The Legend of Jesse Smoke

by Robert Bausch

  On the scoreboard we could see that the Giants had beaten up on the Patriots 38 to 3. They were now 12 and 4. We needed a win to keep pace in the division race.

  Early in the fourth quarter, Jesse started clicking on short, quick passes to Gayle Glenn Louis and Walter Mickens. Then she hit Sean Rice on a crossing pattern about 15 yards downfield. He caught the ball, ducked under a tackle, and raced to the San Diego 9-yard line. On the next play, Mickens ran around the left end and scored. Jesse kicked the extra point and we had the lead 10 to 6.

  On the next series the Chargers went three and out. We took over on our 26-yard line. I called a trap on the right side with Mickens and he gained 7 yards. On the next play I wanted another run up the gut, but Jesse changed the play at the line, dropped back into the pocket, drifted a little to her left under the pressure, and threw a perfect pass, 40 yards in the air to Sean Rice racing down the right sideline. He took it the rest of the way for a 67-yard touchdown pass. Jesse kicked the extra point for a 17 to 6 lead, and that’s how it ended. The Chargers never crossed midfield after the third quarter.

  I don’t just credit Jesse with this—although she had to be a part of it, because everybody seemed to play harder and pull together so completely after the lawsuit—but for the first time since I got into coaching, I was with a team that was playing together on every level. We were like a college team—full of fight and emotion and true comradeship—only a helluva lot more seasoned. Our defense was every bit as good and dominant as our offense. And we were putting everything together at just the right time of year. This was football as I’d never seen it played before.

  After the San Diego game a lot of the Charger players came up to Jesse, wanting to get close to her and pat her on the back. Most of them said, “Great game,” or “Good job, QB,” or something like that. They seemed to want her to know they hadn’t been in favor of what the players’ union had done on their supposed behalf. San Diego’s quarterback, a guy named Jake Pauley, said, “Congratulations, Jesse. We’ll see you guys in the Super Bowl.”

  I thought he might be right about that.

  We had to fly to Green Bay the following week for a game on Christmas Eve, and then we’d have the Giants at home.

  The plane ride back from San Diego was a loud and happy celebration. Our only injury was to Dan Wilber, who got kicked in the shin late in the game and had to limp off the field for a few plays. He had a pretty ugly bruise but said not to worry. He’d be ready the following week.

  Green Bay could be tough if the weather was bad, but, at just 7 and 9 they’d been decimated by injuries. Coach Engram announced on the plane that Dave Schott would continue to play in Orlando’s place. Meanwhile, Talon Jones was knocking people into oblivion at linebacker and Drew Bruckner was now getting good and healthy. Everybody was beginning to believe in us. Even if this didn’t turn out to be our year, it was already a season that no one would forget. I couldn’t wait to see Jesse in the playoffs.

  Green Bay was easy. The weather was unseasonably warm for that time of year, sunny and in the low 40s, with almost no wind. Jesse had a great day throwing. She completed 18 of 22, for 351 yards and 5 touchdowns. Exley caught two—one from 40 yards and the other from 36. Anders caught one for 81 yards (Jesse put it in the air more than 55 yards before he caught it), and Sean Rice caught two—one from 15 yards and the other a 31-yard pass and run on a short wide receiver screen. Walter Mickens ran for 144 yards on 16 carries, scoring a touchdown. Jesse kicked two field goals, a 28-yarder and another from 34.

  As for defense, we held Green Bay to 109 yards of total offense. They didn’t get the ball on our side of the field all day. Damned if we didn’t shut them out. Our defense had eight sacks. The defensive line had four (even Dave Schott got one) and Talon Jones, still playing middle linebacker, had three sacks of his own. Colin Briggs, our right cornerback, had a sack and two interceptions. The final score was 48 to 0.

  That same week, the Giants beat the Seahawks 27–14, making us both 13 and 4, tied for first place in the division. Here’s what the NFC East looked like going into the last week of the year:

  TEAM W–L PF PA

  New York 13–4 330 173

  Washington 13–4 435 212

  Dallas 8–9 315 297

  Philadelphia 7–10 316 368

  On New Year’s Eve, the Giants would have to come into our place and beat us for a second time. They whipped us pretty badly early in the year, when we had Ambrose at quarterback. Now, they were going to face Jesse.

