Quick post, once again playing the fan, not social commentator... today Jets running back Curtis Martin officially announced his retirement.
Martin didn't play at all last season, as he recovered from a knee injury sustained in 2005. He is a bonafide Hall of Famer - he retires at fourth overall in all-time yards rushing; only Barry Sanders and Curtis Martin have ever started their careers with 10 seasons of 1,000 yards or more rushing. They share something in common, too: their careers ended short - Martin due to injury, Sanders just retired while he was still healthy.
Considering that Martin was always well known for his workout routines, and for being one of the most fit players in the NFL, it really makes Barry Sanders look very smart. Curtis Martin, despite being physically fit and an iron man, substained one serious injury to his knee, and that was that... he still has a bone on bone situation in his knee, and it's not out of line to assume that he'll never run, jog or maybe even walk without pain or difficulty again. A lot of people didn't understand Barry Sanders' decision to retire while still in his peak... if you didn't, take a closer look at Curtis Martin. It's football, not baseball, not basketball. Maybe a lot of players, particularly running backs, hang around too long... I supported and understood Sanders' decision at the time, and I think now you have to know why.
It doesn't matter how much money Sanders may have left on the table. You think Curtis Martin might be willing to trade back all of the money he earned in 2005 to have the choice to go back and retire before that season began?
Speaking of leaving money on the table, Curtis Martin didn't go out without a little gift for the Jets - he reworked his contract for the second year to give the Jets some salary cap flexibility. It's a helpful sacrifice for both sides - the Jets get to save some salary cap damage, and Curtis Martin gets a little more coin than he would have if he was just outright cut and released. And the organization saves face from looking like ungrateful by cutting one of their best-liked players. It's a win-win for everybody.
As a Jets fan, I'll quickly say my piece: Curtis Martin came over with Bill Parcells from the Patriots (after his third season there), and while Parcells has moved on to various other jobs, Curtis Martin has been a Jet for all that time. He helped turn around a sorry ass franchise (Rich Kotite anyone?). I believe Nick Lowery, a field goal kicker, once had a quote about playing for the Jets that I couldn't find quick enough, but to paraphase it: "they must have built this place on an Indian burial ground or something".
No one says that about the Jets anymore. They've had a winning record since Curtis Martin arrived, and while that is due to a lot of different factors, from head coaches (props to Parcells, Herm Edwards and now Mangini) to the GMs (Terry Bradway and now Mike Tannenbaum) to the actual players (too many to name: Keyshawn, Chrebet, Pennington and Testeverde, Jonathan Vilma, Mo Lewis, Hugh Douglas...), it was Curtis Martin who had a working ethic that made him a leader from day one. Every team needs that guy that gets it done, that doesn't complain, who just wants to win and will do what it takes to stay in shape and win. That's what Curtis Martin brought to the Jets, and that's what will be the hardest thing to replace.
I don't have any great memories of Curtis Martin. Even though he was a much more important player than, say, Wayne Chrebet, he wasn't as interesting a story to the media. Which is the good news for Curtis, I guess. He got his money, he got to be one of the greatest running backs ever, even if his name will never get mentioned in the conversation because he wasn't "highlight reel" material... he is sort of like Tony Dorsey in that way. Whatever the case, he gets to retire quietly, and live a "normal" life, meaning he can go out in public and not be recognized. It's almost the best you can strive for if you are an professional athlete.
And on that note, I'll leave ya with this:
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Come on man! If you are going to put a video at the end of a Curtis Martin post at least have it be a Toni Braxton video!
Nice write-up on Martin. He may not have been flashy, but he was a model of consistency for the Green and White.
And Brian doesn't know what he's talking about!
Good write up on Martin. I don't want to sound unappreciative of his talent, but I've watched him over the years and while he's a good RB, to me, he just didn't compare with Barry Sanders. That guy was just on another level.
Agree, Barry Sanders is the best running back we'll ever see - only Jim Brown is in the discussion. Barry Sanders did things with his feet, his ankles, that no other running back could ever do. Despite being on a poor team most of his career with little other offensive options, he still got his incredible numbers. That's amazing.
As for Brian's comment... it's not worthy of a response. How do you call someone who played almost every game in his career "soft"? How do you call someone who severely injured his knee in Week 2 (2005), yet played until Week 12, with a career-ending injury "soft"? Quiet and soft-spoken does not equal "soft".
That comment makes no sense.
Martin was the softest running back in the NFL because he went down when the first defender breathed on him. The reason he was so durable is that he never fought for the extra yard and never broke tackles. He was more worried about his career than the game at hand. I'll take Duce Staley over him on my team any day of the week.
Bri, you are WAY, WAY off. Martin wasn't the power back that Staley was -- he was an elusive back -- and he how dare you question his heart. He left it all out on the field every game.
I would say that, yeah, he didn't break tackles, but he wasn't a very talented running back.
He was not very quick - in fact, he was slow as molasses. He almost never had a "big" run because he couldn't outrun linebackers, much less DBs. He would go a whole season with like one 20+ rush.
He also wasn't particularly strong. He was 5'11, 200 for most of his career. He wasn't Jerome Bettis, or a heavy back. He was built like a speed back, minus the speed.
In other words, no, he wasn't going to break tackles. But to call him "soft" is way off. He wasn't the type to run out of bounds to avoid contact. On most sweeps he stayed inbounds, and was tackled... he didn't avoid contact. I have watched pretty much every Jets game (maybe missed one game a year, max) since 1986... believe me, he wasn't soft.
It's not that big a deal to me, but he was the running back version of Wayne Chrebet and Chad Pennington. A talentless player at the most talent-needing positions, who somehow made the most of what he had.
Just like Chad has done pretty well despite having absolutely no arm for a QB, and Chrebet did well despite being slow and short for a WR, Martin did exceptionally well despite being slow and small for a RB, simply by trying harder than most. His offseason training methods were written about every offseason ("there goes Martin climbing the stairs again"). He was a tough dedicated player.
Hey man, don't forget to mention my great arm:
I have a 'perfect' passer rating of 158.3 for my career: 2 completions on 2 pass attempts, 2 TD passes, and an average of 18.0 yards per attempt.
I'm actually stronger armed than Chad.
I also have great fashion taste, and date all the R&B chicks.
Brian, don't hate! You're just jealous because you probably wanted to become a running back but had no talent OR GUTS. Curtis is the best AND YOU KNOW IT! I think you are blind because I've seen CM break many tackles and he fought for that EXTRA yard as well. Where have you been, under your rock?
The softest running back in the history of the NFL. Good riddance.