The Advocate and Democrat

I was flipping through some books in The Dollar Tree the other day and ran across a book by broadcaster and former NFL great Phil Simms.

You might remember him as the New York Giants quarterback in their glory days in the 1980s.

But just casually skimming the book I found where he made a point that’s been at the back of my mind for years.

He took on the validity of how the team with the least turnovers usually wins.

Let me restate that.

Yes it’s true the team with the least turnovers usually wins the game.

But coaches and broadcasters let on like teams lose because a receiver fumbles the ball just before he crosses the goal line.

I know why coaches believe it is their own team’s mistakes that cost them games.

Coaches want to feel like their team is better and they have control over the game.

If they just cut out mistakes, their team will win. It has nothing to do with the other team.

But Simms pointed out turnovers usually happen because one team is outplaying another.

If your team can’t block the other team’s line, that’s when turnovers happen.

That means your quarterback has to throw before he wants to if he is not getting sacked.

He then throws the ball to a well-covered receiver and the ball is intercepted.

Running backs more often than not fumble the ball when a defender hits them hard.

I have watched football for 34 years and haven’t seen a running back drop the ball in the open field that many times. Yeah, it happens but not that often at the NFL level at least.

Long story short: Turnovers happen because one team is better than the other most of the time.

This one I don’t think is in anybody’s book and I don’t think I can explain it but I will try.

It used to drive my brother-in-law Jim crazy when an announcer would say: If (insert quarterback’s name here) gets hot, he will beat you.

Jim would turn to me and say, isn’t he beating you as he is getting “hot?”

As the quarterback is completing passes, he is making first downs and touchdowns so therefore he is beating you.

He doesn’t get to a “hot” stage and then beat the other team.

OK, that one is hard to understand.

I’ll call it a day.

tommy.millsaps@advocateand democrat.com | 337-7101.

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