joelbolt
11-03-2006, 10:53 AM
Not that we need another Winslow running his mouth article. But...
All-time, all-talk (http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/abox/article_1343326.php)
Kellen Winslow is returning to the city where his father starred to play the Chargers. He's being none too quiet about it.
By MICHAEL LEV
The Orange County Register
SAN DIEGO – Kellen Winslow returns Sunday to the city and stadium where his father once starred, and it could have been the feel-good story of the week.
Then Winslow opened his mouth.
It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last. The younger Winslow never has been shy. From his infamous tirade at the University of Miami ("I'm a soldier," he concluded, only with a colorful adjective before "soldier") to his self-assessment before this season ("I think my 90 percent is still better than every tight end out there"), Winslow always has been willing to talk, especially when the subject is himself.
This week, in advance of his first appearance at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, Winslow merely ranked himself ahead of the Chargers' Antonio Gates and the Kansas City Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez - even though his NFL accomplishments with the Cleveland Browns pale compared to theirs.
"I look at it like it's a heavyweight match, and it's me versus Antonio Gates," Winslow told Cleveland-area reporters. "I want to be the best tight end out there, and I have to do it on Sunday. Tony Gonzalez is right behind me, and Gates is right behind me. I'm trying to stay on top."
That's bulletin-board material, all right, and there it was, posted on the Chargers' locker-room bulletin board. Two stories, from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and Akron Beacon-Journal, up on the wall, with Winslow's quotes highlighted in bright yellow.
Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo skimmed the stories and said simply: "Wow."
Gates refused to engage Winslow in verbal combat, preferring a calm, dismissive rebuttal.
"I don't care about him saying he's the best in the league. It's cool to be competitive," Gates said. "But when you disrespect guys who've done it over a decade, like a Tony Gonzalez -- you have to learn to embrace the game and respect the guys who are proven.
"I can't get caught up in a guy talking about being the best tight end and it's a heavyweight fight. That's the way he sees it. I don't see it that way. You have to have credibility to say that."
And that's the point.
Winslow has every right to say whatever he wants, but there's a difference between him talking trash and, say, Chad Johnson doing it. Johnson has caught 90 or more passes three years running, for at least 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns. He has earned the right to brag, which he does regularly, in an endearing, playful way.
Winslow has played in nine NFL games. He caught more passes than any tight end in Miami history, but as a pro, he's a novice. Yeah, he has more catches than any tight end this season (40), but his average per catch (9.8 yards) is nothing to brag about. And before he tells everyone how great he is, he might want to finish one season in one piece.
After being the sixth pick in the 2004 draft, Winslow suffered a season-ending broken fibula in Week 2. Before the 2005 season, he tore up his knee after crashing his motorcycle in a community college parking lot.
You might think those setbacks would humble him. Clearly, they haven't.
Winslow is who he is. He's supremely self-confident and honest to a fault. His brashness doesn't sit well with a lot of people. But then, a lot of people don't really know him, said his agent, Kevin Poston.
"I get to know people, eat with them, talk with them, see the ups and downs. Sometimes it's not always portrayed as it should be," Poston said. "If you really get to know Kellen, he's just a great young man."
Boasting without credentials doesn't make Winslow a bad guy. But it isn't the best way to win friends and influence people, either.
"Some people didn't like Muhammad Ali when he spoke," Poston said. "At the end of the day, I always say, be who you are."
Winslow is the son of arguably the greatest tight end in football history. The elder Winslow caught 541 passes for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns in nine seasons with the Chargers. His performance in a 1982 playoff victory over the Dolphins is the stuff of legend. He caught 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, blocked a field goal to force overtime and had to be helped off the field because of exhaustion.
The elder Winslow is about the only player his son will concede is more gifted.
"I'm not even on his level," the younger Winslow said. "He's not human. I can't compare us."
Winslow said his dad seldom gives him advice about football.
"More stuff off the field," the younger Winslow said, "just be respectful and stuff like that."
Apparently, that lesson hasn't sunk in quite yet.
Winslow is just 23 years old, so there's time. In the meantime, he's getting the attention he craves, for better or worse.
"He's a guy our defense is going to have a bull's-eye on pretty much all day," Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm said, confirming the advantage of letting your deeds talk for you:
You're less likely to get punched in the mouth.
