Friday, Saturday, Sunday in Texas

by Nick Eatman

  That actually stemmed from Briles’ coaching days at Stephenville High School, when he amazed his players with not only his willingness to hit the bench press with them, but also his brute strength to boot. He’s always had the philosophy of “don’t ask players to do something you’re not willing to do yourself.”

  Even at Baylor in 2011, star receiver and future first-round draft pick, Kendall Wright, made a bet with Briles that if the Bears upset Texas Christian University in the season opener, Briles would take his shirt off and show how “rocked up” he was. Sure enough, Baylor outlasted the Horned Frogs, 50–48, in a wild shootout that seemed to spark a rivalry that has now gone to new extremes. But after the game, Briles busted through the locker room doors, ripped off his shirt, and the players absolutely erupted into a mosh pit scene for the ages.

  But three weeks into the season felt like three months for Briles in 2015. Without a doubt, the off-season distractions had taken their toll.

  Even though things had died down from the August sexual assault charges against former player Sam Ukwuachu and the claims that Briles knew of his alleged violent history at Boise State, the backlash was damaging.

  There were nights when Briles didn’t eat much and certainly had difficulty sleeping. Now, getting ready for an opponent like Rice would cause him to stay up regardless, thinking about any type of advantage he could gain for his team. But throw in the ongoing Pepper Hamilton investigation, which led to him having to suspend two defensive starters before the SMU game; and the Lamar outing that violated NCAA rules, which resulted in the suspension of two coaches, including his son. He also had to suspend and eventually dismiss tight end Tre’Von Armstead from the squad on September 18 for violating team rules, also stemming from the Pepper Hamilton investigation, in which it was revealed that Armstead and teammate Myke Chatman had been named in an alleged sexual assault that was never reported to authorities in 2013.

  Needless to say, the stress was piling up for Briles.

  And he didn’t forget about the recent slip-up with passing game coordinator Jeff Lebby, also Briles’ son-in-law, which caused Lebby to get suspended for a half when the Bears played Oklahoma on November 14.

  Make no mistake, Briles knew exactly what the problem was, and maybe that was one reason why the Bears had struggled in the first half against both SMU and Lamar before pulling away for 35-point wins.

  “I lost my edge,” he said, something he even shared with the media in the week leading up to the Rice game. “I had an edge about me for a long time as a person and a coach. I don’t want to lose that or let somebody take it away from me.”

  And sure enough, people were trying. Not just the media, but even coaches he was going to face later in the season.

  There’s certainly no love lost between TCU and Baylor, which has become one of college football’s most intense rivalries. The 2013 meeting in Fort Worth included Briles and Horned Frogs’ head coach Gary Patterson exchanging words near midfield in the middle of the game and then again afterward when, while shaking hands, Briles told Patterson to “leave it on the field and shake it off.” Patterson then used his postgame press conference as a platform to call out Briles, Bears safety Ahmad Dixon, and just about everything else, saying he wouldn’t “take a backseat to anyone,” despite his team’s going on to finish with a 4–8 record and miss a bowl game.

  That was just the beginning, though. The 2014 contest was absolutely epic as Baylor rallied from twenty-one points down in the fourth quarter to win, 61–58, a score that resurfaced many times throughout the year as the polls continued to put TCU ahead of Baylor despite their identical records.

  And before the 2015 season began, Baylor’s team photo showed offensive linemen Jarell Broxton and Spencer Drango standing side by side, putting numbers 61 and 58 together. Coincidence or jab? Baylor officials said it was not planned and explained that seniors stand together by position, and that Broxton and Drango were two of just four senior linemen.

  Still, the picture went viral, adding yet another dimension to this rivalry between private schools that are less than ninety miles apart.

  Leading up to Baylor’s game against Rice, Briles saw about seven phone calls and texts from friends, colleagues, and even family members, wanting to know if he had “heard what Patterson said.”

  At the time, he hadn’t, but it wasn’t long before word trickled “south.”

  Patterson was dealing with his own off-the-field issues after two players were arrested for robbery. In the middle of a press conference to announce the news, he got a little testy with reporters who were digging for more information on the case, in particular about TCU defensive end Mike Tuaua.

  “I’m not going to let you all say this guy (Tuaua) is a bad person. If he made a mistake, he made a mistake,” said Patterson. “It’s not even close to what happened south of here.”

  South, as in Waco—as in the Baylor incident, which was most likely a situation Patterson didn’t know much about. A few days later, Patterson denied any reference toward the Bears, but said it was reactionary to outside comparisons between the two cases.

  As expected, Briles was asked to make a comment by Waco reporters, but he didn’t take the bait. “Casually, yeah,” Briles answered when questioned about whether he had heard Patterson’s comments. “But what did David say? Did [Rice head coach] David Bailiff say something? No? Okay, well, I’m worried about Rice. We’re playing football. That’s where we take our shots, on the football field.”

