Madden Cruiser blog
Follow the latest from John Madden's bus during the NFL season
/ Wade "Junk" Junco preparing the short ribs on the Madden Cruiser.
Saturday, September 27th
McNabb feast
Our day with the Eagles began of course with film of last week's game against the Steelers, man did the Eagles defense get some pressure on Ben Roethlisberger. As Coach Robinson says, "He is lucky he got out with his life." The less documented fact was that Donovan McNabb also took a bit of a beating. This game was a very physical game and a hard fought win for the Eagles.
After film we had a window of time before taking off for the Eagles hotel at 3:10. At their hotel, Coach and the crew met with Andy Reid, Coach Johnson, Stewart Bradley and Donovan McNabb. As is the McNabb family tradition, Donovan's mom and dad cooked a soul food dinner for the entire team and he invited Coach to come and enjoy. Of course I followed closely behind into the feast and man what a spread! Here is the menu as it was published for the team: fried chicken, BBQ chicken, baked turkey, baked orange roughy lemon pepper, baked orange roughy cajun, BBQ beef spare ribs, assorted greens, green beans w/smoked turkey, corn, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti w/meat sauce, candied sweet potatoes, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, corn muffins and dinner rolls! Man was it good! A great tradition and we were most appreciative!
Following the feast we loaded on the cruiser and went back to the hotel for a little hang before the fight between "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga.
Friday, September 26th
Struggling stars in Chicago
Friday was our Bears day which meant an 8:10 departure from the hotel for the trip out to Lake Forest to the Bears facility and meetings with Lovie Smith, Coach Turner and then Bears practice. Practice ended up having a little twist for us this week, our meeting room overlooked the practice fields and as luck would have it they were literally practicing right below us so we watched Coach's first practice ever from an office. As Coach said, I would normally make fun of a bunch of guys watching practice from an office but this might have been the best practice he has ever seen. Following practice some cheesesteaks arrived via the Madden Cruiser and Kyle Orton, Alex Brown and Matt Forte came by to talk to Coach and the crew.
After a two-hour ride back into the city because of traffic we finally got to get down to studying some film of the Chicago Bears against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coming out of the meetings it didn't sound like the Bears were too high on Brian Urlacher and watching the film you could see that it looks like he is just a half beat slow in getting to or making the play every play. Tommie Harris was also a guy that was almost transparent on the film. I guess we are just so used to seeing those guys flash that when they are just guys it is dissapointing.
After film Coach retired to his room for some room service and the Presidential debate.
Thursday, September 25th
Relaxing night
The cruiser had a rare Thursday off as we brought Coach to Chicago on Sunday night after our game in Green Bay. So Thursday evening Coach, Dick, Susan Saint James, Vinny, Fred, Drew and I met at the hotel and walked around the corner to have dinner at The Saloon. Followed by a short lobby hang until we caught wind that the USC Trojans were down 21-0 at the half. We all went up to our rooms for the rest of the evening.
Saturday and Sunday, September 20th and 21st
Saturday was our Cowboys day with film in the morning, the looked pretty good against the Eagles. Boy do they use Jason Witten in a bunch of different ways. Even after he separated his shoulder they continued to use him to lead block for Marion Barber, put him in the slot, put him outside, use him on the line blocking. He does everything. Next on the schedule was an hour trip south to meet with the Cowboys Saturday evening which meant a late return to our hotel.
Sunday was much like every other Sunday with the meeting in the morning and then a gap of time before the cruiser left for the stadium. As is Coach's tradition he likes to have a tailgate for the game in Green Bay and cook up 500 brats that Johnsonville gives him, he was given a lifetime supply a few years ago. As has also become tradition, my friend Kirk Lewis comes up from Dallas and is our head chef along with this year the guys from John's radio show in San Francisco on KCBS, Stan Bunger, Steve Bitker, Mike Sugarman and Doug Sovern. They had flown out for a weekend of Cardinals/Cubs on Saturday and Cowboys/Packers on Sunday and Coach asked them if they would like to help with the tailgate on Sunday night. They were more than happy to help Coach cook his 500 brats! Then of course a game broke out and the Cowboys came out and took care of their business and left town with their first ever win at Lambeau Field.
Friday, September 20th
Junk '09
The Madden Cruiser left the hotel for Packers practice at 9:45. We were greated by Jeff Blumb the Packers P.R. director. As we are walking out to practice Coach asks Jeff if he has gotten his Madden '09 game for his son yet, Jeff replies I hadn't seen Junk yet and that whenever there was an opportunity he would bother me for the game. That opens the door for Coach, who am I, who do you think you have to ask, giving Jeff a hard time then of course it continues and Coach finally says something like did they change the name to Junk '09? That stuck for the rest of the day. At practice of course we watched Aaron Rogers closely. We had seen him in practice before running the scout team but now he is the man in Green Bay.
