your obviously not a Gamer and haven't followed Lance the way some of us have. LZ has some of the best sources in the entire NFL. His football insight and intelligence is greater than any other sports writer or broadcaster in the city of Houston and its not that close either. If you would have followed Lance from his 610 days, you would know just how funny and entertaining he is. That's why some of his blog entries may seem odd to you. Its just Lance being Lance to me. You ought to tune into his morning show on 1560 AM or you can listen to it on the net live at 1560thegame.com.
 
LZ's radio show is probably the thing I miss most since moving away from H-town. I agree that his football knowledge and insight is by far superior to any other mainstream journalist in town. He is also one funny dude. I think he did the right thing in reporting the incident. It will let AS know he can't get away with acting like that. I am sure he is embarrassed by the incident being reported in the paper (at least he should be).
 
Jackie Chiles said:
hook_bad_form.jpg


I'm sure a lot of people are going to be upset with Antonio for this and he should surely shoulder some of the blame but we always talk about players having to be professionals and that applies to the coaches as well. That is a really childish low blow right there, I don't care if he was trying to light a fire under him either, find another way.
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If Kollar did say that I'm not saying AS's tirade was ok, but I understand and that isn't the kind of message you want to send as a new coach. I agree find another way, the what if implications are unfair.
 
i don't think the coach would say something like that unless he felt there was a need. we brought kollar in to push people because we have too many d lineman getting too much money and not doing anything. i'm glad kollar is doing what he's paid to do.

i'm not saying that smith isn't doing anything right. it's early, and i have no idea what smith is or isn't doing. i'm just saying that it sounds like the coach felt smith needed a little extra motivation. i hope smith responds with improved performance rather than a bad attitude because it's really all about the team getting better and winning a championship. at least, that's what it should be about.

even individually, it can be about becoming the best player that you can be. williams is a case in point. the dude is a beast, classy, never gives less than his best, and you can see him being upset in the highlights when he feels like he didn't get the results he expects. andre johnson is the same way. just about every nfl player gets good money, but not a lot of them get hell of respect. just the guys like williams and johnson.
 
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m5kwatts said:
Zierlin or whatever his name is has always been an awful blogger for the chronicle. He usually offers 0 insight and most often unreadable. D-line coaches are supposed to get under their players' skin, Kollar was a d-lineman himself in the league and he knows how to light fires. He's different than Jethro Franklin in that he won't scream them down but he will push their buttons. This is what this sounds like. Would you rather have your d-lineman passive and accepting of criticisms? We don't know what was said exactly but everyone says AS is a high-motor, hard-working good guy so for Zierlin or whatever the heck to sensationalize like this is ridiculous.
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Dude - you lost me at the criticism of LZ. Massive fail on your part!
 
I have no problem with the story being reported, heck I found it amusing and entertaining. I just don't like the slant he had on it. If he hasn't seen a lineman blow up at a line coach in training camp than he hasn't been paying attention to all these training camps he claims to have seen. He's acting like this happened in the 4th quarter of the AFC championship game. He's sensationalizing something thats better off just being reported the way it happened, something Chronical writers tend to do.

I didn't mean to attack Z personally or anything, I just get annoyed when a story is being taken in a direction it didn't need to go.
 
Lance's dad is the offensive line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers so I'm pretty sure he knows the inside skinny on coaches and players in the NFL. He has great knowledge of the game and many sources around the league. Lance is hands down the best sports writer/broadcaster/blogger in Houston as Texan JBZ said. You are entitled to your opinion but I don't think you will find anyone on this bb that agrees with your criticism of LZ.



http://news.steelers.com/team/coach/49256/
 
m5kwatts said:
I have no problem with the story being reported, heck I found it amusing and entertaining. I just don't like the slant he had on it. If he hasn't seen a lineman blow up at a line coach in training camp than he hasn't been paying attention to all these training camps he claims to have seen. He's acting like this happened in the 4th quarter of the AFC championship game. He's sensationalizing something thats better off just being reported the way it happened, something Chronical writers tend to do.

I didn't mean to attack Z personally or anything, I just get annoyed when a story is being taken in a direction it didn't need to go.
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I would have to go back to the fact that it was in open practice within hearing distance of a large number of hopeful and supportive Texans fans. This is being characterized as an spontaneos explosive out of character happening for Smith. "Hitting a nerve" does not strike me as a reasonable explanation. I hope this is not a reflection of carry over of a Friday night party drunk.......a function of alcohol or drugs. I would hope not, but it does make it come to mind.
 
