by Kent Sterling
Rick Venturi lays out thoughts on the Super Bowl, Hall of Fame, and Pete Carroll.
Nobody explains professional football like Rick Venturi, and I doubt anyone other than the participants are as juiced to watch the match-up between the NFL’s best offense and defense.
Coach Venturi spent some time with me this morning on “Ahead of the Curve” (1070 the Fan/Indianapolis), and laid out his thoughts on the Supers Bowl. The short version is that he can’t wait to see how Seattle sets up defensively to disguise its looks for the man acknowledged as the smartest quarterback in the world. Show too early – Peyton Manning picks you apart. Show too late, and there is confusion.
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Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and Venturi have spent a lot of time around each other, and while I have always had a strong dislike from afar toward Carroll, Venturi likes him and his thoughts on him have caused me to re-think me aversion.
The other issue we debated was the hall of dam class that will be introduced tonight. Specifically, we discussed the candidacy of Marvin Harrison. Does he deserve to jump to the front of the line – ahead of Andre Reed and Tim Brown – or should he be forced to wait his turn like every other receiver since Jerry Rice? Venturi coached against all three, and offers a superb opinion.
Tomorrow, the season comes to an end, and then it will be time to briefly reflect on a very strange NFL season that ended as many predicted – with the Broncos and Seahawks facing off for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.