  Whether or not that was added fuel for the Bears, or it was just the fact that they were at full strength on the coaching staff and injured players had returned to the field, Baylor came out and dominated Rice on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at McLane Stadium. The traditionalists in the stands were happy to see the Bears trot out of the tunnel wearing gold helmets, green jerseys, and gold pants—the staple combination for Baylor in the 1970s and 1980s. The younger folks may like the different uniform looks, but this game had a throwback flavor, especially against a former Southwest Conference member in Rice, who was facing the Bears for the eightieth time, dating back to 1914.

  Flamboyant defensive end Shawn Oakman, sporting a green Mohawk, pumped up his defense with a playful jab at Rice’s much-publicized offense.

  “They came here to watch us,” Oakman said, pointing to the fans piling in. “We’re the show. Let’s put on a show.”

  And while the defense did just that, the offense matched it and then some. For the third straight game, the Bears scored a touchdown on their opening possession as KD Cannon showed off his speed by catching up to Seth Russell’s pass in the back of the end zone. Russell then hit Jay Lee and Corey Coleman with two more touchdown passes before the end of the first quarter.

  “They’ve all got one now,” Russell joked to offensive coordinator, Kendal Briles, referring to Baylor’s top three receivers; like all players at that position, they never got the ball enough, always claimed to be open, and loved scoring touchdowns.

  In the second quarter, Coleman hauled in another score, making a highlight-reel grab over a defender in the end zone. When it eventually came time for All-America and Biletnikoff Award honors for Coleman, this highlight of him jumping into the screen for the touchdown would be remembered as one of his best. It even got his usually calm head coach to rip off his headset and throw his ball cap in the air with excitement. Coleman later scored again before halftime, showcasing his own speed down the left sideline.

  “Best in America,” Art Briles yelled at Coleman as he made his way back toward a jubilant and packed sideline. Briles used to call Kendall Wright “BIC” for Best In the Country, but this revised nickname for Coleman seemed applicable as well.

  Baylor cruised to a 70–17 win over the Owls, with Russell completing only twelve passes, although six went for touchdowns. For the third straight game freshman backup, Jarrett Stidham, played the majori
ty of the fourth quarter and threw another touchdown pass, the second of his career.

  “We played with energy today,” Briles said in his postgame press conference. “We hadn’t played with a lot of energy in the first two games. We challenged our players this week. We challenged the coaches. I was happy with this good, solid win, but I was really happy with the energy we had.”

  Briles showed some energy of his own when talking with the media, asking Bob Simpson, the owner of the Texas Rangers and a Baylor supporter who was standing nearby, if the Rangers had won a crucial late-season game against the Astros. He also wrapped up the briefing by talking about his big men up front.

  “We’ve got four seniors on the (offensive) line. They have some experience, so they should play good, or well, if you’re an English teacher,” he said while getting up from the table. “Which, I am.”

  And with that, it appeared Briles had his edge back.

  Briles left the press conference room and was eager to meet up with his wife and daughters and grab some much-needed dinner. While there might have been a healthy traffic jam outside the stadium, Briles knew there was clear sailing in his path back home.

  With their house right off the Brazos River just outside of Waco, Jan drove their pontoon boat to McLane Stadium, participating in the new tradition of “sail-gating” outside of the stadium. So afterward Briles met up with his family, hopped on the boat, waved to a few fans still relaxing in their party cruisers, and they headed back to the house.

  With his feet up near the front of the boat, Briles grabbed his phone and went to work on responding to the hundreds of calls and text messages he received from friends and family after a game.

  About a month removed from what was a tumultuous month of August, Baylor was now 3–0 after a crushing win over an in-state school. For the moment, at least, it was literally smooth sailing for Briles and his football team.

  Sunday

  From the Pop Warner stage to junior high, high school, college football, and on to the pros, there is one constant that typically holds true: lose your starting quarterback for any length of time, and the situation can get dire.

  In high school, there are typically a couple of backups on the roster; however, teams often move talented players from running back or receiver into the quarterback slot, allowing a more skilled player the opportunity to handle the ball every snap.

  In college, the backup quarterbacks are scholarship players with talent, but perhaps lack game-day experience. Yet, they are still recruited for a reason, and when their number is called, they are expected to deliver.

  But either way, injuries in high school and college football are somewhat the same in that adding help from the outside is out of the question.

  The NFL is obviously a different story, especially early in the season.

  With Tony Romo out for eight weeks with a collarbone injury, the Cowboys had to turn their attention to Brandon Weeden, a first-round pick of the Browns in 2012, who was waived by Cleveland after two unproductive years.

  As a backup to Romo, Weeden was seemingly a good fit, providing a strong arm and if anything else, a strong pedigree as the twenty-second overall pick just three seasons earlier.

  In the NFL, backup quarterbacks are hot commodities, strictly for the “just in case” scenarios like this. Now, the Cowboys were headed for a backup plan for the backup.

  Even though both Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett expressed extreme confidence in Weeden, the Cowboys covered their own bases by trading for an experienced veteran in Matt Cassel, who had actually started the first game of the season for the Bills just two weeks earlier.

  Cassel had bounced around the league for ten years, starting in New England as Tom Brady’s backup for four years before becoming a starter in Kansas City, where he made a Pro Bowl in 2010. But his 34–38 all-time record as a starter was both the reason he kept getting jobs and also the reason why he was often available. Teams want quarterbacks who have won games. But when they lose a little more than they win, they become expendable.