I thought I'd heard that Kollar was making comments about how Smith could have won the SB for the Cardinals if he'd have just made a particular play or two. So... I think this is just Kollar trying to get under Smith's skin and succeeding.

Everything I've heard about Smith indicates he's a good kid.

Posted by: The Pencil Neck at August 2, 2009 01:21 AM

I read that on TexansTalk.com too, but I was standing just a few feet away and I didn't hear that.
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From the comments section; the bolded part is LZ's response.
 
There have been responses to Smith's actions along the line that it's good for once to see "fire" and "aggressiveness" in a Texans player. But, in ANY sport, when there is UNCONTROLLED aggressiveness, it can only affect performance negatively, and significantly impact the team accordingly.
 
Whatever happened yesterday is yesterday. They're chatting with each other just fine right now. I mainly have been watching the lines work today. I paid close attention to it because of it.

Smith seems a smidge full of himself, I'll tell you that. Is that a good thing or not? I don't know but he's walking around like he's the star of the DL. Travis Johnson has remained to be working close to Mario. They seem like a tight bunch. Smith seems well liked but I can see it turning south quick.
 
A golf cart wedged between the DL when they were doing reps with Kollar. Kollar went... what the f*ckkkkkkk as the cart passed on by. Smith, okoye, williams, robinson, and Johnson all started to razzle the driver. Funny stuff. They're having fun together as a group. Kollar is a no nonsense kind of guy but he even got into the razzling.
 
Yeah, Lance Z didn't present the whole picture on that situation.

There was ZERO "need" for Kollar to tell Smith that the Cardinals would have won the Super Bowl if he had made a sack at a certain point in the game.

That's not just a low blow, that's a relationship-breaker IMO.

100 fans or 1,000 fans, Lance Z needs to get on his blog and then also re-contact those concerned fans and tell them the context of the situation. If all Smith did was use bad language, then that was not the worse that could have happened.

An NFL player was just in a close Super Bowl loss, and a new coach tells him they would have won if he had made a specific play? Ouch.

That's no way for a new player and a new coach to build a team. And it forces all the defensive line players into an awkward position, too. That's a most unfortunate situation. We don't need that crap going on.
 
Texan JBZ said:
Hey m5kwatts, I've never gave someone negative rep before but you were almost the first for going after LZ. Your obviously not a Gamer and haven't followed Lance the way some of us have. LZ has some of the best sources in the entire NFL. His football insight and intelligence is greater than any other sports writer or broadcaster in the city of Houston and its not that close either. If you would have followed Lance from his 610 days, you would know just how funny and entertaining he is. That's why some of his blog entries may seem odd to you. Its just Lance being Lance to me. You ought to tune into his morning show on 1560 AM or you can listen to it on the net live at 1560thegame.com.
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word.
 
GP said:
Yeah, Lance Z didn't present the whole picture on that situation.

There was ZERO "need" for Kollar to tell Smith that the Cardinals would have won the Super Bowl if he had made a sack at a certain point in the game.

That's not just a low blow, that's a relationship-breaker IMO .

100 fans or 1,000 fans, Lance Z needs to get on his blog and then also re-contact those concerned fans and tell them the context of the situation. If all Smith did was use bad language, then that was not the worse that could have happened.

An NFL player was just in a close Super Bowl loss, and a new coach tells him they would have won if he had made a specific play? Ouch.

That's no way for a new player and a new coach to build a team. And it forces all the defensive line players into an awkward position, too. That's a most unfortunate situation. We don't need that crap going on.
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Agreed. As Southerner's are known to say, "them's fightin' words". And Kollar should know that.

The Angry Cherokee cusses his O-linemen up one side and down the other. We've heard any OL who would comment on the subject say that; from "Hollywood" Pitts to Capt. Caveman to Ephraim Salaam. But I've not heard of Gibbs saying something as personally hurtful as, "Your missed block is the reason Matt Schaub got hurt."

It's one thing to stress to the players that a missed tackle or sack could cost his team a chance to get off the field or prevent a big play. It's totally another thing to flat out blame the Cards' S/B loss specifically on Smith.
 
NitroHonda said:
Whatever happened yesterday is yesterday. They're chatting with each other just fine right now. I mainly have been watching the lines work today. I paid close attention to it because of it.

Smith seems a smidge full of himself, I'll tell you that. Is that a good thing or not? I don't know but he's walking around like he's the star of the DL. Travis Johnson has remained to be working close to Mario. They seem like a tight bunch. Smith seems well liked but I can see it turning south quick.
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Thats good to hear except for I hope it doesn't turn south. It shouldn't take long for Smith to figure out that Mario is the star of the dl here in Houston. Thanks for the camp report Nitro.
 
