RVJ Posted May 7, 2005 Posted May 7, 2005 Makes me hunger the upcoming season even more. http://multimedia.realcities.com:8080/ramg...ts/nolan_768.rm 49ers' Nolan, caught on tape, proves quite a catch What?" linebacker Ray Lewis bellowed, incredulously, when he saw Nolan's call. Then he skulked back to the huddle and reluctantly relayed it to his teammates. What happened next is one of the many revealing moments during the NFL Network's landmark broadcast. A dozen players and coaches wore microphones for the duration of that Week 10 game, but few grabbed as much airtime as Nolan, who was forced to deal with a rebellious superstar, several injured players and a pivotal goal-line stand at the end of regulation. For fans thirsting for a glimpse of the new 49ers coach, the three-day mini-camp that begins today is of no use. Practices are closed to the public. But the NFL Network's rebroadcasts of the Jets-Ravens game May 15 at 4 p.m. and May 19 at 9 p.m. are must-see TV, since they show how Nolan conducts himself during a day at the office. How revealing is the one-hour show? During the 49ers' search for a new coach, owner John York called Sports Illustrated writer Peter King to pick his brain about Nolan. Just get your hands on a copy of that game, King told him, and that will tell you all you need to know. Nolan, sitting in his office this week at the team's Santa Clara headquarters, chuckled at his starring role in the broadcast that earned two Emmy Award nominations. When the NFL Network first approached him, his only request was that he be allowed to approve the footage involving him. "Sometimes my language gets out of hand," Nolan said. As it turned out, Nolan never got a chance to edit his performance. Coach Brian Billick did, and assured Nolan he had nothing to worry about. "Mike, it's good," Billick told him. For Nolan, it was good enough to enhance his reputation as a potential head coach. When Lewis objected to the play call in overtime, Nolan stuck with his plan and the Ravens held the Jets to a three-and-out. Then Nolan radioed down to assistant Mike Singletary. "Mike! Mike! Mike Singletary!" Nolan said into his headset. "Tell Ray to have confidence in the calls and to quit it with the looks. Chew him out, somewhat, Mike. You can do it." When Lewis reached the sideline, Singletary grabbed him by the uniform. "Look at me. Look at me," Singletary said. "When Coach Nolan sends down a call, you don't send a message that isn't positive. When we give you a call out there, Ray, you have to give a look that says, `That's going to work!' " With each of the last four words, Singletary rapped Lewis on the left shoulder pad for emphasis. "I'm with you," Lewis said. "I'm with you." And, with that, the dust-up between the coaches and the superstar was defused. But what the broadcast does not make clear is the back story. Nolan, behind the desk of his 49ers office, said that he has so much respect for Lewis as a player, as a leader and as a football mind that he gave him the right to shake off a call, the way a pitcher might with a catcher. His objection was not to Lewis questioning the call, but to the way he carried himself in the huddle. It was something they had talked about before. "In that game, he had shaken off two or three calls," Nolan said. "At one point, I was getting a little tired of it because there was a purpose in what I was doing. "When other players see that he doesn't really want to call it, they can sense that. Ray knows better than to do that. Ray is a great leader. He understands all the dynamics of how, when he does that, it would influence the other guys. We just needed to bring him to reality." Nolan laughs when it is pointed out that his directive to Singletary was no small bit of delegation. He had asked him to chew out Ray Lewis. Nolan said Singletary, who followed him to the 49ers as an assistant head coach/linebackers, was the only assistant capable of doing it. "If I had sent that down to one of the other coaches, Ray would have looked at him like, `Who are you?' " Nolan said. There are other compelling scenes during the NFL Network broadcast, which originally aired in November. Midway through the third quarter, the Ravens sent a blitz from the left side at quarterback Quincy Carter. Carter beat it by completing a pass to Santana Moss for an 11-yard gain. The camera cuts to Nolan deep in thought. He begins thinking out loud. "We can go Chrebet Fire Zone and get a better pressure," he says, referring to Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet. When the idea comes out of his mouth, he likes it even better. "Hey, that's what we do." He snaps his fingers and his face lights up. "Screw the left! It will be Fox Chrebet Fire Zone. If Chrebet is in the No. 3 spot when he comes out, he's getting the ball hot." On third-and-eight from the Jets' 41, Chrebet comes out as the slot receiver as anticipated. As soon as he catches the ball, several Ravens tackle him immediately to hold him to a 3-yard gain. The Jets have to punt. Nolan proved prescient again with about 30 seconds to go in regulation. The Jets trailed 17-14 with a second-and-goal from the 3. Everybody on the Ravens seemed to know that Carter was about to attempt a bootleg, including Nolan, who says into the headset, "Boot alert on the three wides everybody. Watch the boot. It's going to be a boot." Billick apparently believed him. "Boot!" he yelled to the players. "Boot! Boot! Boot! Boot! Boot! Boot! Boot! It's a boot. Boot!" On cue, Carter ran right on a designed rollout, got swarmed immediately and threw the ball out of bounds. It was one of several times during the game that Nolan correctly predicted what Jets play would come next. "After that game aired, I had people saying, `I had no idea that much stuff goes on during the game,' " Nolan said. The broadcast captures a sense that the assistant coaches talk and act with the urgency of air-traffic controllers. Nolan, though, looks as if he's having a blast. He stands while the others in his booth sit -- although all of them frolic like cheerleaders after every Ravens score. "Oh, yeah. It's exciting," Nolan said. "But I have my worst headaches after games. It takes me about an hour or two to get over it. My head just hurts. It's like a good exam. In college, if you really studied for something, you would come out of the exam and your head would be hurting." Nolan might get more TV exposure this year. The NFL Network is planning a similar show, and Nolan and the 49ers might be candidates. Nolan is open to the idea, since he believes in giving exposure to the organization. The NFL Network, after all, has 26 million subscribers. One viewer, however, watched himself only once. "When they told me I was OK, I figured, well, good, I'm not on it much," Nolan said. "Then I saw it, and I'm like, `Oh, my goodness. Let's get rid of the guy in the booth.' "
MrLocke Posted May 7, 2005 Posted May 7, 2005 Good read. The audio did not seem to be working too well, though.
bert Posted May 7, 2005 Posted May 7, 2005 The man next to Herm Edwards is Dick Curl at the begining, he is a nice man
BillnutinHouston Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 The hell with Nolan, I was watching Bennie Anderson.
Sound_n_Fury Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 That was a great clip. Seeing the news about Thuman going on the Wall this morning made me think about how great it would've been to this kind of video record of the huddle, sideline and coaching box for all the Bills' memorable games during the SB years...I'll bet those were some terrific stories, too. Anyway, I found this line in the follow-up article you posted to be especially funny: "During the 49ers' search for a new coach, owner John York called Sports Illustrated writer Peter King to pick his brain about Nolan. " That tells me everything I need to know about why this York character is going to take the mantel of "stupidest NFL owner" away from the Bidwell family, if he hasn't done so already. Asking Peter King for advice? ROTFALMAO! Hiring your coach by watching reality TV...what a concept!
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