  Cassel was expendable to Buffalo, who dealt him to Dallas for a better draft pick two years down the road. By sending over a veteran quarterback, the Bills now got the Cowboys’ fifth-round pick in 2017 in exchange for a seventh-rounder that year.

  It seemed trivial to swap late-round picks in two years for a quarterback because it was. The Bills had no interest in keeping Cassel in the fold but didn’t want to give him away for nothing. By trading for Cassel, the Cowboys had to absorb his contract, which counted about $1.75 million against the team’s salary cap, which was a little north of $143 million in 2015.

  Oddly enough, Cassel’s addition put a strain on the camp, forcing the Cowboys to shuffle around some money on the cap, a common procedure that occurs far more than it ever gets announced. However, one move the Cowboys made this week was to restructure tight end Jason Witten’s contract. In a move that was more semantics than anything else, Witten saw his $5.1 million base salary reduced to $3.6 million, but turned it into a $1.5 million roster bonus, which he received immediately. It helped the Cowboys gain some cap room for the current year in case they needed to sign other players or trade for more veterans such as Cassel. And the Cowboys didn’t mind pushing more money into next year’s cap, especially for Witten, who hadn’t shown much sign of slowing down—at least on game days.

  Witten had played through broken ribs, sprained ankles and knees, and most famously, a lacerated spleen injury that occurred early in training camp in 2012. That injury figured to keep Witten out at least six weeks, if not longer.

  But Witten had no interest in that medical opinion, or even the second and third opinions that he received from various doctors. Finally, Witten found a New York doctor that eventually cleared him to play in the Week 1 opener against the Giants, of course. The tight end clearly wasn’t his usual self in that game or even the next two, where his lack of mobility to catch passes over his head was evident, even forcing some media members to question if the end of his brilliant career was starting to surface.

  Instead, Witten continued to improve that season and wound up setting an NFL record for catches in a single season by a tight end, hauling in 110, including a franchise-record seventeen in the rematch with the Giants later in the season.

  So doubting Witten and his availability to play seemed rather worthless, as he entered 2015 with ten Pro Bowls in his first twelve seasons. That’s why few people in the organization, from coaches to teammates and even the team trainers, were concerned to see Witten actually on crutches the Monday following the Philadelphia game, nursing two sprained ankles.

  Some of the more veteran media members in the market, the ones that knew better, purposefully asked Witten his chances of missing Sunday’s game with the Falcons.

  “Come on, man,” Witten said with a piercing grin because he knew the cameras were on, and he didn’t want to come across as surly or disrespectful. “We’ll see how the week goes, but I think I’ll be all right.”

  When the interview was over, Witten put on a ball cap, changed shoes to go work out, and muttered a few things to some other reporters who had stuck around by his locker to chat.

  “Tony is out. Dez is out. You think I’m going to miss my first game in twelve years because of an ankle injury?”

  “What about two ankle injuries?

  “I think you know where I’ll be on Sunday.”

  And to Witten, it was in no way a jab at Romo or Bryant, two players he didn’t have to question when it came to toughness. Sure, there had been times in the past when Witten had seen some teammates take themselves out of games or decide not to play with injuries that he wouldn’t even report to the training staff about.

  So as expected, Witten got himself healed and ready to play, and when he walked to the center of the field Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium for the noon kickoff as one of th
e team captains, Witten indeed extended his consecutive games streak to 190 games, closing in on the franchise record held by Bob Lilly at 198.

  Witten’s ankles seemed rather fine when he was hopping around in the pregame team huddle, head-butting anyone in his path as he yelled, “Every play. Every snap. From the first play to the last, let’s get after ’em today.”

  And from the very beginning, the Cowboys indeed got after the Falcons, whose 2–0 record not only matched the Cowboys, but they had also defeated the Eagles and Giants in the first two games.

  All eyes were fixed on Weeden, who was one of two active quarterbacks in the game along with Kellen Moore, who was promoted from the practice squad. Cassel, who arrived just a few days earlier, was deactivated for this game and stood on the sidelines in street clothes.

  The Cowboys came out with the perfect way to help a backup quarterback—run the football with authority. Joseph Randle racked up sixty-five yards on his first two carries, including a 37-yard touchdown that sent the AT&T Stadium crowd into a frenzy.

  Randle bounced off defenders at the line of scrimmage and on the goal line, but never went down. His hardest hit might have come from coach Jason Garrett, whose flying head-slap more than showed the coach’s approval and excitement in what was Randle’s best run of the season so far. Along with Garrett, Romo, with his left arm in a sling, was rather animated with his celebratory fist pumps as the offense came off the field.

  But despite Randle scoring the next Cowboys’ touchdown, he wasn’t the only running back to shine in the first half, as Darren McFadden got into the scoring act, with his first touchdown run of the season, giving Dallas a 21–7 lead.

  On the sidelines, Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown, a former NFL standout with the Oilers and Giants for eight years in the 1990s, had nothing but praise for both of his backs, who had battled for the starting position through camp and the off-season.