  Did I mention that she was named Offensive Player of the Week after the Green Bay game, for the third time, no less. Again she was on the cover of Sports magazine and Pro Football Times. There was talk that she might be named NFL Man of the Year.

  And thus began the most unforgettable period of my life as a coach. And the most agonizing.

  Forty-One

  Everybody knows some version of the story by now, of course—ESPN, NFL Films, and even a few sportswriters have told the story. Believe it or not, though, one of the most accurate accountings of the last game of the season and our run at the Super Bowl was in that Hollywood movie, The Eyes of Jesse Smoke. The only thing really lacking in that film was Jesse herself. They were wise to use a lot of footage of her playing the game, and I have to say, the actress who played Jesse was athletic enough. But, not to take anything away from Jennifer Bradwell—she’s about the only actress who could have played Jesse; she was the right height and she had the flat nose and brown freckles—only Jesse could be Jesse.

  I can’t express, even after all these years, how glad I was to be involved in all of it, especially being in on it from the beginning. In some ways I felt as though I’d created Jesse out of thin air. I found her, and helped her find a way to play. I don’t think I taught her a thing about football, but I helped her prepare. From the start, see, it was just about doing that for her, getting her prepared. She was always grateful for every drill, every session we spent together getting her ready to try out for the team.

  I worked with Jesse Smoke almost every day of those last few weeks of that great first season. We were pretty worried about what the Giants would try to do to upset Jesse’s rhythm, as they called it. A few stories had been appearing in the New York media about how the Giants would have to rattle her, find a way to get into her head.

  On offense it was clear they were going to try and run the ball against us as they had in that first game. Edward Engel was still their right tackle, and, like last time, he’d be working on Orlando Brown, who had recovered enough to come back at defensive end. But as long as there was no residual pain from his knee injury, Orlando was not the same player Engel had faced in that earlier game. Not only were we getting back to full strength—almost everybody else was pretty healthy, too—our run of injuries had forced us to uncover other talented players. Dave Busch had developed into an outstanding offensive guard. We even ran a few plays that required him to pull and run like hell to the other side. Dave Schott was a capable end on either side when Orlando needed a breather, and Talon Jones was almost as good at linebacker as Drew Bruckner had been. Drew was doing so well we listed him as probable. He would get to play a bit, but we wouldn’t put him in there for the whole game.

  What worried us most was the Giants quarterback, Scott Hempel. Strong and fast, he could run as well as pass. He moved around in the pocket as well as anyone in the league and he could throw just as accurately. At the other end of his heat-seeking passes, you may remember, was none other than six-foot-six wide receiver Taylor Price, who could jump like a kangaroo and had great hands. Even double-covered, the guy could make the most dazzling plays.

  It was not going to be an easy game, no, but we were confident we could do better than we’d done in the first go-round. With Jesse at quarterback.

  Jesse wanted to throw the ball, of course—and that was part of our game plan—but our main concern was stopping the Giants enough to get her the ball. Of all the teams we’d faced that year, the Giants h
ad the best offense. On the ground or in the air, they could dominate a game. They might not have scored as many points as we did all season, but it wasn’t because they didn’t have the firepower; it was because they took their time going down the field. And when they got close, they usually scored. They led the league in yardage and time of possession, by a long shot. Whereas, even with Jesse’s passing and our more-than-capable running game we were rated fourth.

  Further, the Giant defense, too, was the best in the league. They’d given up all of 173 points all year—an average of a little over 10 points a game. Everything these guys did was precise, deliberate, machinelike. Even the games they lost were close and could have gone either way.