NitroHonda said:
A golf cart wedged between the DL when they were doing reps with Kollar. Kollar went... what the f*ckkkkkkk as the cart passed on by. Smith, okoye, williams, robinson, and Johnson all started to razzle the driver. Funny stuff. They're having fun together as a group. Kollar is a no nonsense kind of guy but he even got into the razzling.
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Funny stuff. Keep it comin' Nitro.



(hmmm... wonder if Coach Kollar's F-bomb will make it into the LZ blog...?)
 
This may come off as fence-straddling, but I can see both sides of this story. First, I'm grateful that Zierlein would include the confrontation in his blog. The Chronic writers (not the bloggers) are too afraid of ruffling Texan feathers to report anything like this. We're fortunate to have someone like Zierlein step up and give us the low down.

Still, that doesn't mean I have to agree with his analysis of the situation. It's camp, it's hot, and players and coaches are running hot. The time is now for a coach like Kollar to find out just how far he can push a player, and what buttons to push. Sounds like he got Smith fired up, and that may be necessary at some point in the season. A big part of coaching is playing motivational minds games with their players.

Finally, I disagree with the remark regarding giving negative rep for an opinion. You may not agree with m5kwatts take, but that's no reason to knock his rep. I'm certain that he's not trolling and believes in what he types.
 
All right guys, some need to lay off the sensitivity button here. In no way was that a low blow by Kollar. It was fact. If he sacks Rothliswhatever he doesn't throw a pretty ball to the corner of the EZ.

And good, I am glad that Smith got pissed off. Shows signs of life. Shows that Smith cares. If Smith just shrugs it off that would of meant he was just there for a pay check. But he didn't. Shows Smith has pride and he is still hurting from it.

And Kollar can take care of himself. I am sure that is not the first time Kollar has been told to F off. I would of followed up by telling Smith to take the tampon out of his Virgina. But I am a button pusher too.

This is the problem with open practices. I say go do your thing Kollar.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
There have been responses to Smith's actions along the line that it's good for once to see "fire" and "aggressiveness" in a Texans player. But, in ANY sport, when there is UNCONTROLLED aggressiveness, it can only affect performance negatively, and significantly impact the team accordingly.
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Absolutely ! If a position coach can't reprimand Smith or any of the players he's responsibe for then there's potentially a total breakdown in discipline, including respect the players have for their coach. This is worrisome and I dunno but maybe Smith has some issues nobody bargained for ?
**
Oh BTW M5kwatts, many of us feel that LZ is the most knowledgeable local NFL media guy and give him high-marks for his insight. I for one am always interested in his thoughts, especially about line-play.
 
TEXANRED said:
All right guys, some need to lay off the sensitivity button here. In no way was that a low blow by Kollar. It was fact. If he sacks Rothliswhatever he doesn't throw a pretty ball to the corner of the EZ.

And good, I am glad that Smith got pissed off. Shows signs of life. Shows that Smith cares. If Smith just shrugs it off that would of meant he was just there for a pay check. But he didn't. Shows Smith has pride and he is still hurting from it.

And Kollar can take care of himself. I am sure that is not the first time Kollar has been told to F off. I would of followed up by telling Smith to take the tampon out of his Virgina. But I am a button pusher too.

This is the problem with open practices. I say go do your thing Kollar.
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I agree. First, I think one person heard the super bowl comment. Another person, in at least as close of proximity, did not hear it. Let's not assume this is a factual part of the story based on this evidence. Second, if it did happen, I agree totally with texanred's conclusion that it shows Smith cares, and this is a good thing. Third, if it did happen, I do agree that it was awfully close to a nerve, but it makes sense in this context. Is this guy here for a paycheck or can I count on him to do his best when it counts the most? Kollar found out right there, and I think it was probably taking it close to the line for him too but was a calculated gamble for this reason. Find out early while there's time to improve a relationship and determine what you're working with here.
 
I've been anxious for training camp to start so that we can start talking football instead of all the petty little arguments we've filled the boards with.