After practice the cruiser went over to Lambeau Field for the crew to meet with the Coaches and a couple players before returning to the hotel for film and then dinner at the hotel restaurant. Over dinner Dick asked Coach how he met Al Davis for the first time. Coach was at San Diego State as the defensive coordinator, they were ranked number two at the time and preparing to face the number one team. Coach's routine was to go sit on one particular bench before practice and put the final touches on the defensive game plan and Al came over and introduced himself. Al had just come back from being the AFL Commisioner and was looking to hire another coach for his staff with the Raiders. Little did Coach know that he had been recommended by the former coach at San Diego State to Al and this was his interview. Al offered him the linebackers coach job and that was the beginning of his Hall of Fame tenure with the Raiders. By the way San Diego State won the game!
Thursday, Sept. 19th
Political cheeseheads
The Outback Madden Cruiser pulled out of Chicago at 1:00 this afternoon with Coach, J.J., Willie and I aboard, destination Green Bay minus Brett Favre for the first time in a very long time. Along the way Coach and I watched the Green Bay Packers from last week against the Detroit Lions. We got about an hour out of town and called to check in with Vinny. That was when we found out that John McCain and Sarah Palin were in Green Bay trying to wrestle up some support from one of the midwest swing states.
Dinner was kept local at the restaurant in the hotel with just Coach, Vinny and I attending. The rest of the crew were coming in later in the evening with Dick. After dinner we went outside to take in some fresh air and continue the story telling when about that time in come some guys in suits with cheeseheads that were plastered with McCain/Palin stickers. You know you have arrived when you can lay your eyes on a cheesehead with political stickers attached!
Saturday September 13th
Saturday started with film of the Pittsburgh Steelers drubbing the Houston Texans last week. Their offensive line looked a lot better than they were talked about and the defense didn't look quite as good as they were talked about this week. After film we all retired to our rooms for a few hours before leaving for the Steelers hotel at 3:20. Coach and the crew met with Mike Tomlin, Bruce Arians, Dick LeBeau and Ben Roethlisberger. Following those meetings we loaded back up on the cruiser and headed back to our hotel to watch the Ohio State-Southern Cal ball game.
Friday September 12th
Coach and the crew had our normal Friday with meetings at the Cleveland Browns facility as well as practice and on camera interviews with some of their players. At practice Derek Anderson looked pretty good with a lot of balls thrown to Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards which is exactly what you would expect when two of their top two receivers are out, Joe Jurevicius and Donte Stallworth. During practice Bernie Kosar came over and talked to Coach for quite a while. Coach asked him what he thought of Anderson and Bernie said that he throws a good middle and deep ball, 15-40 yards, but the shorter throws he really needs work. During our film study later in the day it came up again and Coach saw that his 3 and 5 step drops are short drops. He doesn't really take 3 or 5 full steps getting back to the point where he sets up and it might rush him and really effect his timing and those short throws. Coach also saw in the film that they don't really have a pass rusher and that comes from not having a real pass rusher. The thought before watching the film was that Kamerion Wimbley was that guy but he didn't flash at all and really didn't look like much of a pass rusher and certainly didn't look like a guy that had 11 sacks in his rookie year a couple years ago.
Coach, Dick, Fred Gaudelli and I went to a mall food court attached to the hotel for some dinner and then an uneventful lobby hang followed.
Thursday, September 11th
Madden, the relationship saver
The Outback Madden Cruiser pulled out of Chicago for Cleveland at 11:00 a.m. with an anticipated arrival around 6:00 this evening. Once we got settled at the hotel we hung around until Dick and the rest of the crew arrived. Morton's was on the menu for the evening and Dick had brought along some sweet corn that Susan, his wife, had sent along for all of us to enjoy with our dinner.
After dinner Coach and I had a little lobby hang with Vinny. While hanging a couple of guys came up to have their pictures taken with Coach. One of the guys thanked Coach for saving his relationship so Coach being the curious person that he is asks how he did that. The gentleman says Coach’s game helped save his relationship and he is still in it. So just as the picture is being taken, Coach asks, “How did the game save your relationship?”
“Usually it goes the other way,” the gentleman says, “see I was cheating and she caught me. I explained to her that she wasn't giving me what a man needs, Madden '08, so she bought it for me and now I stay home.”
Needless to say it provided a good laugh for the three of us and gave him a good story to tell his boys.
Sept. 7 and 8
Sunday Night Football is back
Saturday began with Coach and the crew watching the Colts do their Saturday morning walkthrough followed by meeting with Tony Dungy, Ron Meeks, Tom Moore, Bob Sanders and Peyton Manning. During the walk through Coach talked about Peyton and his size. He looks like he has lost quite a bit of weight as a result of the infection and the prescriptions that are required to help battle the infection in his knee.
After the meetings we got back on the Cruiser and went back to the hotel for a short break before heading to the Bears hotel. At the Bears hotel Coach met with Lovie Smith, Ron Turner, Brian Urlacher and Kyle Orton. After the meetings we went back to our hotel and called it a night.
Sunday morning was back to a normal Sunday with our editorial meeting followed by the graphics tape and pre-produced packages tape. After the meeting Coach took his normal walk and then up to the room to watch the Sunday afternoon games and put the final touches on the preparation for the game before our 4:45 departure for the new Lucas Oil Stadium.
The game's outcome was one that none of us saw coming. The Bears really had all the answers tonight and they were just more physical and got a big win.