All-time, all-talk (http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/abox/article_1343326.php)
Kellen Winslow is returning to the city where his father starred to play the Chargers. He's being none too quiet about it.
By MICHAEL LEV
The Orange County Register
SAN DIEGO – Kellen Winslow returns Sunday to the city and stadium where his father once starred, and it could have been the feel-good story of the week.
Then Winslow opened his mouth.
It wasn't the first time, and it won't be the last. The younger Winslow never has been shy. From his infamous tirade at the University of Miami ("I'm a soldier," he concluded, only with a colorful adjective before "soldier") to his self-assessment before this season ("I think my 90 percent is still better than every tight end out there"), Winslow always has been willing to talk, especially when the subject is himself.
This week, in advance of his first appearance at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, Winslow merely ranked himself ahead of the Chargers' Antonio Gates and the Kansas City Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez - even though his NFL accomplishments with the Cleveland Browns pale compared to theirs.
"I look at it like it's a heavyweight match, and it's me versus Antonio Gates," Winslow told Cleveland-area reporters. "I want to be the best tight end out there, and I have to do it on Sunday. Tony Gonzalez is right behind me, and Gates is right behind me. I'm trying to stay on top."
That's bulletin-board material, all right, and there it was, posted on the Chargers' locker-room bulletin board. Two stories, from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and Akron Beacon-Journal, up on the wall, with Winslow's quotes highlighted in bright yellow.
Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo skimmed the stories and said simply: "Wow."
Gates refused to engage Winslow in verbal combat, preferring a calm, dismissive rebuttal.
"I don't care about him saying he's the best in the league. It's cool to be competitive," Gates said. "But when you disrespect guys who've done it over a decade, like a Tony Gonzalez -- you have to learn to embrace the game and respect the guys who are proven.
"I can't get caught up in a guy talking about being the best tight end and it's a heavyweight fight. That's the way he sees it. I don't see it that way. You have to have credibility to say that."
And that's the point.
Winslow has every right to say whatever he wants, but there's a difference between him talking trash and, say, Chad Johnson doing it. Johnson has caught 90 or more passes three years running, for at least 1,274 yards and nine touchdowns. He has earned the right to brag, which he does regularly, in an endearing, playful way.
Winslow has played in nine NFL games. He caught more passes than any tight end in Miami history, but as a pro, he's a novice. Yeah, he has more catches than any tight end this season (40), but his average per catch (9.8 yards) is nothing to brag about. And before he tells everyone how great he is, he might want to finish one season in one piece.
After being the sixth pick in the 2004 draft, Winslow suffered a season-ending broken fibula in Week 2. Before the 2005 season, he tore up his knee after crashing his motorcycle in a community college parking lot.
You might think those setbacks would humble him. Clearly, they haven't.
Winslow is who he is. He's supremely self-confident and honest to a fault. His brashness doesn't sit well with a lot of people. But then, a lot of people don't really know him, said his agent, Kevin Poston.
"I get to know people, eat with them, talk with them, see the ups and downs. Sometimes it's not always portrayed as it should be," Poston said. "If you really get to know Kellen, he's just a great young man."
Boasting without credentials doesn't make Winslow a bad guy. But it isn't the best way to win friends and influence people, either.
"Some people didn't like Muhammad Ali when he spoke," Poston said. "At the end of the day, I always say, be who you are."
Winslow is the son of arguably the greatest tight end in football history. The elder Winslow caught 541 passes for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns in nine seasons with the Chargers. His performance in a 1982 playoff victory over the Dolphins is the stuff of legend. He caught 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, blocked a field goal to force overtime and had to be helped off the field because of exhaustion.
The elder Winslow is about the only player his son will concede is more gifted.
"I'm not even on his level," the younger Winslow said. "He's not human. I can't compare us."
Winslow said his dad seldom gives him advice about football.
"More stuff off the field," the younger Winslow said, "just be respectful and stuff like that."
Apparently, that lesson hasn't sunk in quite yet.
Winslow is just 23 years old, so there's time. In the meantime, he's getting the attention he craves, for better or worse.
"He's a guy our defense is going to have a bull's-eye on pretty much all day," Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm said, confirming the advantage of letting your deeds talk for you:
You're less likely to get punched in the mouth.