  All that week the weather was warmer than usual, so we got in some very good practices. Jesse and I worked on the game plan together with Coach Engram. He spent a lot of time with the defense, though, so most of what we finally installed for the game was what Jesse and I had worked out. She watched film with me all that week after practice, and stayed out with the wide receivers to work on timing and quick patterns. She wanted to be sharp. The players stayed after sometimes to watch her working with Darius and the rest of the gang. If anything, it looked like her release was getting even quicker. Sometimes she’d get to firing balls as they were tossed to her and the people watching would gasp at the speed of it: The balls would just get to her and then they’d be on their way, as if they bounced off of her and she didn’t catch each one, put her hands on the laces, and fire it downfield. Her release was that quick.

  On game day—New Year’s Eve—the air was cold and white. The temperature at game time was 12 degrees, and what little wind there was sliced through your skin like something made of steel. The sky was empty, unforgiving.

  Our game started at 4:00, so there was not much light left and it was only getting colder as the sun disappeared behind the U.S. Capitol. The field was as hard as a concrete parking lot. We won the coin toss, and since there was no wind to speak of, we decided to receive the opening kickoff. Sean Rice ran it out to our 22-yard line.

  On our first play from scrimmage, Mickens was stopped for a 2-yard loss. I called a quick slant to Gayle Glenn Louis, but when Jesse dropped back, Dan Wilber accidentally stepped on her foot and she fell down. As she scrambled to get back up, we saw what the Giants were going to do with her all day. Two of them broke through our offensive line and knocked her to the ground just as she released the ball. Louis caught it and ran for about 4 yards, but now it was third and 8, and Jesse was shaking her head in disgust getting back to the huddle.

  On the next play, she dropped straight back and hit Darius for a 12-yard gain. Again, just as she released the ball, a Giant lineman plowed into her and threw her to the ground. He drew a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer, but it didn’t seem to matter. They were going to put the pressure on, and if they couldn’t get to her before she passed, by god they were going to knock her down even after she released the ball if they could get away with it.

  Our drive stalled at midfield and we had to punt.

  It went like that the whole game, a struggle between the big fellows at midfield. Our guys stopped their running game, and we had one of our cornerbacks, Colin Briggs, and strong safety Doug Harris, shadowing Taylor Price all over the field.

  At halftime, the score was Giants 6, Redskins 3. Jesse had kicked a 31-yard field goal. But she had spent the better part of that first half flat on her back. She got knocked down on almost every play. The Giants were penalized for roughing the passer four times, but it didn’t help. Our line was as good as ever, but the Giants pass rush was furious, relentless, and determined. Even on running plays, they came. I was worried they’d kill her.

  She came to the sideline, frustrated and angry but under control. She wanted to solve what they were doing but couldn’t take even a few seconds to look downfield before they were on her from every possible direction. In spite of the strength of our offensive line, it was almost impossible to figure out how to block a pass rush that almost always consisted of a blitz from somewhere—a cornerback, a linebacker, a safety. Sometimes they’d zone blitz—that is, rush a safety and corner and let a defensive lineman back up and get into pass coverage. On any given play the line had to predict where the rush was coming from, and even when they got it right, the Giants came at Jesse and tried to knock her down. Twice they actually batted her pass to the ground before it went five feet. They only sacked her once, but on almost every play they knocked her down after she’d released the ball. Quarterback knockdowns and hurries—that was what they were after, and that’s what they got. I never heard a crowd boo so loudly. Every time they knocked Jesse down it sounded like the stadium might actually explode from the noise. If I had been a Giants player, I would have been shaking in my boots.

  Finally, near the end of the third quarter, we downed a punt on our 45-yard line, and Jesse suggested we try a few rollout passes. It wasn’t something we’d practiced, but I let her go ahead. She started rolling out a little, flipping the ball almost as soon as she got it. The first time she tried it, she hit Mickens with a 5-yard swing pass and he gained 13 yards to the Giant 42. She handed off to Mickens on the next play and he gained 5 yards off tackle. Then she took the ball from center and moved a little to her left, reading their defense, and threw a 10-yard strike to Sean Rice, who twisted his way to the Giant 27. Now we were in range for a tie.