Friday, Sept. 5
Film time
The Cruiser pulled into Indianapolis at about 10:30 this morning. The trip was fairly uneventful with a little rain as the remnants of Hurricane Gustav passed us by in Western Ohio.
Our workday started at 2 p.m. with Colts film from their third preseason game as well as their playoff game against the San Diego Chargers. Following Colts film we took a break for a little while and came back together at six to watch the Chicago Bears film from their Week 3 preseason game. For dinner we had Buca Di Beppo at the request of Drew Esocoff who was celebrating his birthday. He wanted pizza, antipasti and Budweiser. That is exactly what we had while we watched the Bears. We also had some key lime pie and Dick brought Dunkin’ Donuts brightly decorated to celebrate the occasion.
After film Coach went down to hang in the lobby for a little while and Archie and Olivia Manning came through to go to dinner next door at the Capital Grille. Coach hung out for a little while to see if maybe Peyton would drop by but he slipped in another door on us. Off to bed we went to get a good night’s sleep.
Sept. 3 and 4
The opener
These two days have have been action packed from beginning to end. Wednesday morning the Outback Madden Cruiser picked Coach up at his apartment to take him to the NBC hotel in lower Manhattan. Upon arrival Coach and I went directly into meetings and film that lasted until about two in the afternoon, followed by a 2:45 departure for the Redskins hotel. While at the Redskins, Coach and the crew talked to Jim Zorn as well as a few players and coordinator. Following those meetings Dick Ebersol, Coach and I loaded back up and headed back into the city for the evening. On the way we talked at length about the Olympics and how it captivated the entire country was, no matter your age. As we were heading down the West Side Highwa,y Dick says something like if you drop me off at 56th street I will grab a cab. Coach insists that we drop him off at the office. After we dropped Dick off Coach and I kind of looked at each other with a quizzical look. How were a couple of schlubs like us going to drop The Chairman of NBC Sports off on 56th street to grab a cab.
Thursday was a continuation of Wednesday starting with a meeting at 8:15 followed by a couple hours break before we left for the ball yard at three. With the hotel being so far down the island, Coach made the decision that with Ray Stein's help we should take a van through the Lincoln Tunnel and meet the bus just on the other side with a police escort on both sides. Everything came together and we arrived a little before four. The kickoff to our season was really special. The Giants used this as an opportunity to celebrate their championships and the production was really fantastic. The fans were really able to show their appreciation to the 2007 Giants for bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to the Meadowlands.
Following the game Coach, Coach Robinson, J.J., Joe and I loaded up with some great short ribs that Robin Stein, Ray's wife, made for us and headed for Indianapolis to do it all over again.
Tuesday, Sept. 2
Remembering Gene
Coach was one of the nine speakers at Gene Upshaw's Memorial Service this morning that could be described as an emotional celebration of a great man's life. First to speak was Gene's brother Marvin, followed by Art Shell, Coach's left tackle outside Upshaw at guard, and then Coach was up.
He spoke of Gene as being a barrier breaker as a big, tall, strong guard to protect against growing defensive tackles at the time and he used words like big, strong, fast, smart, funny, teammate, compassionate, tough, friend to everyone, fun to coach and manipulative to describe Gene. He then went on to tell a couple of stories to describe his ability to manipulate. In a game Gene was called for holding and of course denied it on the field and Coach of course said there is no way he held on the play and that he saw the whole thing. Coach didn't see anything.
The next day Coach is watching the film and sees the play and Gene not only holds the guy, he tackles him. Coach calls him into his office and says, “Gene we just can't do those things!” Gene says well Coach the guy had a clear shot at “Snake”, Ken Stabler, and he was going to kill him. Not get to him or tackle him, but kill him. “Do you want Snake to get killed or do you want me to hold?” said Gene.
Of course Coach says he doesn’t want Snake killed. Gene goes to the locker room and tells the guys that Coach said it was all right to hold. One of the guys asks Coach if he said it was okay to hold now so Coach has to give the explanation. It was a great example of how Gene could negotiate and manipulate words and people. Another story or two and an emotional finale brought Coach's portion of the day to an end.
Following the ceremony we all met back at the hotel and the cruiser picked us up there to head back to New York to finish getting ready for the Redskins at the Giants on Thursday night.
Monday, Sept. 1
Olympic opening
The Madden Cruiser made its first stop of the regular season this morning at Giants Stadium to watch Giants practice and meet with Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, Brandon Jacobs and Steve Spagnuolo. Coach and the crew were watching practice when out of the corner of my eye came a young lady that looked pretty familiar. Sanya Richards, a Unites States Olympian, who is engaged to Aaron Ross, a cornerback with the Giants, came out to practice. She was between meets and came out to visit and brought with her the gold and bronze medals that she won in Beijing. That was pretty cool to be able to see something that special up close. They are bigger than I thought they would be. During practice Coach talked about how he thinks the Giants will really miss Jeremy Shockey and his physical presence, and how their tight end crew is really young now.
After practice Coach, J.J., Joe and I got on the cruiser to head down to Washington D.C. to attend Gene Upshaw's Memorial Service tomorrow morning.
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