Two days into camp the most lively discussion is about a verbal spat between a player and coach... Yuck! I guess we need a football game to be played!
 
nunusguy said:
Absolutely ! If a position coach can't reprimand Smith or any of the players he's responsibe for then there's potentially a total breakdown in discipline, including respect the players have for their coach. This is worrisome and I dunno but maybe Smith has some issues nobody bargained for ?
**
Oh BTW M5kwatts, many of us feel that LZ is the most knowledgeable local NFL media guy and give him high-marks for his insight. I for one am always interested in his thoughts, especially about line-play.
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I don't think LZ intentionally left out the other side of the story on the Smith/Kollar incident. But things always look different when you glance at them for another perspective. I don't think LZ had that other perspective, and it impacts fans' view of Smith. Of course, Smith had a hand in it, too, because none of the fans on the sideline knew what really instigated the tirade.

Now, sometimes the other perspective has no new information that gives a clearer picture of what happened.

In this instance, there's proof that Kollar acted less than professional. There are ways to motivate, but I think that's one idea that Kollar should have filtered between his brain and his mouth.

And who knows...maybe they both got together and hashed it out, waved it off as being "in the moment" and got their fences mended. But there's no need for fans to look negatively at Smith for him having a cussing tirade at that particular moment.

I hope Smith blends into this team and doesn't try and act like he's above others because he was in a Super Bowl. Let's hope they find ways to become a solid unit of team players.
 
Lucky said:
Finally, I disagree with the remark regarding giving negative rep for an opinion. You may not agree with m5kwatts take, but that's no reason to knock his rep. I'm certain that he's not trolling and believes in what he types.
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Well Lucky, maybe next time I'll include the :sarcasm:smiley so you get it.
 
If Smith can't hold his cool..........even with the purported goading, I would hate to find out how he reacts to fans' choice displays if his performance level rivals Anthony Weaver's.:shades:
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
If Smith can't hold his cool..........even with the purported goading, I would hate to find out how he reacts to fans' choice displays if his performance level rivals Anthony Weaver's.:shades:
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I think it's different when fans act uncool, as opposed to when your position coach pulls a stunt like that.

I don't think he'd lose his cool with a heckling fan, unless the fan got extremely vulgar/offensive (which any normal person isn't going to be able to tune out, such as hearing crude statements about family members).

What if Smith had made derisive comments to Kollar about the sucky play of the Bills dline whom Kollar couldn't coach up?

"Yeah, I know, coach Kollar. At least I was IN the Super Bowl. Your crappy dline in Buffalo couldn't penetrate a wet paper sack. So I guess we're just two losers who found our way to Houston, but at least I played in a Super Bowl. Who else around here has played in a Super Bowl recently? Raise your hands. Raise 'em high. That's what I thought."

So let's say Kollar never made that Super Bowl loss comment to Smith. Let's say Kollar was coaching our dline up, griping at them to use better technique, just doing his job as best he could. And let's say Smith used a portion of my simulated comments, above, in order to rib Kollar a little bit. Is that going to be acceptable to you fans? Is that OK for the player to act like that? Then why should the leader (Kollar) who is older, and supposedly more mature, be able to resort to immature and below-the-belt tactics?

There's just some things that two people, playing on the same t-e-a-m don't need to do. Kollar made a poor choice of motivational strategy and all it did was cause a big stir that shouldn't have happened.

Call me crazy, but I just don't see the value in using demeaning motivational tactics to try and make your point. That's a crappy way (an EASY way) to lead. People who can't lead resort to using such tactics. It's brainless.
 
(on DE Antonio Smith's assessment that he might be the type of coach that players butt heads with but learn from) "What happens is that I'm the type guy where I'm wanting to try to get the most out of every player. Doesn't matter who it turns out to be. So to me, you've got to end up staying on the guys and rib them and keep on them to keep working, so there's no doubt about it. I end up having little confrontations here and there all the time just for the simple fact that I'm trying to hit that live wire that's going to really end up getting them going. Again, it turns out to be really nothing to it at all, but I'm going to try my best to get every single player to play as good as he can play."
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http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=5412
 
Antonio Smith's spin move.... is devastating, but I liked the 180 I saw from him at practice today. His effort level looked high on every snap and there wasn't a peep out of him. He consulted with Coach Kollar after his first rep of the day to presumably talk technique or strategy and then he was walking with Kollar and talking from one practice field over to the main field. Either Smith realized he made a mistake yesterday, the Texans handled their business with A. Smith behind closed doors or he and coach Kollar hugged it out. Regardless, the issue is squashed as far as I'm concerned.
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http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2009/08/antonio_squashes_it_rex_comple.html
 
Any word on how Smith performed AFTER the incident? Have a come apart and blow off steam, but be able to put it behind you and drive on. Otherwise, the attempt to "light a fire" backfired. Just pissing someone off is not always the best way to motivate them. Push the button, but push it wisely.:cool:
 
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