  On the next play, the Giants stuffed Mickens for no gain. I could see them out there, getting ready for another furious pass rush. Jesse’s uniform was covered in field lime and dirt. I told her to call a draw play. They broke the huddle. She leaned down under center, calling the signals. Steam shot out of everyone’s mouth. The Giants jumped too soon and got called for encroachment, a 5-yard penalty. Now it was second and 5 from their 22. I called the same play. Jesse walked to the line, surveyed their defense, and then changed the play at the line, calling instead a quick seam pass to the tight end. It looks like this:

  Well, Gayle Glenn Louis ran it perfectly. The Giants tried an all-out blitz up the middle and the seam was wide open. Jesse rolled slightly to her left and then flipped the ball to Louis just as she was flattened by their safety. She never even got a chance to see Louis strut into the end zone, untouched.

  She got up, shook it off a bit, and then, kicking the extra point, raised her hands in the air. We were ahead 10 to 6. When she came off the field, there was blood trickling down from her nose and mouth. Those points simply could not have been more hard-earned. While the Giants had the ball, the team doctor ran Jesse through the concussion protocol. I held my breath, in fear we’d lose her the rest of the game, but in spite of the bloody nose and mouth, she was fine.

  ∙ ∙ ∙

  Our defense had done a spectacular job all through the game, but early in the fourth quarter, Elbert James twisted his ankle and had to come out. We put Dave Schott in to replace him and the defense continued to hold the Giants off, but with about 3 minutes left, Hempel started marching them downfield. The drive began on their 18-yard line. Two quick passes later and they were at their 39. A 2-yard run, a 5-yard pass to their tight end, and then a 15-yard pass to Taylor Price put the ball on our 39. They called their first time-out. Now there was just 2:15 left. On first down they lost a yard on a quick-out pass. Then Hempel completed a 5-yard pass over the middle, just before the two-minute warning. It was now third and six at our 35-yard line.

  We were getting frantic on the sideline. While Coach Bayne called defensive plays and exhorted the defense, Coach Engram, Jesse, and I were going over what we’d have to do if the Giants went ahead of us with so little time remaining. We talked over the various emergency plays we’d practiced; our two-minute drill, our strategy for every contingency. I couldn’t tell what was going on beyond our little circle, but the crowd noise was deafening. I knew it was not going our way.

  On third down, Hempel completed a 10-yard pass to their tight end. First and 10 at our 25-yard line. The next play was an inc
omplete pass into the end zone. Second and 10. With 1:31 left, Price caught a 14-yard pass over the middle that put the ball at our 11. Then, believe it or not, the Giants called a time-out. It was clearly a mistake, but we were elated. They gave us time to prepare before the next play. On first down Hempel tried another pass into the end zone, but Doug Harris knocked it down. Now it was second and 10 with 1:23 to go. Orlando Brown came limping off the field. It wasn’t his knee this time, but he’d got kicked in the shin pretty badly. Dave Schott, though, couldn’t take his place because he was playing on the right side for Elbert James. Coach Bayne sent in Mack Grundy, a special teams player, third stringer on the defensive line, who hadn’t played much all year. On the next play, the Giants sent their running back on a sweep to Grundy’s side, trying to take advantage of him. Grundy threw himself into the play, broke up the lead interference, and tackled their running back for a 3-yard loss. The Giants called their last time-out amid a blast of noise from the crowd. Grundy stood there at the end of the line, his hands on his hips, waiting. He looked like an All-Pro, god bless him, like he’d been playing that position all his life.

  Now there was 1:10 to go: third and 13 from our 14-yard line. New York came to the line. They were in a three-wide set. For the first time in the game, Taylor Price was in the slot. They tried to run a quick fade to the corner with him, but he was covered by Briggs and Harris, so Hempel hit their tight end for a 6-yard gain. It was fourth down now, the ball on the 8-yardline, with 55 seconds to play. With no time-outs, the Giants had to call a play, bring it up to the line, and run it. Over the deafening noise of the crowd, Jesse, Coach Engram, and I were screaming to each other about how, with less than 50 seconds left, our offense could get down the field and score. We had to be ready in case the Giants made good on their final push.